Then and Now, how your garden has developed

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Dave Brown
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Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by Dave Brown »

Not much to say about my garden back then, apart for the pics were taken by the Estate Agent in late 1993 before the property was put up for sale. The second pics were taken by me 30 years later in July 2013.

The positions are not quite the same and camera technology have changed a lot, but in general lenses are winder angle .

Out front
2013-06-30 11-39-56 FG Panorama south.jpg
view out back
2013-07-11 BG Panorama South.jpg
View of back
2013-07-19 12-06-04 30 years Looking North.jpg
Anyone else got then and now shots :?:
Best regards
Dave
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_________________________________________________
Roll on summer.....
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk
greendragon

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by greendragon »

Image

Image

Image

The before pictures were taken in February 2012, the last picture was October 2012. I had to dig out a lot of overgrown boring shrubs before I even took the first picture and the previous owner used the garden to dump all kinds of rubbish which I had to carry through the house to the skip because there is no rear access to the garden. All the paving stones you can see were dug up from under the garden. I had to dig out the patio slabs and the Victorian brick paving which was underneath then lug all that through the house as well, filled 2 skips! The house is 150 years old. Oh yea I had to carry 2 tonnes of topsoil through the house to re-raise the soil level from where the patio and Victorian paving was. All while working 11:30am to 8pm 5 days a week.

Palms and ferns have put on good growth since, neighbours think I'm mad probably.

6x trachycarpus fortunei, 3 chamerops and an arbutus tree in a garden of this size lol, also have a patio area with some pots of Callistemon and Lavenders. There is also an Olive tree which has grown ridiculously fast that was only planted last year and is not in the picture, bought from Tesco for £20.

The ensete you can see is still alive and was transported to my mother's conservatory in the month following the picture lol. I have a Musa Basjoo in the top right corner which I'm hoping will grow over the height of the back wall in the coming season.

To top it all I was tailed and stopped by Police while transporting one of the bamboo plants in the passenger car seat because they assumed it was cannabis and wanted a closer look LOL.
kata

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by kata »

Nice gardens!

:mrgreen:
RogerBacardy

part 1

Post by RogerBacardy »

Jan 2008
Jan 2008
This was the garden in Jan 2008. Very nice, but not suitable for a family with young children. That 'step' was very dangerous. Trellis and paving everywhere so the garden was a bit of a maze to navigate through, but no real destination to make the journey worthwhile. Also there was no lawn, which for me was essential.


So I wanted to lose the 20 or so conifers that flanked either side of the garden, take up the concrete, paving bricks, raised sleeper beds and trellis work in the higher level, then put a round lawn in. The felled conifers made the garden like some sort of logging plant, so much wood and so many branches. Took me weeks to saw and shred it all to be able to dispose of, bit by bit. Although, luckily, this guy saw the logs piled up out the front and took them for his burner. :)
taking up the paving bricks
taking up the paving bricks
Virtually everything being taken out was recycled. I wanted to get a lawn in before my daughter's birthday, and just managed it. :)

I scribed a 8m diameter lawn, but in order to get a level circle paved a circle of bricks first, using a lot of the hardcore and bricks I had taken up. Then I was able to get the circle level and lay the turf
losing the steep step
losing the steep step
The next job was to make the step safe. I had fallen down it myself as it didn't extend all the way across. So I put sleepers there instead. Then it became a lot safer to navigate. Also it was a good way to recycle some of the 32 sleepers I had acquired (from losing 2 square raised beds) :)
sleepers in
sleepers in

Then I could start some planting, however I lost a 3ft Dicksonia antarctica in one of the harsh winters, but the cordylines are still going.
some exotics planted
some exotics planted
Next I put in a little water feature and painted the masonry a warmer terracotta colour. The slide was from freecycle, as was the pebble pond. Virtually everything was recycled. Very little waste. Old wood was used to make window boxes, sleepers made into seats, bricks reused, etc...
terracotta
terracotta
Think my biggest expense was the gravel
whole garden
whole garden
Next job was to put in a sandpit. Again recycling the paving bricks
sandpit
sandpit
At this point, the garden was looking like a good compromise. Child-friendly, and space for exotics in the corners and borders. A circular lawn give nice crescent shapes for planting. Instead of just a straight thin border. However, being so poor at the time all the plants were small and the garden had no height, which I really wanted to get the jungle clearing effect I was after. I wanted to be surrounded by towering plants on a nice clear patch of lawn. Sort of like a Roman amphitheatre. Back then, all I could see was ugly fence.
child-friendly
child-friendly

The next job was to build a multi purpose frame, using scaffold poles I bought locally off gumtree. For ages I wanted to build a place for my kids to swing and climb, but could also be used for doing exercise on, like the outdoor gym at Primrose Hill. I also wanted it to be able to take hammock seats and had been designing it for ages, trying to work out how to arrange it without it dominating the garden too much. Here's a pic of where I decided to place it.
swing frame
swing frame

part 2 to come
Last edited by RogerBacardy on Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
RogerBacardy

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by RogerBacardy »

