So much work ?

The front of the house when we moved in. The conifer I'm afraid will have to go. There is perennial sweetpea growing on the right hand side, quite happy to keep this. Its quite a large bed which I might have to make smaller to allow car turning space, I'll probably regret it in years to come.

This is our motley collection of outbuildings. Originally there was a barn type building with 2 pigstys, at some point the owner has added the flat roofed shed and 2 more pigstys (we think). I think the rabbits and guineapigs will be having the low stys and the chickens the ones with the tiled roof. I think David is having the large barn for pinball machines, and the front for storage for work.

This area is just an absolute mess. The big dip was a manky old pond with stinking things in and we felt it was a bit dangerous with an enquisitive 2yr old around. The rest of the area looks like an old rockery type area with little paths around it, all very overgrown and dotted with self seeded plum trees. In the distance you can just make out the original mill wheel, which will be fenced off a bit more securely.

Slave labour

The slaves hard at work, 2 weeks after we moved in. With our little old self propelled mower set on high and at an angle we managed to cut the 8" high grass to reveal the - lawn. The working party worked for 3 days solid (we did feed them occasionally) to dig a long bed, to heel-in all the long suffering pot bound plants that have survived 3 moves...

The back garden took 3 back breaking days to mow, afterwards m'spouse got me the tractor mower, the best investment ever made..(thankyou). I'm sure one day he'll find a use for it..

The mower got stuck in this area as there was so much surface water, no problem a bog pond is dug out.

A home at last ! These plants have been traveling around for 2-3 years in pots, dug up in winter, and cut back heavily, hopefully they will like their new home, although for some it may still not be permanent.