Garden

Are you also fans of pictures in "then and now" style? Here you will find a good set of photos documenting the state of our plot when we bought it and after we made a paradise garden there. Perhaps, they might also encourage you to do something daring with your garden, too.

At the beginning of 2005 we decided to make exactly what we offer you: a garden like a paradise, with medium-grown or mature trees and shrubs. It is not that we want everything right away as the modern style dictates; we just wanted to make something from nothing, and to prove that it IS possible. To make something charming, elegant but spectacular: a breathtaking Heaven on Earth. Do you think it is not possible within one year? Well, keep reading, you shall find out.

This is what it looked like at the beginning of 2003. A plain plot, no trees, no shrubs, just the worst weed, spreading willows and damp places. By the way, nobody wanted that plot. We found it on the Internet, went to see it and had to have it. Irrespective of all the negatives, this place had its charm ...

So the maneuvers began. First of all we needed to get rid of the top bit with weed and sward, pile it up and let it rot. The soil was not homogenous, the excavator often sank in damp places, which enabled us to tell the quality of subsoil, and hence what we could or could not grow there.

Drainage required. We strongly suggest to check your new plot well in terms of water so you do not have to worry about excess water at the roots of your newly planted trees or shrubs that would soon die. Most of them don't like it at all.

The type of the garden was obvious from the very beginning - mostly evergreen with a touch of Mediterranean sun. So a gazebo was a must. We built a bottom for something which, after the walls were erected, our friends started to call different names: Roman spa, Mexican hacienda, French gazebo, Spanish ... whatever. You will see later. If only it did not rain so much that year.

It is good to have a water feature in the garden (apart from the drainage), so a small pond for swimming was obvious. It is much nicer and much cheaper than a standard swimming pool made of concrete and tiles. It only needs a hole in the ground, walls strengthened up with clay, foil with inner lining and a filtration unit. And of course a big stone to dive from!

Everyone, who could and wanted, helped. And you can tell by their happy faces that we had a lot of fun and enjoyed it (even when it rained). Just one of them kept a face of a sweated slave ? But he helped a lot, we must admit!

In the next step we began to plant trees and shrubs in places far away from the builders whose best fun seemed to be to spray our evergreens with mortar and lime-wash. The potted plants must have been too heavy for them to move them 1-2 meters aside, you know how it goes ...

It is always good to have a well thought-out plan of what will be planted where, so that you can use heavy machinery (e.g. for planting big trees) before you lay electricity cables, drainage, and water hoses. It sounds logical but we, too, decided too late about something which could not be done as the pathways had already been graveled.

We chose sandstone for the pathways. It has warm shades of orange, yellow, and grey. The stones are not as flat as granite, and it requires a skillful craftsman laying them down in concrete bed but they are definitely worth it, what do you think?

All plants are in their places already. That is the time for the best job: laying down the black fleece to keep the ground from weed, and mulching it with bark. Suddenly the whole garden lights up with every plant as a specimen in its own environment.

Bark mulch is very practical and pretty but the Mediterranean touch needs something else - try sand. The lightest shade possible (not the yellow building sand) to bring the seacoast feeling. If you plan to have some exotic plants outside during summer, the sand is a great decoration. We recommend using black fleece underneath to keep the weed back, and the sand remains clean, not muddy even when it rains.

The gazebo is finished now, too. It is not big but very attractive. Its main task is to protect the garden from the north with its 9-meter long wall. This will help create a microclimate enabling the more tender plants survive our winter.

But you don't always need to build a shed or a gazebo for this reason - just try a board. DIY stores have a good selection of them to choose from. Paint them with any colour you wish to achieve the effect you want. It is cheap and easy.

Don't forget the most important bit - at any stage of building your Heaven on Earth find some time to stop and relax. To enjoy the work that has been done and to have a deserved break. Just throw the spade away for a while and go somewhere nice to enjoy the beauty of nature and to soak in new energy. Or lie down on the grass and look at the sky, isn't the blue heavenly?

We recon such garden (without building a gazebo) would take 2-3 weeks. It took us the whole spring and summer to put it together, mainly due to the building company that let us down on many occasions, and partly the rainy weather. Nevertheless, we managed to plant everything just in time so we could enjoy the autumn colour changing of the leaves.

When the winter came, it felt like a fairy-tale. Unfortunately, this romance did not take long ...

What took too long on the other hand, were snowing, frost and cold temperatures. The snow kept falling on the evergreen trees and shrubs, bending their branches well to the ground. Luckily, they were limp enough not to break. But many other tall trees, even deciduous, broke in that horrible winter of 2005/2006 in our country.

After every winter the spring comes. And the longer winter, the more we are looking forward to the coming spring. These pictures close one circle and if you want to see what the garden looks like now, just come and see us. We will be pleased to show you everything. See you soon!