Digging For England
Going down..
At this rate we’ll be making a welcome return to Australia without having to trouble British Airways for a ticket. The picture doesn’t really capture the scale, it’s a 12 foot drop from the path in front of the tool shed (top left) to the lowest level of earth.
And there’s about a foot still to come off.
What I’m finding quite impossible to grasp is the sheer volume of excavated earth. Only the pile to the far left is topsoil, mostly what we’re down to now is shillet, a west country term for layers of thin stone.
Looking at the front face of one of the excavated terraces.
There was something of a cliff edge beyond the level of the lawn and we’re taking the opportunity to smooth this out to something approximating the general contour of the land. But there will still be a surplus, it’s a monumental pile of spoil.
And it’s taking forever. To get into the garden in the first place the digger has to pass through a gap between two low walls that is barely a metre wide. Which obviously limits the size of the digger and turns what could have been a two day job into one which is painfully slow. And therefore eye-wateringly expensive at £250 per day. At this point though there’s very little option other than to keep going. What else would we do with such a massive hole in the ground?
Builders to the left. Landscapers to the right.
The blocks in the foreground will form the inner layer of the new terrace walls, the outer to be constructed from local stone. That is yet to be delivered, goodness knows where. It’s impossible to swing a car around as it is. Given the distance from this point to the new terraces, and the challenging terrain, the landscaper has purchased a brand new motorised wheelbarrow for the job. Now as boys’ toys go, this one has to be up there. Mike, predictably enough, has had his eye on it from afar. And the not so far.. I found him poring over the operating instructions one day last week, “just to see what’s what”. For the sake of keeping the rest of my garden intact I can only pray that the landscaper, like the digger man, takes the sensible precaution of pocketing the keys before leaving the premises each night.
F is for footings..
The previously quite serviceable set of steps down to the patio has become an exit ramp for the digger, courtesy of the ton of earth that has been dumped on top of it. And on the flower border beyond as it happens but in the most trying of circumstances I’m doing my best to be patient. Fortunately the weather has been dry enough to allow reasonable access for the odd al fresco lunch but as you can see, one or two gin and tonics too many of an evening should possibly be avoided.
Itoh Peony ‘Pastel Splendor’, revelling in what little rain there is.
And finally…. Ta DAAAAA!!!
Yes I know they grow like weeds in California. And South Africa and Australia. And no doubt in many other places besides.
But not in Devon. And therefore I must crave your indulgence.
Grown from a seed planted some six years ago. A bloom from a flower bud which takes six months to mature. Ample reward I reckon.
Strelitzia reginae, the Bird of Paradise
Cool huh?
You are only to be admired for the lengths you will go to in order to have the house and garden you want. It’s coming along wonderfully. And a bird of paradise in Devon!
It was always going to be a ‘project’ this place. How much of a project only became clear much later. But we’re in the thick of it now so just want to get the best outcome for the big day when we can finally sit down and enjoy it!
Adds a whole new meaning to ‘Did the earth move for you’ I love your glorious renovations! Both house and garden. I will watching this space.
I think we can safely say we’ve moved a bit of earth! Something of a contrast to your beautiful flower filled garden but we’ll get there in the end.. I hope!
Wow – that’s a challenging project; and (observed from a safe distance) a fascinating one. Think of it like London – it’ll be nice when it’s finished. I’ve seen those flowers in warmer climes – often wondered what they were called…
Yes, just like London. It’ll probably never be finished!
The Bird of Paradise needs a better climate than ours for sure. Now that it is raining it is looking rather sad.
I feel your pain. Our slope from back lot line to the road is 14 feet, but over a much longer distance making for a more gentle slope. Your view down to the lawn and curved hedge shows how wonderful it will be when this is only a memory and a blog post. We took away three or four dump truck loads of dirt when we dug our pond. It was our only miscalculation. Isn’t it amazing how dirt seems to puff up and double in bulk once you start digging. Maybe it’s a good thing you are doing inside and out at the same time. That way you can just grit your teeth and one day all those workmen will be gone and you can meander everywhere G&T in hand.
That will be quite some day won’t it. We did hope that tackling a few projects at once would get us to that point sooner but it doesn’t seem to work that way. There is only so far you can stretch yourself and only so many hours in the day. But hopefully by the end of September the current projects will be done and we can call it a year!
Wow, that is some earth moving excercise, you don’t make it easy for yourselves do you! Your strelitzia is fabulous, well done.
Thanks. It’s actually a relatively easy plant to grow, it just takes a very long time to reach flowering stage.
Bird of Paradise!!!! Oh, aren’t you the lucky lady! So gorgeous.
Now if I can do it you definitely can, in your climate!
Well, I reckon you deserve that bird of paradise
Thanks Derrick. It is certainly lifting the spirits.
Oh my! I thought it was disruptive just having the front drive and back garden flagged. This is something else entirely! At least inside and out should come together eventually….good luck with it, I suspect a lot of gin will be consumed!xxx
Perhaps it is just as well that we start on these projects in blissful ignorance. Would we ever start at all if we knew just how disruptive they would be?
Yes, very cool.
