Garden

When we first moved into our home two and half years ago we knew that the garden would be a long term project.

It’s quite a large space which we feel very grateful for, especially as our previous garden was only quite small. Having said that, we really enjoyed the space we had and created an area that worked well for our wee family.

We learnt from that venture that things can spiral pretty quickly and there can be a lot of hidden costs in a garden project. 

With the advent of the first lockdown last March, like most people we were outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and in our wisdom came up with the idea of creating a small seating area outside the girls’ playhouse. It's a lovely place to catch the sun in the mornings, and the thought of sitting with a coffee soaking up the rays while the girls could play was so tempting.

We did it ourselves; very basic but effective. Colin dug out an area, added weed sheeting from Amazon and then limestone pebbles which were £70 per tonne from Quarrystore. They delivered directly to the house, which was great, and then we did the rest. I added a garden mirror on the fence and scattered some pretty pots around. Job done.

A year on it still looks great and we get a lot of use out of the space as the sun shines all morning on that corner of the garden.

Sunny evenings bore seeds of change for our plans!

As the phrase goes, from tiny acorns grow big oak trees - this holds true for our garden plans! We had bigger ideas with the heady success of the play area. 

Over lockdown we found that the most sheltered part of the garden was at the back of the house - protected from the wind and a great sun trap!

It’s the smallest part of our outdoor space. There’s a house immediately behind and we originally thought we wouldn't really use it much, never mind create anything from it. I've always felt reassured by other dwellings nearby as it makes me feel secure. Having lived in a sheltered housing project (my mum managed over 70 of the ‘homes’ and so we lived on site) and progressing to a beautiful town pad (albeit on a busy road). Then there was our first wee nest as a couple which was in a small cul-de-sac with lots of neighbours close by.

We started to plan and create a veg patch and potting shed. We ordered a pre-made shed but then a friend of ours advised us to cancel and he would help us create our own.

We got a lot more for our money, plus a unique design that suited us perfectly. Although (sadly) I didn’t make a blueprint plan or take detailed measurements as a lot was designed as we went along. We were lucky to have great guidance and help at hand!

The vegetable / flower boxes each measure 8 x 3 ft.

Again, Colin added a layer of weed sheeting and this time 40mm Scottish pebble from Quarrystore which I really recommend, I just love the colour.

To keep everything looking neat we had the area nicely edged with granite cobble from Gibson Paving.

We welcomed a few feathered friends to our family at the beginning of lockdown and we decided to move their coop beside the potting shed. I loved the whole area with the veg, flowers and my ladies who brought us all a lot of joy and fun. And eggs - a lot of eggs! 

This part of the garden quickly turned into our favourite spot, bringing chairs out to enjoy the sunny evenings. The back door was close by; super handy to go directly in and out of the kitchen and we brought the BBQ out there too. It was a real country idyll for us.

All of a sudden our original ideas of how we would transform the garden changed.

We'd toyed with the idea of a sunken area to the side of the house to shelter from the wind, but it now seemed totally unnecessary. I think that’s why its important to live in a space first to see how you use it.

Playscapes turn into something even better

The main thing we hoped to do in 2020 was create a space for the girls to play. We tried to order a climbing frame in April but were told it would be October before we could get one, so we decided to wait and instead create a leveled area when we had time.

Fast forward to January 2021, we booked the swing set for delivery at the end of March and finally got the wheels in motion to create a space for it.

We also decided that the next part of the project would be to explore options to extend the area at the back of the house, with a proper patio and dedicated BBQ area. I even suggested adding a pergola.

When I was talking to the builder he had other suggestions to add to the mix as I'd been looking at a garden office. I was thinking about using it in a work capacity, but he felt it would be good to create a space that could do it all; a place for work and for pleasure all year round - bring it on! A pergola would look beautiful but wouldn't function all that well in the often unpredictable weather of Northern Ireland. We'd be lucky to use it 8 weeks of the year! 

