Wall To Wall
The terraces in front of the house.
In need of a winter clear up, certainly. I’m hoping that the sudden and very welcome appearance of the sun, albeit with attendant cold and frosty nights, will dry out the soil sufficiently for me to get out there. But the point of putting this photo up here is not to demonstrate just how lax the gardener has been, however valid an observation that might be. No, it’s a reminder of that other project we started way back last Spring. And given how long it’s been I thought a quick recap before we bring it up to date.
Through the dense mass of tree growth you may just catch a glimpse of the house, this shot taken probably a couple of years ago now. The terraces of the previous image lie hidden from view beyond the old greenhouse. A beech in the foreground and beyond it an oak, the latter stood less than three feet from the house wall and, at that point, was still expanding. I hated the thought of removing an oak tree but if we’d left it the house foundations would eventually have been undermined. It was already blocking out light from the kitchen.
Enter the digger man. May, 2019.
Our objective was to replicate the terraces in front of the house with a mirror image here, giving me more flat planting space (a precious commodity when one lives on a 45 degree slope) and, with the removal of the oak tree and the beech, opening up the whole area around the house. Let there be light! The plan was to create a new set of steps between the two banks of terraces with a new greenhouse and raised beds on the lower level. Well so far so good.
Things started to go awry when the stone arrived for the new walls.
We’d opted for a local quarry in the hope that the stone would be a good match to that used in the original terraces, however many years ago. And so it seemed at first. The trouble came when Mike took a pressure washer to the heap of stone to remove a thick coating of mud. Ironstone. Not the subtle grey it had initially appeared. Orange.
Well we had stone in abundance, it hadn’t been cheap and so we persisted. Probably for too long as it turned out. You keep hoping that all will turn out right even when in your heart of hearts you know it won’t. Especially once the greenhouse wall started to go up (far left). For that we’d had to use a different type of stone, building stone which is flat on all sides, given the very small margin for error if the greenhouse frame was going to fit snugly on top. It became increasingly obvious that the two variants of stone really didn’t sit happily side by side.
There was nothing else for it but to take a very deep breath and reach for the kango..
And I think this is the point we were up to when I last wrote about the terrace walls. The orange stone won’t be entirely wasted. On the side of a hill the opportunity for more steps is almost endless and in this damp climate so is the need for weatherproof paths.
The new walls as they stand today, now in the same stone we used for the greenhouse.
The proportions appear a little strange at this stage of construction. The third wall down from the top has another two or three courses to go which will make the second wall down look a little less tall. And of course the whole thing urgently needs softening with plants!
All being well I shall start the planting in March. Just about the right time to harvest divisions from elsewhere in the garden, plus the many cuttings taken last year and plants already grown from seed. To rule out the possibility of future plant fair excursions would of course be foolhardy but the more plants I can raise for free at this stage in the game the better it will be!
Oh the comparisons! I did think the first stone wasn’t too bad, but seen in conjunction with the greenhouse and your outbuilding above – yes, option 2 was definitely the better choice, so just as well I’m not your garden planner! LOL! All coming on splendidly! So are the little plants in the greenhouse! Looking forward to seeing the terraces planted up – a walled garden for warmth = ideal!
Thank goodness for some beautiful days. Chickens were allowed in the greenhouse and after a little scrabble, they decided it was perfect for a dust bath. When I came back after putting the birds back in their own runs to have their “tea/supper” ready for bed time, a little pheasant decided she wanted a dust bath too and sneaked in while the door was open!
Garden-wise, hurray for snowdrops and crocuses and a bigger hurrayyyyyy for sunshine!
The original terraces certainly give me a great growing microclimate, as they face south. I can get away with some quite tender stuff in there, like gingers, so expanding the scope in that area is definitely welcome.
This part of the garden is united by the stone now including, as you point out, the outbuilding which was a lucky surprise.
The sunshine has been wonderful. Back to cloud tomorrow and rain on Monday. At least I got a few hours out there before they grey returns.
I remember watching these developments. You really have transformed the frontage. I can see you on that bench.
I can see me on that bench too. The big question is when!
What a gorgeous set of terraces- and they really do pair so nicely with the greenhouse. I can’t wait to see them planted up!
I’m getting rather excited by the prospect of planting. I’ve been collecting plants for it for over a year. Apart from anything else I desperately need the veggie garden back ‘cos that’s where they’re all currently stashed!
It gets more delicious all the time. We can’t garden in March here. I can’t wait to see what you will be planting in those terraces. I have two here and am hoping to rework one this spring.
While the rest of the garden is more informal, a sort of transition zone blending into the woodland, the terraces tend to be a showcase of my favourite and often more tender plants. I am frequently editing the mix, especially if something really takes off because then I can divide it and create a much bigger clump somewhere else.
I still have a fondness for the orange stone….sigh….
You wouldn’t if you saw it in the flesh (as it were). The photos really don’t do it justice. Imagine having yellow flowers against it. Or pink. I’d struggle to finish my breakfast in the morning.
I understand the angst about taking down mature trees but I’ve no doubt you’re enjoying the extra light inside. (Taking down the 60 foot eucalyptus way too close to our house years ago had an unforeseen magic effect for us.) The second set of terraces will deliver more joy and I can imagine the fun you’re going to have planting them. I’m envious!
It does make such a difference to the light. The other thing I’ve noticed with all the tree work we’ve had done is the totally different perspective you suddenly have of the garden. Even the most slender of tree trunks captures and holds your eye. When it’s gone you’re immediately aware of a much deeper field of view, even if it is 90% the same as it was before.
Now those are the kind of walls one can feel good about! I do so enjoy your wonderful photographs. They make me feel as though I’m walking around the property with you.
