We moved into this house in September 2004. The garden needed some work but unfortunately so did the house. Not having the finances or stamina to tackle both at once, we waited until the winter of 2007/2008 to begin on the outside.
The work took quite a few weeks as we stripped the site back to basics and put in a fair amount of hard landscaping. The first plants went in the ground in June 2008 - some salvaged from the existing beds, a few left over from my Chelsea garden three years earlier, and some additional structural and stock plants I somehow justified purchasing.
Two years on and the garden has really begun to fill out, but there's still some way to go. Our yew hedges are knee high rather than tall or stately, there are a few gaps, despite many hours spent propagating favourite plants, and my fruit trees are basically a bunch of sticks.
On a brighter note, there's a sunken trampoline, sandpit and playhouse - all of which the children love - and the vegetable garden is giving us fresh produce for the third year in a row. Plus, there's always the excitement of knowing it will look better next year.
