Our new seating area

Last year we decided to make the area of grass where we had placed our gazebo a permanent seating area we could use all year round. I laid down a weed resistant mat covering last weekend in preparation.

I had order 2 cubic metres of blue slate chippings to cover the area.


Unfortunately the chippings had to be left by the house so it all had to be moved by wheelbarrow.

I put the chipping down with a thickness of about 2 inches which will give a firm weed resistant base once it has settled.



Once the slate was down I moved the furniture into place


and put the canopy on the gazebo.

Now all we need is a nice summer to enjoy it.

Tea in the garden at last

The weather was so nice yesterday that after mowing the lawn for the 3rd time this year (doesn't it grow fast!) we invited some friends around for afternoon tea. The garden is begining to come to life and is actually looking reasonably tidy apart from the new seating area we are constructing, but more of that later.

Last week I planted some seeds in the greenhouse and many of them like these Mibuna are already coming up. I always find it amazing when I see seedlings emerge, these wonderful little plants are no more than a mixture of Carbon Dioxide from the air and water with a few minerals thrown in, nature is wonderful.

Some of you will remember the raised bed I built in the greenhouse earlier this year, well it was definitely one of my better ideas. I planted it out with mixed salad leaves, lettuce and radishes and we have been harvesting them for the last 3 weeks.

I have decided that as it has been so successful I am going to keep it going through the summer rather than planting outside. Apart from the speed at which it grows in the greenhouse the other advantage over growing them outside is that the leaves don't get covered in mud splashes when it rains and it is easier to control slugs etc.

Our current project in the garden is a new seating area. Last year we were given a lovely gazebo to go with our garden table set. The problem was that the shading from both killed off the grass in the area where we put them. We decided that we would create a seating area usingslate chippings that we could use all year round.

The first stage was to put down a weed proof membrane over the whole area. Now I am just waiting for the delivery of several tons of chippings to cover it.