One year on....and beyond

Absolutely beautiful sheal! That view priceless xxx
Youl not hear the TT races from there xx

 

Thank you Joolz, it's coming together slowly.

Ah the TT! No I don't hear the bikes from here but on the rare occasion when I do hear one it still turns my head....a family trait, it's in the blood. TT was cancelled last year and again this year. There's probably a lot of fans that attend every year suffering withdrawal symptoms. I don't miss the disruption it caused with the road closures though.

 

I haven't visited the forum for some time - I didn't realise Verdun had left the forum. I agree with previous posters and I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of his great advice with regard to Muhly grass. Thanks to him I managed to grow some from seed and it has a special place in my garden. Thank you Verdun.

 

Time to get this thread back on track. Back in early May 'A' started work on the fencing and gates. I've included most of the images as it's easier than sorting through them and most are from different angles.

The last of the rocks and soil from the right hand side of the drive, I had already moved most of them.





The area cleared and posts going in. On the left, some work needed on the end of my neighbours fence after cutting back undergrowth and discovering a rotten post. The other post is a railway sleeper which will support one of the 8ft gates.



The garden is 70ft in width.



On the other side are the remains of the other wall. At this point I wanted it removed to make it symmetrical. Mr. S didn't agree unfortunately and this meant the fence couldn't be turned back on itself to link up with the side boundary.

That is not cement at the base of the post but the wonderful soil I have here.









More to follow on next post......

 

Meanwhile, later in the happenings I talked Mr S into removing the other wall. Before this we decided to have 'A' put wire between the end post and the post on the field boundary. It looks horrible! So 'A' will be back soon to continue the fence round to that same post and make it complete.





Gates installed completing the 16ft gap. We decided not to have the gates indented as with that width, drivers could still pull in there instead of using the passing places.

 

Looking good so far Sheal.

 

Looks like you're doing an admirable job of it Sheal, nice to have an update, that is some seriously stony soil you're contending with! In fact, I think "bouldery" soil might be a better term!

Nick

 

The fencing complete with the exception of the turn back to the field boundary post. We decided on posts and hooks to hold the gates open as the ground slopes away, which didn't make it feasible for fixings in the ground. The gates themselves have 'stop' hinges to prevent them swinging out into the road.

With the rocks gone I now have to sieve out the stones level the soil and grass seed the area.



Surprisingly with fence and gates up they were not something that we had to get used to seeing - easy on the eye.







It was very satisfying to watch when local drivers discovered they could no longer pull on to the driveway. Nose to nose it took a while for them to compute that one of them would have to back up to the passing places, both just 30ft away!





And the mail box. It took a good hunt on the internet to find one we could attach from the front. Parcels will still have to be brought to the door.

 

Thank you @Victoria and @Nikolaos. The decisions were mine the hard work was 'A's - a grand job from him as usual.

Yes, it was a shock to the system when we moved in. Bedrock and supposedly sandy loam soil, but more sand than loam. The soil isn't very deep either so very frustrating when a spade rebounds when I'm trying to plant shrubs.

 

@Sheal ,..thats a beautiful job,.. and easy on the eye,..in fact its an attractive fence,..you will feel more secure now in particular when the herd of cattle pass,..not forgetting the local cars not being able to pull in to your drive now ,..love your well fitted post box.

 

That is a lovely fence. I can't believe you got all of that done in so short a time!

 

It does look like a mixture of sand and loam where you've added the fence, really interesting texture to it! And yet the areas where you've excavated the stones from look like really fertile clay/loam. It'll be interesting to see if your hungrier plants need much feeding in time, if at all.

Nick

 

Thank you all for your compliments.

It's a little narrow but it works well. I even thought of our postman when it was put up. He comes from the left, so mounting it on the left side meant he could just open his van door and walk to it, if it had been on the right side he would have to walk round his open van door.

The fence took two weeks to erect Lori.

 

Hmmm, I think you'd find the soil less interesting if you had to work with it Nick. It looks a little like clay when it's damp but when it's dry it's dust.

When I planted the young shrubs (not yet posted here) I dug in compost and blood, fish and bone which has given them a good start and so far looking healthy. I will continue to feed them once or twice a year, at least until they mature.