With the longer days and the first real warmth of the year, my Easter holiday at to Gamekeeper’s Cottage was the perfect chance to press on with the garden renovation. Though only a short break, I managed to tick off a number of satisfying jobs, each one bringing the garden a step closer to the vision I have for it.
The biggest change was one I wrote about previously, where I laid a new paved area by the back door using reclaimed slabs, . It’s a modest space but it makes a real difference, creating a proper entrance to the garden and linking up with the future path network. It feels like the garden is beginning to take shape from the ground up – quite literally.
The other job that I’ve already written about is the 2 new planters that sit either side of the back door, which were planted up with Olivia Rose Austin roses from David Austin, underplanted with creeping thyme and Serbian bellflowers. They’re only just in, but already the roses are beginning to form buds and the thyme is starting to trail over the edges. I’m looking forward to seeing them fill out over the coming months; a mix of fragrance, colour and cottage charm right at the threshold.
A new wooden picnic bench also arrived during the visit, and I managed to get it assembled in the sunshine. It’s a simple piece, but one that will make it much easier to pause and take in the garden. There’s something deeply satisfying about sitting down in a spot you’ve been working hard to shape.
I also carried on with turf removal to prepare more of the path layout; a slow but steady process that’s helping to define the structure of the back garden. Every strip lifted now is work I won’t have to tackle later in the year.
The borders needed attention too. I weeded along the back, removing all the stinging nettles under the hedge. The hedge is beginning to settle in, and though it’s still young, I can already imagine it forming a green frame for the whole garden. I also did some mowing and weeding in the orchard/vegetable area around the raspberry canes, and apricot and nectarine trees
Finally, I tackled a practical job that’s been on the list for a while; securing chicken wire along the bottom of the old metal fence that runs beside the road. The local muntjac deer have taken a liking to the young hedge plants, so this should help to deter them without spoiling the rural look of the boundary.
Altogether, it was a short but fruitful visit. One of those rare weeks where everything came together; the weather held most of the time, the plants settled in well, and each job felt like it really moved things forward.
If you’d like to see the results, I’ve put together a video wrap-up of all these jobs. You can watch it here.