In The Beginning...

2004 saw a few changes in our lives. Karen and I both started new jobs within a month of each other, both in the same city some 50 miles from home. At this time we decided that we should start to look for a new home nearer to our work. One of the key requirements was that our new home should have a large garden. Karen is a keen gardener and I am a keen cook. The aim was to have a leisure space and somewhere to grow some of our own food.
Karen took on the job of searching for our new home and soon discovered that estate agents have an interesting idea of a large garden. The persistence paid off and Karen eventually found the house which has been our home since July 2005.

There is nothing special about the house in which we live. It is a normal semi-detached house built around the 1920's. The exception is the garden which is large for a house of this type, especially when compared to modern developments. The front garden is pretty normal but the rear garden is 75m x 10m. It was this that appealed to both of us.

The Front Garden
As already noted, this is normal for the house. Originally this had a raised border, a lawn and a privet hedge to the front. Early on we decided that we would like to concentrate our efforts on the rear garden. With this in mind we removed the lawn and tidied up the border to make the front garden reasonably maintenance free.

Don't get me wrong, we have not abandoned this area. We have simply created a space which is still living but takes less work to keep in good order.


The Rear Garden
With a garden this large we knew that we had our work cut out for us. The original garden was predominately laid to grass. The space was divided into two areas by a rowan tree, holly bush and a rhododendron. The area closest to the house had a few borders and a seating area. The rear part of the garden (which occupied two thirds of the space) was grassed with a few fruit trees.

The five fruit trees were set out down the right hand of the garden. They were of variable age and quality. Four of the trees had seen a lot of pruning over the years. The trees were no longer productive. One of the trees (an apple) we still in good order and produced a wonderful tasting apple.

The entire rear garden was uneven and rain collected in some sections of the garden. In fact this could be an inch or more deep in places. There followed many debates on how we could solve this problem. You will find out about these as our story progresses.

Our Aims
With such a large blank canvas to paint upon we need to set out or long term aims:

• Produce as much of our own fruit and vegetables as possible;
• Provide a space to entertain;
• Be a relaxing place to rest.

As with all gardens, our designs are fluid and are bound to change as we progress.
And Finally...
This blog is the story of how we got to here and where we are going in the future. I expect there to be a brief flurry of posts whilst we bring you up to date but that this will settle down as this becomes more of a diary.
Our experience so far shows that you will be party to our mistakes and our triumphs. We hope that you will follow our journey and share in our experiences.
Mark