I saw a plant about the same size as mine on sale for £85 the other day. If I remember rightly the packet of seeds cost me about a fiver and four germinated.
Oh my word Jessica, what have you let yourself in for? As Dora from finding anemone says ‘just keep swimming’, although in your case ‘just keep digging’ may be more appropriate! Xxx
There always comes a point in a project where you ask yourself “What have I done?” I think we can safely say we’ve reached that point!
Bird of a Paradise is spectacular. Well done!!!
Thank you! It was a long time coming but worth the wait.
Just a shame I have to keep it in a container. The leaves alone would add a real tropical touch to the garden.
Shillet – yes, topsoil is pretty shallow here! Leaning towers of washing line poles and not deep enough to stick bean poles in! Anyhooooo that is an awesome terrace in the making. Just brought some peonies back from my mum’s as she was fostering them while we moved – not flowering yet but some in bud. Your peony looks beautiful and as for the birdy – definitely your bit of paradise in more ways than one!
At least the shillet should provide good drainage, unlike the clay of elsewhere in the garden. Thankfully I won’t need washing line poles in the terraces.. I’ve only allowed for 12 inches of topsoil!
Wow, what a huge undertaking, and it will be amazing when finished
Thanks Linda. I am trying to focus on the finished job and not the journey for this one. It’s harder to do than to say.
Your new terraces are going to be awesome! I’m suitably envious of the peony bloom and can appreciate your joy over the Strelitzia even though, yes, they are as common as dirt here in southern California. Years ago I was taken aback to learn that a friend of mine (from Washington state, a climate more like yours) carried a bouquet of “Birds” in her first wedding. Like Agapanthus and Bougainvillea, Californians don’t give Strelitizia the acclaim it deserves.
When I was growing up the Bird of Paradise was the super exotic plant for us. Of course now that I’ve got into gardening there are many others that I desire equally if not more, but it still feels quite a result to have nurtured one into bloom. Agapanthus grows well here too, bougainvillea I wouldn’t even try. I once had it as a houseplant but they need light and space to thrive so it never really worked.
Oh me oh my – and you knew about the shillet? Here in the Netherlands we just don’t know what stone is, unless it’s brick or a little builders’ rubble. We start complaining if the clay is a bit hard…. And when we meet a rare bit of slope, we say: look, it’s like being in a foreign country!
When all is done, your Strelitzia will be growing in paradise.
I have to confess, I’d never heard of shillet until the digger man told us what it was.
There are pros and cons for gardening on a slope. It does add an extra dimension to a design and the plants are more visible when they’re on different levels. But it’s friggin’ hard work. Be grateful for the flat!
Totally cool – I can’t imagine seeing Strelitzia flowers as anything but dramatically exciting however often one saw them. Of course, so is your excavating project though in a very different way…
The excavating project will be dramatically exciting when it’s over! I’m looking forward to planting it up, but realistically that will be next Spring now. Plants don’t do well for me when I plant in autumn, it doesn’t give them long enough to establish before they have to endure the winter wet.
Very sound; it’s probably a good idea for the planting areas to have the winter to settle, too. Also more time to plan, which usually pays off in several ways. What a delight it will be next spring to have that blank (and level!) canvas.
Well done on your Strelitzia! The two years I spent in Los Angeles in the ’80s gave me enough exposure to birds of paradise to last me for a good couple of decades, but enough time has passed, back in my native cold-winter eastern woodland, that they once again give the same thrill as my first encounter did. Getting anything to bloom stage from seed is impressive to me, and the long wait for this beauty must make it all the more satisfying. And what timing! You needed something this spectacular to turn to.
I have a nursery bed full of plants waiting for the moment, but they will be better off where they are for now. And being a year older by next Spring I hope they will give the terraces a more mature look from day 1.
The bird of paradise has been a real treat, especially as I first spotted the flower bud back in November. Sometimes the anticipation is as satisfying as the actual event.
Exciting project you have there. My “bird” has never bloomed. Yours is lovely.
Patience. It will happen. This one took six years, the only other one I’ve had took three times that!
I love the Bird of Paradise, well done getting that to grow so beautifully in your patch.
It’s quite a tough plant but still has to live in a container and be kept under cover over winter. It was reaching the roof of the old greenhouse. The next greenhouse will have to be higher!
My reaction to everything in this post was … wow! I can’t believe you had such success with the Bird of Paradise–that is cool! And your slope project is big! I’m sure it’s going to be incredible, though. Good luck!
The Bird of Paradise is actually quite easy, although it does need to be kept frost free so in a container rather than in the open garden. I read they flower best when a bit potbound but they have big fleshy roots. The current pot is rather distorted. When I get the terraces finished it will have pride of place and be upgraded to terracotta!
That is nothing short of amazing. No doubt the finished product will be spectacular – as is that Bird of Paradise.
It took me by surprise as well. We had to recheck the levels several times to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me, it’s an awful lot of soil that’s come out.
As if the inside renovation wasn’t enough you have to take on a massive outdoor job too.
