My Garden Progress

Hi Kevin,

I'm sure it must be a bonus that age doesn't mean anything to you, but I can't even begin to understand that you feel every age simultaneously. I would imagine it would be very difficult to explain too.

Thank you for asking about my arm. My lower arm is all but healed but there's no change in my upper arm. I think I'll have to seek out further medical help with this as physiotherapy doesn't seem to be helping much.

 

Hello @Sheal

To be honest, it is easy to explain, not so easy to understand

Sorry to hear you are still having issues with your arm, at least there is some improvement, hopefully it will continue to get better.

Take care.

Kevin

 

Thanks Kevin. My arm needs to improve as soon as possible so I can get back to proper gardening. I'm paying someone to strim and mow the garden at the moment, a bill I'd rather not have. Living rurally, nature tends to reclaim the garden very quickly.

 

Hello all

I hope you are well.

Well, I just received the Quote from Acer Landscapes for re-doing the Patio, Paving and Setts.

Their Quote is £2676 inc. VAT which also includes laying the Kandla Grey Setts around the Front Lawn.

The Quote also includes lifting and re-laying the Setts in the Back Garden too since they will no longer have the correct slope when the Patio is re-laid with the proper Fall, something I had not considered.

They are also going to re-lay the Path with the correct fall since it currently gets to the bottom and then there is a half slab at a steeper angle than the rest, this will be corrected so the Path is one smooth slope.

They have asked me to source the Slabs and the Setts so I can be sure I get the correct ones since they do not have an Account with RF Landscapes where the original materials were sourced, I am fine with this.

I need to ring them tomorrow to Book the Work and to confirm how many Slabs I need to Order, I think, once I discount all of the cut slabs there are 24 Full Slabs so I think I need to Order 11 but may Order slightly more to be sure, also in case some do not want to come up cleanly.

Also, the lawn edge in the Front Garden is approximately 10.2 Linear Meters so I will Order 70 Setts which should be plenty with some spare.

Yes, it is expensive, and in hindsight I should have got this company out in the first place, however, hindsight is a wonderful thing

I am really looking forward to getting this done now, this company is so much more professional than the previous ones

Thanks

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin,

Let's hope they do a good job. I drew in breath when I saw the cost, landscapers are very expensive.

I can understand that you want this sorted out as soon as possible. It's been a long, arduous journey for you. I'll keep my fingers crossed this time.

 

Hello @Sheal

Thanks for the reply.

I agree on the cost, however, considering that they are going to basically lift it all and re-lay it, properly, and also lay the Setts around the Front Lawn, the cost seems quite reasonable.

Besides, I recently received the Cheque on my 55 Birthday for the Pension Policy I did not know about so that will be paying for the work

I am going to ring them this morning to clarify a couple of things and then I will be Booking the work in

Thanks

Kevin

 

Hello all

Well, things just get better, or not

I rang the Landscapers and it turns out that he did not include lifting and re-laying the Setts with the correct levels in the Back Garden in the Quote as he did not think it was necessary even though I agreed to it when he visited on Monday.

So, he is supposed to be revising the Quote to include the re-laying of the Setts.

Why is it so difficult to get this work completed how I want it

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin,

It seems to be one step forward and two back. It's just as well you rang them.

 

Hello all

I hope you are well.

I thought I would post another Photo of my Back Garden as there has been a fair bit of growth since my last Photo on 7 July.

This is the garden as it is now, funnily enough, wet, just as it was in the last Photo:



Everything is growing well and there seems to be colour throughout the season thus far which is good.

I think I am going to have to start shaping the Shrubs soon but I am unsure on whether I should wait since they are only relatively young having been planted in September 2019 so they have only really had a little less than two years of growing season.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin.

Your garden looks lovely now the plants have started to mature.

There is no reason why you shouldn't start to prune. It would be best to check when and how to prune each individual shrub as they have different requirements. We're here to help you out if you need advice of course.

 

Hello all

I hope you are well.

My last Post was in early August and since then my Health basically fell off a cliff, not Covid related but Anxiety, Depression and Stress, all the fun things

Anyway, I am now just about back on my feet, it has taken a while and has not been easy but when is anything easy?

I have not been able to do anything in the Garden since early September and am looking for some advice on where to start.

This is how the garden looks at the moment:



I think the first thing would be to cut down the Perennials and tidy up the Shrubs, correct?

I am going to try to tackle some weeding but in all honesty I do not know how much I am going to be able to do.

Also, in the nearest half of the right hand border there is what looks like a ground cover weed, not moss but small leaved, any suggestions of the easiest way to remove that?

Apologies for the basic questions, the last few months have shaken my confidence, not that it was that good to start with.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Kevin

 

Hello Kevin,
We missed you!

If it was me, I'd make a drawing of the yard on grid paper and "divide" drawing into sections that I could handle one at a time. Whether you work from the house back to the shed or from the shed to the house, you could figure out your grid and do it in small doses. And do NOT put a deadline on when each bit needs to be done. Pick a grid as and when the mood suits.

Gardening is supposed to be a nice pastime, not a stressful undertaking. Oh, and you can try spot spraying those unwanted ground plants with weed killer or whatever else you have in your arsenal if you don't want to have to manually rip them out. They'll drop dead and you can pull them out later. They'll wait for you.

If it was me, I'd clean up the area that is what I first focus on when looking outside. Give yourself a pleasant view and work out from there

 

Welcome back Kevin and sorry to hear you have not been well but happy that you are feeling somewhat better.

I think your garden looks neat and tidy so just take things easy.

 

I'm sorry to hear that you've had a difficult time in recent months but it's good to have you back with us Kevin. We're now heading towards Spring and hopefully that will lift your spirits too.

As Lori has already said, there's no rush to get your garden in order. I realise things like this play on your mind if they are not sorted out, but a little at a time will give you the sense of putting it right without too much pressure on you.

I can't see that weed in your image. Is it possible to take a close up image for us please? You say it's not moss but I'm guessing it's similar, so I wonder if it's liverwort?

 

I tend not to weed until the spring bulbs have started to push through. Then I can see better where the weeds are and I'm not disturbing the planting unnecessarily.

G.