What a gorgeous weekend! We took the chance to get out and finish off our little outside space. I’m really pleased with how it’s looking now. It’s like having an extra room when the sun shines, and the west-facing aspect means it’s especially nice in the evenings for a post-work drinky.
Here’s some before shots. We did most of the heavy lifting work last year, when we replaced the paving slabs, levelling the uneven ground in the process, removed tons of weeds and and rebuilt the beds with railway sleeper edging. We also painted the walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Mizzle’ and replaced the broken door.
This spring we’ve just been doing the finishing touches and fun stuff. We put up cheap bamboo screening across the ugly fences as a semi-temporary measure, but I quite like the effect it gives of a more enclosed room-like space. We’ve planted up the beds with a variety of things: hebes, Mexican orange blossom, ferns, alliums, cabbage trees and a baby magnolia.
The sunnier corner has lots of freestanding planters for the veggies, which seem to be thriving. We’ve got broad beans, mange tout, tomatoes, squashes, broccoli and strawberries – Josh even has a hop vine.
I’m so proud of how well the veg are doing. We enjoyed the first mini harvest of sprouting broccoli and mange tout with our dinner the other night.
The boring side: storage box for tools etc, attractive waste bin, odd bits of wood to get rid of. This side doesn’t get much sun so we don’t use it much.
We cooked a delicious pizza out on the firepit a couple of weeks ago, and I’m looking forward to hosting a ‘garden-warming’ barbecue soon.
Comments (6)
Jade
June 30th 2013 at 8:53 pm
It looks gorgeous, Katie! Just enough space there to really have a nice garden going.
Samantha Fernley
July 1st 2013 at 12:47 am
Absolutely bloomin lovely. You have got it looking so pretty. Love the creamy coloured planters.
Jess
July 1st 2013 at 11:17 am
Ah such a lovely space – I’m jealous! If the boyfriend gets a job in London this year I’d really like our place to have a garden, or at least a little yard for some pot plants and BBQing.
Lynne
July 12th 2013 at 9:10 pm
Looks great! I want to pave over all the beds in my garden and just have pots – much easier to look after!
April
July 15th 2013 at 6:57 am
This looks so nice! You did a great job of fixing the place up. I’ve just started my own little container veg garden this year, so I’m loving seeing everyone else’s gardens too! :) Have a lovely week!
Natalie
August 9th 2013 at 10:55 am
Your garden is so gorgeous. We have a really big garden where we’re currently living and I’ve done less gardening here than in any other outdoor space we’ve ever had. My veg patch is full of Dandelions (which at least the local Bees are loving) and my beds haven’t got much colour going on. It’s shameful really but it’s just a bit too overwhelming for my limited skills. Then I look at your lovely space and feel full of envy. You’ve made it beautiful.