Britannia Ovens (esp Range cookers) your experience

[Ain't Nobody Here]

We decided a while ago that our front garden was just too full of massive, old overgrown plants. The flowerbeds were choked with weeds as I got no help with weeding and had basically given up.

 

I left this morning for work leaving this:

 

 

I returned to this:

 

 

Although I was expecting it, I'm a bit shell-shocked and don't quite know where to start . I have a good friend who is itching to take it on as a project which is great but I'm wondering if I've made the right decision .

Edited July 25, 2012 by Guest

[Deb Dav]

There must be a lot more natural light coming through your front window.

[Bramble]

Blimey, your chickens must have been REALLY hungry!?

[Chucky Mama]

Wow From the photos it looks lovely both ways to me It must be nice having more light in that window though. Does it mean that people can beak in more from the pavement though?

[sjp]

Personally I’d have gone farther and removed the tree in the middle to

But yes I think you’ve made the right decision but I like to change my front garden planting scheme every year.I like the old municipal planting schemes

[Olly]

i think you've done absolutely the right thing - looking at the 'before' picture, it would have taken a lot of work over a long period of time to return those shrubs to the right size, shape and spacing - much better to take them all out and you have a nearly blank canvas to work on. I find it very hard to be that ruthless, but it's much the best thing to do.

 

What is your friend suggesting - I'd let her come up with a plan! It's very exciting, although I love gardening I would really enjoy having someone else's ideas on a plot like that, and all the really hard work has been done so now you can have fun replanting it.

[Egluntyne]

I like the minimalist look. Nowhere for burglars to hide.

[Eggasperated]

No!! Put it back the way it was :lol:

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Don't say that . Every time I come home my heart sinks at the amount of work I've made for myself . I can't get used to seeing people and cars going past all the time either and seeing the cars which park in front of our house all the time. Every time someone walks past you can see them looking at the garden - probably wondering what the heck I was thinking .

 

My friend is coming round to have a look soon - she's pretty knowledgeable about plants and has loads of books which is great.

 

I can't decide what to do about the lawn - it's pretty awful . Put a new one in? Lose it altogether? Have paving stones or a path of some sort meandering round the area?

 

This is my "blank canvas" ...

 

[Olly]

I'd dig that lawn up to be honest - I bet it's a real pain lugging the lawnmower round to the front of the house just to cut that, isn't it? Lawns are for animals, children, chickens and so on, I don't see the point in the front garden if it's not used (although I do have a front lawn myself, I am planning to get rid of it for just the reasons above!)

 

I'd have some slabs - not in a block, as a sort of path, so you can get to the bits you need to tend to, or maybe some gravel. What do you want - a cottage garden, or something dramatic, do you want colour or scent or both? Do you want to screen the house from the road again, or do you prefer the open look? Once you've got an idea of the overall look that you want, the rest will follow.

[Christian]

I agree, a gravel garden doesn't have to be dull. Large, deep begs with gravel pathways look great. Put in some box, as they are green all year round and add winter interest.

[chickencam]

We don't have a front lawn, we have a path and mixed planting, very English country garden like.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That's what I've been imagining - a gravel path meandering about and lots of plants. It would need to be a Scottish country garden, though .

 

OH said (without prompting) that we really need to do it properly rather than just chuck loads of plants in, so I think that means I have carte blanche to get help in .

[craftyhunnypie]

You lot would hate my garden - it is totally full of holly trees, lilac, large evergreens & Laurel trees. There is also a very big horse chestnut over hanging our back. We have what we call ' the woods' at the side of our house. We adore sheds too & hubby has taken over with his tractor, trailers & cherry picker. Our house is stuffed too & very homely. We just do not like the minamalistic at all - it's cold & bare seeming. Stuffed & overgrown..yay!

Saying that we are cutting down a lot of our trees at weekend to a managable height. I won't like it - having the house on show.

 

Emma.x

[chickencam]

My garden is pretty stuffed too, and the edible things the better. I have fruit trees and bushes amongst shrubs and flowers at the back and veg. plants amongst the flowers at the front. I have a couple of sprout plants that look handsome and should give us a meal in the winter when the weather is bad and we don't fancy a treck to the allotment.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

You lot would hate my garden

 

I wouldn't . It sounds lovely . My front garden is pretty small and being that overgrown, it just looked very out of place compared to everyone else's.

 

I have to say I am missing the privacy .

[craftyhunnypie]

Put it this way..we are a toss between The Clampits & Steptoe!

 

Emma.x

[Eggasperated]

In my experience clearing a garden area and starting again is usually rewarding in the end, especially as you've got your friend to help. And of course it's amazing how fast things grow, this time next year it will probably look as if it's always been there.

[The Dogmother]

I'd avoid gravel unless you want it turning into a cat litter tray as happened to my neighbours.

[Lesley]

I'd avoid gravel unless you want it turning into a cat litter tray.

 

Just what I came to say!! You'd be OK with larger granite chippings though.

[The Dogmother]

Or big, round pebbles like I have in mine.

[chickencam]

we have pebbles around our pond because of cats and chickens, the chooks can welly them some distance though

[patsylabrador]

You've inspired me. My front garden is ugly, a patch of concrete for the vehicles with a border full of old stale shrubs. I'm going to dig them all up, enrich the ground which is horrible and as it is a sunny spot plant lots of beautiful flowery cottage type plants.

I did have a nice Hebe out there once but one of the boys used it as a marker to know when to stop his car

It is a bit like 'Butterflies' out there.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm having great fun planning my "new" garden . It's almost as exciting as when I was planning my WIR (I'm having sleepless nights too ).

 

I've made a sketch using Google Sketchup for a curvy path. I've also been to a local, family-run garden centre and got some help from one of the owners (a lovely woman who is often on Beechgrove Garden apparently ) and got loads of plants, mostly half price in a sale . I've picked a colour scheme of purple, blue, pink & white which made choosing plants much easier.

 

Spent a fortune but saved a fortune too (that's what I'm telling OH!)

 

Gardener coming Thursday to quote for taking away the lawn and some of the old soil, putting in new top soil and building a gravel path.

 

I'm also drawing up a plan of which plants will go where (I'm a complete novice so Google is my guide ).

[Valkyrie]

Put it this way..we are a toss between The Clampits & Steptoe!

 

Emma.x

 

Oh good - it's not just me then.