It may have been over ambitious!
so cool.. that bird of paradise is just sizing up the whole excavation and saying “hey look at me over here, i’ll keep your spirits up”. glorious
It is doing the job admirably and is much healthier than gin!
While I am sure it isn’t so wonderful to your bulldozer man, I find that close up photo of the shillet to be fascinating. However, removing a large pile of it cannot be quite so wonderful. On the other hand, well-done with the Strelitzia reginae in your climate. Your tenacity, whether in renovations of house and/or garden, or even for a single plant, is admirable.
It’s easy at the beginning, you have an idea and launch into it full of enthusiasm. By the time you start to question what you’ve done it’s too late to turn back. The only option then is to grit your teeth and march onwards to the end, hoping and praying all the while that it will turn out OK!
Excepting trips elsewhere, this native Californian has probably seen BOP flowers nearly every day of her lifetime, but they are still beautiful–every one of them. The Devon version looks just as good.
When we did the terraces in our back gully there was massive earth moving. Ah, the memories–best forgotten. The shillet is fascinating–does it impair drainage, or facilitate it?
I am hoping facilitates, but leaving nothing to chance we will put in drainage channels in any case. Climate change, for us, is likely to mean even more rain 🙁
The shillet is fascinating, I’m off to read up on it! Good luck with both renovations and thanks for including us!
It’s weird stuff. I wonder how long it takes to form. It isn’t that far below the surface but gives the impression of having been compacted over many years.
What a task! Our daughter is about to start terracing her garden by building retaining walls and building up rather than digging away. I’m giving her the link to your blog and we shall follow with interest!
Hello Rosemary and welcome!
It is an awesome task, far more time consuming, costly and complicated than I ever thought before we started. I hope your daughter is getting some help. The key thing I have learned so far is that retaining walls need to be sturdy and wide, especially if you are in an area where the soil holds a lot of moisture. There’s a significant weight to hold back even if the walls are relatively low, 3′ in our case.
Inside, outside, you are a glutton for punishment! But oh, how gorgeous it all will be when finished. The bird of paradise is a deserving reward for all your love and patience. Such glorious flowers 🙂
Do you keep it in a warm greenhouse all year round, or a cool one over winter and outside in the summer? Just wondering whether I should embark on the process myself.
It stays in the greenhouse over winter which I keep frost free, about 5C. Outside in summer, in dappled shade. Full sun would scorch the leaves apparently. You should give it a try, it’s really very easy, just a long wait for a bloom!
I can’t believe that the landscape team don’t remove the soil and shillet for you (a large skip at the top of the drive would be handy) – or would that double the day rate? Anyway, well done for tackling both indoors and out at the same time, it will be so good to get it all finished and just think how wonderful next summer will be … unless there’s another project in the wings you haven’t told us about?
It would certainly be a very labour intensive exercise. It takes the digger man 10 mins to do each journey from the top of the hill to the bottom. I don’t think we could do it if we had to remove all the spoil offsite. We are running out of space to put it all though!
There’s always another project 😉
Speaking from new experience Caro – shillet is really awful to try and dig. We had an LPG tank replaced and they had to dig a trench for the pipework. It was supposed to take a day but they didn’t realise how shallow the soil is and it took almost a week just to dig a small trench! I can only imagine what fees the landscapers would charge Jessica!
It is an awful job. I honestly wonder if we’d have started such an ambitious project if we’d known how long it would take. But there’s no turning back now.
Well you certainly saved the best for last, the flower is incredible well done! As for the excavations, well they are also very dramatic, hang on in there. x
It is quite scary seeing your garden suddenly resembling an open cast mine.. I am keeping the faith. So far.
You certainly find some projects to do! I can see what your vision will be and it will certainly give you more manageable garden. Be careful to secure your topsoil or you could find it at the bottom of the slope. I have just acquired some more land and plan a wild flower meadow. No real construction but will require careful management.
A wildflower meadow sounds lovely Steve! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do here but probably lack enough space with sufficient light. I shall follow your progress with great interest.
Speaking as an ex miner/production engineer broken ground takes up a lot more volume than solid rock, due to the gaps in between the individual parts. There is a mining technique where you use the broken material behind to support the roof while you take out some of it to process on the surface. I cannot recall the exact figures but I know that they are quite high. Impressed that I can apply my old engineering brain to a project in your garden.
We are suffering in Somerset from lack of rain, but when I went fishing yesterday in Warminster the river was quite high and coloured, normally a sign of rain. Odd.
your bird of paradise plant should have been at Chelsea.
Having seen the shillet compacted tight in the ground and then out of it in a separate pile I can quite understand the rationale for increased volume. It must take up double the space, if not more. The garden looks a lot like an open mine at the moment. But this week the first concrete footing for the lowest wall went in so perhaps at last we are turning a corner.
It looks like next week should bring some rain, much needed especially for the plants I’ve been shifting around somewhat late in the season.
A bird of paradise was at Chelsea.. I spotted it behind Carol Klein on one of her first reports. Mine is almost as good!
I feel a mix of admiration and envy when I see your projects, Jessica…!
Difficult to imagine how this area can ever be green again, when I look at these pictures. It may yet take awhile.