Day One
I was just about to start the day happily finishing some replacement sashes and doing a WIP and then SWMBO suggested a site visit to our 'dumping' area. Thing is the layout of our house and garden is a bit back-to-front. The drive arrives at the back of the house and so we don't really have a 'smart' bit - as it were. All the usual back garden stuff and junk is there to see when you drive up. Including our 'dumping' ground which is right in the eye-line.
Over the last 20+ years, all of our builders have used this area for cement mixing, plaster mixing, dumping waste. We have our bonfire there and also our small incinerator. Three bags of stones (some yellowish pebbles and some rather nice grey stone) bought surplus to requirements had eventually burst.
'Why don't we tidy it up ?' says SWMBO. 'Strim it back, get rid of the pile of bonfire ash, then we can use the stones to cover the area'.
'OK' says I (inwardly groaning). So I strimmed it back, removed the ash, the incinerator and then took a long hard look at what was left.
'I don't think we've got enough stone', says I, 'And look at those raised lumps of dried concrete and cement. They will have to go. Any ideas what to do ?'
'Why don't we turf it ?' she says.
'OK' . So I ring up the local sod suppliers and arrange to drive over in the Discovery and collect 15 sq m that afternoon. I then started to clear the area and toddled off to collect the sods. 'Best laid on day of purchase' it said. Slight detour on the way back for a sneaky pint.
Start to clear the earth in preparation for laying the turf. To discover that large areas of 'earth' were not, in fact, earth but an inch of hardened cement.
'Get some compost on offer', she says. Two hours later, I have arrived back with six bags of compost.
I covered the sods in hessian and watered them down as we are now at the end of Day One.
Day Two
Then I discover that underneath the cement is a layer of stone and there is no way I'm going to be able to dig that out even if I wanted to. So I asked HG (Head Gardener) what to do. 'Go and buy some topsoil from Radbournes'. So three hours later (and another sneaky pint on the way back..well, it was hot), I start to prepare the ground. Hard, hot, sticky work. Come 7pm my goal of laying the turf has long gone out of the window. 'I'll get up early tomorrow' and lay the turf then.
Day Three
Turf finally laid. Copious watering. 'Do not overwater' it says. 'Do not underwater' says another site. Ho hum. Decisions. Decisions. We shall see.
Thank God, it's raining today. Back to the windows.
No photos, I'm afraid. Yeah, yeah, I know...it didn't happen
I was just about to start the day happily finishing some replacement sashes and doing a WIP and then SWMBO suggested a site visit to our 'dumping' area. Thing is the layout of our house and garden is a bit back-to-front. The drive arrives at the back of the house and so we don't really have a 'smart' bit - as it were. All the usual back garden stuff and junk is there to see when you drive up. Including our 'dumping' ground which is right in the eye-line.
Over the last 20+ years, all of our builders have used this area for cement mixing, plaster mixing, dumping waste. We have our bonfire there and also our small incinerator. Three bags of stones (some yellowish pebbles and some rather nice grey stone) bought surplus to requirements had eventually burst.
'Why don't we tidy it up ?' says SWMBO. 'Strim it back, get rid of the pile of bonfire ash, then we can use the stones to cover the area'.
'OK' says I (inwardly groaning). So I strimmed it back, removed the ash, the incinerator and then took a long hard look at what was left.
'I don't think we've got enough stone', says I, 'And look at those raised lumps of dried concrete and cement. They will have to go. Any ideas what to do ?'
'Why don't we turf it ?' she says.
'OK' . So I ring up the local sod suppliers and arrange to drive over in the Discovery and collect 15 sq m that afternoon. I then started to clear the area and toddled off to collect the sods. 'Best laid on day of purchase' it said. Slight detour on the way back for a sneaky pint.
Start to clear the earth in preparation for laying the turf. To discover that large areas of 'earth' were not, in fact, earth but an inch of hardened cement.
'Get some compost on offer', she says. Two hours later, I have arrived back with six bags of compost.
I covered the sods in hessian and watered them down as we are now at the end of Day One.
Day Two
Then I discover that underneath the cement is a layer of stone and there is no way I'm going to be able to dig that out even if I wanted to. So I asked HG (Head Gardener) what to do. 'Go and buy some topsoil from Radbournes'. So three hours later (and another sneaky pint on the way back..well, it was hot), I start to prepare the ground. Hard, hot, sticky work. Come 7pm my goal of laying the turf has long gone out of the window. 'I'll get up early tomorrow' and lay the turf then.
Day Three
Turf finally laid. Copious watering. 'Do not overwater' it says. 'Do not underwater' says another site. Ho hum. Decisions. Decisions. We shall see.
Thank God, it's raining today. Back to the windows.
No photos, I'm afraid. Yeah, yeah, I know...it didn't happen