Then we had that winter, but the backbone of the garden was in place so I was able to tweak the planting
winter
winter
By 2011 I was quite happy with how it was maturing along. Everything was falling into place (although I did lose that butia)
Oct 2011
Oct 2011

The swing / exercise frame really blended in with some hammerite dark green paint, whilst the passionflower was covering the fence nicely.
swing frame painted
swing frame painted
By 2013 I had settled on some hardier plants and knew all the microclimates in my garden really well. So I replaced the dead butia with this phormium. An effective way to hide the ugly end of the sleeper bench whilst providing a nice frame to the entrance to the lawn area. Also, the trachies and cordylines had put on some height, whilst the basjoo had recovered from losing the stem.
phormium
phormium
That sandpit I built was hardly ever used so not sure what to replace it with. Maybe anohter water feature, in the meantime my larger butia is residing there.
left side of garden
left side of garden
I planted lots of verbenas, irises and agapanthus (all acquired locally) around the pond which give the pond a cool, serene vibe. The Trachycarpus was chosen as I knew the trunk wouldn't fatten up too much and tear the rigid pond liner. I also replaced the external pond filter with a cheaper-to-run all in one unit. So there's no pipe work going out of the pond now :) The water lily I got out of a skip. This is a garden done on a budget!
pond 2013
pond 2013
So that's my garden. Looking forward to it maturing some more and the palms getting more height. This winter has been stormy, but mild. I think my plants are raring to go already!
same view as first pic
same view as first pic
callin

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by callin »

Great!
In Romania there is a saying "The man makes the land holy" . Well... in english doesnt sound that good but I think you got the point.
Great transformation, passion and consistency well proven icon_thumleft
Thanks for sharing icon_thumleft
More please :)
icon_sunny icon_cheers icon_sunny
michelea

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by michelea »

Hi all

The first couple of pics are taken in 2007. Hedge was taken out and new fencing. Between 2008 and 2011 (bit of a blur) laid sleepers and slated patio. 2012 purchased an instant border of hardy tropical plants (thought this would work out cheaper than buying individually), also built screen around patio. 2013 was adding more plants :-) and for 2014...maybe a few more plants and a garden sofa (other half has finally relented, hooray) .

Still lots more to do...does it ever end!!!

Michele
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cheshirepalms
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Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by cheshirepalms »

The first March 2012 and the latter is August 2013. I wish I'd taken photos in October 2011 when I moved in and the grass was 2 foot high.
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Last edited by cheshirepalms on Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
cordyman

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by cordyman »

Fantastic pics thus far icon_thumleft icon_thumleft icon_thumleft Thanks for starting the thread Dave those 1980's pics are retro! That whirlygig!!!! :lol: The shelter that front garden must add is incredible, from flat to packed!
cordyman

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by cordyman »

greendragon wrote:[ Image ]


6x trachycarpus fortunei, 3 chamerops and an arbutus tree in a garden of this size lol, also have a patio area with some pots of Callistemon and Lavenders. There is also an Olive tree which has grown ridiculously fast that was only planted last year and is not in the picture, bought from Tesco for £20.L.

A man after my own heart :lol: x6 trachys in a smaller space! Plant now admire in years to come drunken_smilie1 drunken_smilie1 drunken_smilie1 I've got over 9 trachys in my back garden, and its not exactly huge, the day will come when they are huge, and my grin will be :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
cordyman

Re: part 1

Post by cordyman »

RogerBacardy wrote:
1.jpg
This was the garden in Jan 2008. Very nice, but not suitable for a family with young children. That 'step' was very dangerous. Trellis and paving everywhere so the garden was a bit of a maze to navigate through, but no real destination to make the journey worthwhile. Also there was no lawn, which for me was essential.

Roger thats some epic graft over the years and it shows in the finished product icon_salut Borders overflowing in exoticness, love how youve transformed the outbuilding too and made it part of the garden
miketropic

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by miketropic »

new garden countdown in 45 days. I will take loads of pics so I can do a scrap book and add to this thread later
charliepridham

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by charliepridham »

Part of the garden shortly after moving in, the pond was the first thing I built, garden was empty and the daffs just about the biggest thing in it
Image
old pond by charliepridham, on Flickr

Time is the great healer rather than my skills but it certainly looks different these days
Image
old pond now 2012 by charliepridham, on Flickr
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eddie
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Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by eddie »

Great thread, beautiful pictures. I envy you guys, being able to keep rather large gardens (by my standards that is) looking so good. I can't imagine the amount of time and effort it takes to make a big garden look so good.

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Washingtonia Trachycarpus Cordyline? Bamboos Olive tree? Bananas
Kristen

Re: Then and Now, how your garden has developed

Post by Kristen »

Panorama from garage roof of main garden:
AAA_1966-68_Mar2006.jpg
Mar 2006
AAB_2509_13_Aug2008.jpg
Aug 2008 - planted shrubbery on right side of tennis court
AAB_3766_Mar2009.jpg
Mar 2009 - planted herbaceous left side of tennis court
AAB_9329-33_Jun2011.jpg
Jun 2011 - Removed tennis court, and middle tree, planted hedges for "long walk" vista
AAE_6413_Jun2013.jpg
Jun 2013 - Long Walk hedge maturing
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