The digger arrived mid-March to dig out the base for the play area and while Colin had it he decided to just make a start on the patio himself - literally. He thoroughly enjoyed using the digger. Boys and their toys, of course, but our garden room was really taking shape…

We planned to have wooden railway sleepers boxing in the climbing frame. Thanks to great advice from CRD Contracts, the sleepers were set vertically and cut. This created a feature area as well as a practical function to level out the space. I must say, having a contractor working out cost effective methods to do things, (and whose opinion you trust) is invaluable.

We decided to add artificial grass to the play area, I was skeptical at first but I am delighted with how it has turned out, the colour is perfect and it feels beautiful to walk on. We went for the 35mm artificial grass from The Wooden Floor Company at the Boucher Road Belfast. Colin laid it with a little help from my brother-in-law for some heavy lifting .

The next step was hedging for the front garden. This has been on the agenda since we first moved in but I have been so indecisive about it! James Harvey was recommended by a friend and he came out to look at the space and gave some great suggestions both for now and longer term.

In the end we settled on privet around the perimeter. Great for bug life and pretty to look at, as well as being practical. Colin decided to use the wood from the old swing set to create a new chicken pen in the front garden. It removes the need to move the coop and is large enough for them to roam around without being let out everyday, plus it protects my plants too!

To link the play area to the patio and garden room we laid a path which was created from decking with a box hedge on the outside to break things up and add interest. Composite decking is another great option but quite pricey, so due to the extent of the project we decided to stick with wood and treat it well.

It was coated with a natural oak Ronseal stain (ad- was part of a collaboration) that offers 10 year protection for exterior. I love the look of natural wood so I didn’t want to paint it, especially not in the early years.

At the bottom of the path we installed a large vintage street lamp. It was originally my Granddad's; he got it when he was working on the roads when Belfast town was changing to Belfast City a long time ago. My dad had it restored for us as a house warming gift and we have been waiting for the perfect space for it. The lamp now lights up the patio and play area beautifully. Not only do I love the look of it, it’s pretty special to us too with the story behind it. 

We had the side garden leveled and reseeded again due to the concrete lorry coming around the side of the house - it completely tore up the grass (like I said at the beginning; it’s impossible to forecast every detail of a project…this is one we definitely hadn’t predicted).

On to the garden room! It's 6 x 4m with an aluminium frame, heritage style windows, clad in red cedar wood with a rubber roof. The design, build and prep of the patio area was all completed by CRD Contracts.

We ran electric from the house and added spot lights to the front of the building too.

I love the look of floor to ceiling glass but it would have limited the wall space inside and as I wanted to have a sofa, office furniture, a drinks cabinet and space for a projector it made sense to add some wall space to the front. The garden room looks onto the kitchen window so this was the most practical solution.

The interior walls are plaster board and are ready-to-paint as opposed to wood cladding. I wanted to create a clean finish and we will probably add some simple paneling at some stage. The interior details will be a post for another day.

I chose Bann cobble from Gibson Paving for the patio. It’s yet to be laid but I chose this style to create a fresh but also 'modern country' look as a nod to our surroundings. If we had designed and built our house ourselves we wouldn’t have gone with the traditional black and white exterior style it sports at the moment. With that in mind I like to ensure anything new reflects the overall look of the house as it is currently, while indulging in the style we really love. It's a compromise and I like to think it makes our home quite individual!

I can’t wait to see this part complete.

To freshen up the potting shed from last year we painted the exterior with Ronseal shed paint in elder flower. I really, REALLY love the colour, so much so that I used it on the inside too. It’s bright yet has warmth to it; the perfect backdrop for greenery and the varying seasonal pops of colour from the flowers.

This year Colin used the left over wood and fence posts to create a bench inside the potting shed to organise pots, compost etc. and we will add some shelves at some point too. It's great to be married to someone who's so handy! I'd like it to look neat - it’s still a little rough and ready but it's serving a great purpose. However rudimentary, I have really appreciated this space, especially after busy days. Escaping out to this area and spending time pottering is a real tonic.

So far the garden area has exceeded our expectations. I hope I don’t sound silly when I say this but it’s more than I could ever have dreamt of when buying the house. Our wholehearted involvement has been so surprising, becoming a hobby that we have both really enjoyed.

I'll see you by the BBQ with a glass of wine! 

Anna