Time for a nice cup of Tea!

"What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?"

Or in my case, time to stop and sit down for a nice cuppa! One of the garden pieces we brought with us was our much loved old swing seat. In order to move it though, we had to dismantle the frame  - but as some of the bolts bolts refused to budge, drastic measures were needed and the only solution in the end was to get out the hack saw! Bolts and fixings carefully stored in a plastic box but on arrival here nowhere to be found! Funny that.

Oh well...Henry and his friend Silas managed to fix swing seat and frame back together so all it needs now is a coat of  paint  and it will be as good as new. More slab laying and a repair to the dry stone wall, steps made from faux log slabs found under the Yew tree, a few pansies to pretty it all up and we have a little place in the sun to sit and contemplate!

 

Truffle likes it too!

Now here's a funny thing....whilst building the steps we find a deep drainpipe hole but with no manhole cover! Goes pretty deep too as  no sound when dropping stones down it. What could it be? An air vent for an underground bunker? The next discovery deepens the mystery further........

Reuse and Recycle!

I think this should be our family motto...not sure what the translation would be in Latin and as I'm not fluent in the language the best I can do thanks to Google is:

praecessi quod redivivus
So if there are any Latin scholars out there...please feel free to correct!

Now that the basic garden clearance is done, time to start sorting out the borders, build a terraced seating area in a sunny spot....and create a veggie plot at the top of the garden. We had to get outside help following the tree felling in order to dig out the stumps. And what better company to call in than our local man from 'Grindforce'.

Job done and we set to work...endless digging and masses of roots removed. A scout around the garden and I find a supply of Bradston bricks and random slabs left by our predecessors. Rich pickings and perfect for building the patio. Hard labour for someone who spends most days slaving over a hot computer and muscles found that I never knew existed before!!!

However, things are starting to take shape and remarkably the pation area works really well. I have no means of cutting the bricks so have to hope that I can fit them all together somehow without ragged edges...bit like doing a jigsaw but with heavy bricks! However it works and here is the final result.

Just enough London red bricks to create an edging between the lawn and top of the garden, set in a curve and bedded down with sand and soil it makes a pleasing curve that defines one area from another. More finds in the undergrowth as we discover a whole collection of old fashioned hand thrown terracotta pots....perfect for potting up random bulbs found when we were digging through the border. No idea what the bulbs are so it will be a pleasant surprise to see what emerges in the spring!