The front garden was one of the first bits to be done - Pete had to double-dig Breton style, using a pneumatic road drill to break up the concrete/bitumen covering and then to break up the underlayer of compacted stone. Yvon, our farmer neigbour moved the very large stones into place for us, using his Manitou and we then completed the surrounds in smaller stone. Then we barrowed 10 cubic metres of soil into the parterres.
The paths are of crushed slate 'quarry bottoms' to replace the gravel we used originally. The slate picks up the colours and materials of the house, as well as toning beautifully with the predominantly blue of the flowers planted here.
This photo shows the small area behind the house. This was a mire, full of inidentified rubbish and muck, and had grown a lush crop of nettles by the time we got round to doing something with it. This area faces north west and catches the evening sun - a great place to relax and finish a bottle of wine in the evening.....
The courtyard is still being built. This is the site of an old piggery/chicken shack, which had a broken concrete base. The crushed slate hides this beautifully, and the metal arches, made with reinforcing rod will soon be covered with roses, wisteria, clematis, passion flower and jasmine. We are planning a pair of ponds made from old baths, surrounded by stone walls & fed by a trickle of water that we have piped in from the local 'source' or spring.
This corner is where the ditch from the source is culverted across the rest of the property. however, the ditch is now running dry most years, and the damp loving plants I have put in may not appreciate getting dry roots over the summer.
This photo shows the filter bed, which was originally grassed-over. The grass suffers in summer, so I have killed it off and am covering it in gravel. I will be planting things that revel in the heat & dry, such as thrift, euphorbia, verbena & grasses. The area to the left of the filter bed has receently been rotovated & seeded.
There is lots to do yet, but the garden is starting to fill out.
