Foody Construction and Groundworks Ltd

Walk out of the outbuildings and under the trellis of honeysuckle and clematis and you walk straight onto a grass strip, with flowerbed on left and patio on right. This strip slopes from left to right making you slip in wet weather.

I decided yesterday that the grass strip needed a level path. I've been thinking that way for years so decided to buy some sand yesterday. This morning I roughly laid out the slates, just to see how they might fit and whether I had enough. These have been dug up in the garden over time, whenever I have had to dig to plant anything. I started laying out the slates.

Where the path ends is an area of wild plants. Hubby always wanted a continuous wild area running from the elder tree on the left to the pond, which is behind all the wild growth of meadowsweet, nettle and bramble. Meadowsweet was a favourite of his so although I hate nettle and would love to obliterate it, I try to preserve the meadowsweet.

 To prove there is a pond, here it is. There is an absence of colour but hubby just wanted it left to see what would colonise naturally. It is teeming with frogs and toads and insects. The surface heaves with life. Lots of dragonflies and damselflies come by and breed in it. The lifeless look of it is superficial and deceptive. There is also a wildlife garden in front of the house and I will show you that pond some day.

I'd like to break the hard line between lawn and this wild area so I have dug a new border and planted three new perennials in it.

I like to respect hubby's wildlife wishes, especially if I see the reasons, but in one case, I'm sorry but I don't. He kept a bit of lawn uncut to let this little patch of nettles etc grow. But we have huge areas elsewhere in the garden with huge beds of nettles so I'm sorry, but now every time I cut the lawn I cut a bit more of this 'island' away.  I think it looks a bit out of place and everybody asks why it's there. Maybe when I have got rid of it I'll put a flowerbed there instead one day.

Anyway I have digressed. I made a start and laid some slates. To allow for the sideways slope I'm having to have two levels of slates. Luckily I found some old bricks to shore up the upper level. Oh dear, I grossly underbought on the sand. That's all I could do today until I get more sand. A good start, eh? I will get rid of that overhang. I hope hubby is looking down on me and being pleased with what he sees. He'll forgive me about the nettle island.