Kristen's Project

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Kristen, Jul 8, 2008.

  1. Kristen

    Kristen Under gardener

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    Did you see the Head Gardener in that final photo? :)

    I have told her that pushing an empty barrow is a cheap management trick ...
     
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    • roders

      roders Total Gardener

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      I wondered how you were getting on ,what a beautiful setting.
      The Folly is very special ,it looks like all of your dreams are coming to fruition.
      Very well done.
      Look forward to the grand opening :spinning::dbgrtmb:
       
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      • shiney

        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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        Have you got any further with the chessmen? :)
         
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        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          I won't tell you what she said about you!!! :whistle: :lunapic 130165696578242 5:
           
        • Kristen

          Kristen Under gardener

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          :)

          I remember, some years ago, when we all went for a Group Wander at East Ruston Old Vicarage, my mate Shiney, good fellow that he is, filled his boot with buckets of water and hedge trimmings so that I could use them as cuttings for the odd thousand plants that I needed for a project. As the two of us were moving slopping buckets from his car to mine you were heard to say, in what I thought was a rather loud stage whisper!, "I put my hedge trimming on the compost heap" :loll:

          Least ways I think it was you?!!

          Well "yes" and "no" and "sideways" too

          The Chessmen have got pretty big ... and (I have now discovered) that means that their growth rate slows a lot, and when you change your mind and lop several feet off there is a delay. Reminiscent of my Metalwork teacher at school when I was let loose on the milling machine to "face" the vice I was making. "Boy, you'll be wanting the putting-on-machine now" ... :wallbanging:

          Original thought was to have "square cube" bases, and as the round-shaped tops developed the cubes looked stupid. So I'm letting the bases "grow-out" so they can become curvy (in both sense of the word). Right now they aren't the right sort of "curvy" at all - the kids refer to them as "Dad's collection of willies" ... judge for yourself?

          [​IMG]
          The original "front garden" ... Leylandii <spit>

          [​IMG]
          The replacement ... that was 10 years ago

          [​IMG]
          Last year

          From the left :
          Castle Willy,Willy Knight, Bishop Willy, King and Queen Willy :yahoo:

          And now for "Sideways" :

          The back garden, when we moved in:
          [​IMG]
          We filled in the pond, and removed the back-row of <spit> Leylandii, and nursed the front row of light-starved Thujas back to health ...
          [​IMG]
          and then the huge Cherry tree fell down - upside: it was the first time we'd been able to pick all the cherries! downside: big gap.

          [​IMG]
          Decided that we'd like a Cloud Pruned "modern" amorphous shape - the sort of thing that Jacques Wirtz did - this from his private garden:

          [​IMG]

          So I got my Spade and Barrow out ...

          [​IMG]

          I had some Box plants (grown from cuttings a few years earlier) ...

          [​IMG]
          [​IMG]
          ... and as luck would have it a family friend moved house and found a garden stuffed with so many box that she asked me to take away whatever I wanted. Hard to believe, but you would not have even noticed that I had been and knicked any.

          [​IMG] [​IMG]

          That was 2017 ... all was set, just needed to sit back and let them bush-up. Management had even given me a planting plan:

          [​IMG]

          so I knew I had got it right ... and the whole Cloud Pruned concept seemed rather like the way I trimmed my hair back in the 70's - a cross between Bohemian and Hippy ... Gentlemen barbers nearly went bust then, eh Shiney?, with chaps either not bothering, or just lopping-some-off as necessary. So i reckoned I could manage the clipping part.

          ... until last year. "When they grow up a bit more I want a pair of Dragons facing each other"

          Double-u Tee Ef :yikes:

          That is is a whole different ball of wax of course. And it didn't stop there ... "And then in that bit of scrub over the the right I want Hogwarts Castle"

          These blinking projects "have a bit of a habit of ..." ...

          ... the Yew Castle Walls were delivered this spring, and I'm growing them on until they get some crenellations :psnp:

          [​IMG]
           
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          • strongylodon

            strongylodon Old Member

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            Good to see you back here @Kristen I see you have put your feet up these last few years.:biggrin:
             
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            • Kristen

              Kristen Under gardener

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              It takes me all night to do what I used to do all night ...

              Oops ... wrong forum!
               
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              • Jenny namaste

                Jenny namaste Total Gardener

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                Hi Kristen,
                Welcome back to the Madhouse....
                Strange how things are right now...
                Anyway, stay safe, stay well and be kind,
                Namaste,
                Jenny
                 
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                • Loki

                  Loki Total Gardener

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                  Great to see you posting again:yay: I often wondered how your garden was evolving, it certainly doesn’t disappoint :wub2:
                   
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                  • joolz68

                    joolz68 Total Gardener

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                    Nice to know your still around @Kristen,i was only thinking about you yest,i was repotting my brugs i still have the white one you sent me yrs ago :)
                     
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                    • Sheal

                      Sheal Total Gardener

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                      I've missed you posting about your garden ventures Kristen, it's lovely to see the changes you have made. :blue thumb:

                      Any chance of borrowing your barrow and spade? :)
                       
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                      • joolz68

                        joolz68 Total Gardener

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                        Hi sheal x your clematis is flowering too,il take some pics this week xx
                         
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                        • Perki

                          Perki Total Gardener

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                          Look really well Kristen very grand, I get the impression you like topiary / formal look ;). What over plans do you have ? Look like a huge garden
                           
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                          • Sheal

                            Sheal Total Gardener

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                            Hi @joolz68, I hope all is well with you. I'd love to see pics of the Clematis. :thumbsup: Unfortunately I couldn't bring it with me when I moved.
                             
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                            • 2nd_bassoon

                              2nd_bassoon Super Gardener

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                              Thank you for a brilliant update :) I remember finding your website a couple of years ago (I think following a link that @shiney had posted) and read the entire thing in an afternoon, but promptly forgot to bookmark it and could never find my way back again - not making that mistake twice! :rolleyespink:
                               
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