Enjoying the garden...

strumjoughlamps

I’m not a big garden lover although for a city semi detached we have a sizeable ish one approx 85 x 25ft that is part grass mainly for kids play and family croquet, quoits, bowls etc.. then chicken enclosure and lots of fruit/veg (blackberries, rhubarb, strawbs, toms, garlic, corn, carrots, broccoli and various herbs... 

now a few years ago I did a pond, only a small one 1200 odd litres and today was maintenance day and it made me realise how much I love this ickle pond, I love tending to it I love sitting by it relaxing and enjoying it.. 

are te you a garden person?

sev112

Yes, the requirement  to spread nasty chemicals over the ant and weed populations somehow fulfils some basic need I think.

Axe_meister

I love working on my garden, however I hate having to cut back numerous neighbours plants that invade my garden because they can't be bothered.
Brambles/Whisteria/Ivy. 

JezWynd

The sound of running water is very relaxing. I looked after my mum's pond after she died. Initially it was a bit of a chore but I soon came to really enjoy the little bits of maintenance, caring for fish and plants etc. I never knew that goldfish had personalities. There was one mad youngster who would do circuits of the pond, leaping out of the water at the same point each circuit. S/he would also jump and try to land on the lilypads and rest there briefly. Energetic little character.

Emp_Fab

I love the garden, but, being surrounded on three sides by a combination of 10ft privet hedge and a15ft high bramble / triffid combination means I'm constantly attacking it with a petrol brushcutter and giant hedge trimmers to keep it all at bay.  I wish there was some kind of chemical that wouldn't kill the plants but just stop the bastard things from growing.  At least give me time to refuel the brushcutter before I have to start again FFS !

boogieman

We’ve got more keen on gardening since we both retired, although Bride of Boogie was always fairly green fingered. I’m at the stage where I’m gradually learning how not to kill things, can actually grow flowers and veg from seeds and cuttings and have a vague idea where to plant them out so they’ll be happy.

The garden is pretty big, about 100 x 35, which is ok at the moment but is probably going to get too much for us as we get older. About a third is lawn, the rest a mix of patio, flower beds, veg beds, greenhouse, couple of sheds and a three tier pond which has an annoyingly inconsistent leak that’s proving hard to track down. The pond is my favourite bit though, the sound of running water is really calming. I built a little patio area next to it last year and we’ve got a swing seat there, lovely in the evenings. There’s also newts in there which are fascinating little things. 

strtdv

I'm about 1/3 of the way through a major overhaul of our back garden. Last year I took out our back lawn (it had just been turf rolled out over clay and builders rubble so obviously never took), dug it down to about 10 inches, put in drainage and topsoil and re-seeded it. I also added a large raised bed.

This year I've taken out all the overgrown laurel trees and other overgrown stuff, tidied up a paved area at the top of the garden, and added a 6' fence to both sides to replace a broken 2' D rail fence that was there. The garden is 6-8' wider after taking out all the overgrown trees/hedging. I've left some nice mature beech and birch trees which now have space to grow properly.

I'm about to embark on replacing about 50 square metres of decking (fortunately the joists are largely OK). I'll also be adding a couple of low retaining walls and adding a small paved area for a grill to go next to the decking.
That will take me into September I reckon by the time I redo the stair stringers and railings round the sides.

I got a quote for the work from a landscaper and he estimated £15-20k (I'd already done the lawn at this point myself).
I reckon the total cost will be under £5k doing all the work myself.

After all that I'll actually be able to enjoy the garden

ESBlonde

Love a bit of gardening me. Took on an allotment 4 years ago and also grow fruit n' veg. That will keep me busy when I get to retire.
I maintain a nice front garden and modest back garden although a 22ft x 10ft shed across the back edge did away with the need for a fence and provides room for man hobbies and storage.

The pond looks lovely and is a great attraction to insects and wildlife, all of which is a positive.

Phil_aka_Pip

Hate it. Trubble is I've got a MASSIVE garden and now the grass grows as high as my desk

Guitar_Slinger

I'd think about moving your desk indoors.

TTBZ

Can't stand it. I like a tidy garden but can't think of anything worse than spending hours at the weekend, in the evenings sorting it out. As such the only maintenance our garden needs can either be solved with the mower or high strength weedkiler.

axisus

I hate gardening, but I love gardens, especially with ponds/running water etc. 

My parents had some nice neighbours, and their back garden was amazing. It was very long and they had this small 'river' that constantly ran down the garden through rocks, all sorts of dense plants and foliage. For a kid it would have been amazing.

They sold the house and moved away. The next people ripped it all out and just put little stones down instead of grass. It was a crime ....

Nitefly

Not a blade of grass here at Castle Nitefly, we had it all ripped up and put decorative stones down.  There is decking at the rear, and a water feature, and lots of things in pots.

Our Maud is in charge of matters horticultural; her word is law.  She has the garden, the decking and the greenhouse; I get the shed.

axisus

Nitefly said:

Our Maud is in charge of matters horticultural; her word is law.  She has the garden, the decking and the greenhouse; I get the shed.

Win for you then.

RandallFlagg

I love spending time in my little piece of England, we're on an estate but back onto some land retained by local water company that will never be built on so we can sit out back and be overlooked by no-one and listen to the birds and rustling leaves on the trees.

When the weather is nice and we open the French doors, it's like we have another room in the house

This is few years ago when we remodelled and replanted, it looks a bit more established now.