......after a few inevitable hold-ups and the hard landscaping of the back garden has begun. Just inheriting a blank space which we’re free to shape any way we want is a big challenge. I’d like a small waterfall but that’s quite a thing to have to create. The soil here is incredibly sandy. It must have been an ocean, millions of years ago. You can pour a bucket of water on it and it just soaks away immediately. We need to beef the soil up and put some fibre into it too.
You can get bags of compost from the council tip for free, it’s all the food waste from the town. It’s pretty strong stuff allegedly but it seems like a good idea. Part of the skill of setting up a new garden is to make it a space that works for you, especially given my restricted walking ability. We want an easily managed aesthetic area that surrounds the studio which will be half art studio, half lounge. It’ll get the sun for most of the day in the summer.
We’d like to plant some trees to cast some shade but mature trees are very expensive. We also need to bring some wildlife into the garden from birds to hedgehogs. It’s something we’ve done before at the previous property on a much bigger scale. We planted dozens of trees and shrubs as well as a willow hedge, along with landscape the whole place which was just a square of grass and moss.
Of course Dawn will have to do most of this because of my disabilities. One of the things I miss most is gardening. I used to do all the heavy lifting and I wish I still could but it’s hardly practical with only one working hand.
Because of my inability to do what I used to do, the last garden was now far too large, the space here is much more manageable but it’s still very challenging.
The base for the studio to be built on has been well prepared. Dawn has put down a layer of rubble, sand, subbase, plastic grids and topped with gravel. Its all been tamped down with something called a whacker plate which describes its function very well. The result is a firm, flat surface to act as a foundation and cost about £700. You could ask the company to do it but it was about £2500 so Dawn thought she’d do it herself, which is typical. If she was strong enough she’d build the thing too but I persuaded her not to or she’ll do herself a mischief.
I’ll post a picture of it when it’s been built. But this is one of it from the brochure.