Thanks Dorothy. There’s a lot of greening up to do, it all feels quite stark to me at the moment, even with the subtler shade of stone.
Wonderful to see the blue sky in your first picture, but the third image stopped me in my tracks in the way it shows the sheer SCALE of the task you have undertaken.
Keep repeating “it will be worth it in the end”, just like the gorgeous, gorgeous greenhouse that you waited so long for 🙂
When we were digging earth we truly felt the works might be visible from space. More like quarrying than gardening!
It will be worth it, despite the setbacks. As the wall builder said, the new batch of stone may have been an unwelcome cost but we’ve also saved a fortune in yoghurt..
Looks wonderful – courageous decision to take it all down and start again, but the results show it was absolutely the right thing to do.
Beautiful greenhouse too. Can I ask what colour it is? We are currently having one built and I am angsting over the colour, but yours looks perfect for a woodland setting
Thanks Sue.
We also spent a long time agonising over the greenhouse colour. Given the setting I wanted it to blend in, not stand out. If you’re using one of the bigger greenhouse companies I’d really recommend getting them to arrange a visit to somewhere they’ve actually built one in the colour you’re considering. We did that and changed our minds, to positive effect, as a result. It’s a sort of greyish-green and works really well against the trees, summer and winter.
Its not called “Greensand” by any chance is it?
Spot on!
Yay !!!! That makes me so very happy 😆🤣
Enjoy your new greenhouse! 😃😃
The terrace is totally transformed. I, too love your greenhouse colour, it really fits well in the garden. Happy gardening, while you can!
The greenhouse had to fit its setting. The reason for excavating so much earth was to lower the level it would sit on and therefore reduce its impact. Having spent so much time and trouble trying to open up the view from the house the last thing we wanted to do was close it down again with an overly dominant building.
What an amazing amount of improvement. More sun. Flat planting space. To bad about the oak, but 3 feet from the foundation is a disaster about to happen.
I hope we have got to the end of the tree work for the moment. But yes, when a tree is in a dangerous position for one reason or another there really is no choice. And therefore less guilt!
You have both done such an amazing job Jessica ……. it is going to look amazing and, what a great time you are going to have in the garden centres !!! XXXX
Thanks Jackie. Having had a bad couple of days with yet more backsliding on the house front I needed that boost!
YAY ….. I managd to comment !!! XXXX
I changed the comment box recently, I hope that’s helped!
Goodness! What a difference. It’s going to look amazing, I can’t wait to see this space develop. How exciting! Xxx
Going back and looking at the old pictures always gives me a shock. When you see the changes happening on a day by day basis it’s harder the appreciate the scale of it all.
What a beautiful garden you are creating, but I must admit to being very glad that I live on flat river bed land! Well done Jessica.
I’d never gardened on a hill before coming here. It’s fair to say I underestimated just how much energy it requires!
Oh the amount of times I have just kept knitting while knowing the tension or the yarn or the pattern didn’t feel quite right. And always just a bit too long making the frogging of the piece painful! But it’s looking great and that greenhouse is a dream!
I was the opposite in that I was never satisfied with anything I tried to make. I was forever undoing it and in the end gave up. I’ve since discovered blocking which, had I known about it at the time, could have saved many an aborted effort from the bin!
Oh heavens, that really is looking promising – and the colour is so mellow. Once it’s planted it will look wonderful – and glow in the light. Well done Jessica. Once again – it’s a triumph.
The walls are quite daunting at the moment, especially stood at the bottom looking up! But when I try to imagine it as a cascade of colour I think it will work. I hope it will work..
It’s always exciting when it comes around to planting. You’ll certainly need lots of plants.
The rest of the garden has reached the stage of maturity where many clumps of perennials are ripe for dividing, thank goodness! My plan is to fill the earth with something, anything, so this area starts to look green again. Then I can edit over the next few years as I find choicer things to plant.
:-O a difficult project!
I wish I could find an easy one!
Is that one of those if I won the lottery RHS approved greenhouses? Serious greenhouse envy here. I went to Rosemoor on Monday, lovely day, very cold. Fascinated that the only thing growing in their entire veg plat were leaks, some bedraggled cabbages and some kale. I am one up on them as I have garlic going well and as yet does not have rust. According to Bunny Guinness and the RHS the secret is to give them tomato food, we will see. Ginger in Devon, it sounds like a 1930s crime novel. Is that the edible version or decorative? If the latter I might try some.
I have only tried garlic once but it never did very well. When I get my veg patch back I may well try again, with tomato food obviously!
Decorative ginger. The one I grow, said to be the hardiest, is Hedychium gardnerianum. It ideally needs a south facing wall if you have it but manages to cope with all the rain pretty well. I shall try more of them if I ever come across them. Rosemoor have a few varieties growing successfully in the exotic garden next to Lady Anne’s house.
I would have cried having to take that down, what an enormous job though. It’s all looking absolutely fabulous!xxx
I would cry if I had to take the current walls down but the previous ones, not so much. We all agreed, Himself and me plus the chap who is building the walls for us, that it would be the right thing to do.
You were definitely right to take down the first lot of stone, even if it did add to the budget and delay – what a wonderful part of the garden this is going to be when it’s built! In fact, it looks marvellous right now, so I can’t wait to see you start the planting – I bet your hands are itching to be putting on top soil and snuggling young plants into the new terrace beds!
I’ve a long list of plants waiting to go in, things that I divided last year and have kept in a nursery bed and things that I have my eye on that have yet to be split. It’s very tempting, especially as it’s been relatively mild so far this winter. Knowing my luck though if I do it this early we’ll get another Beast from the East or some such and I’ll regret it!
I love big projects, and my! what a transformation this is!
I’m ready for it to finish now. I’ve put up with all the mud for long enough. But it will get exciting again when it’s time to start planting!