A Night and Day Walk Around the Property
These videos show the culmination of 4 months of hard work around the property – from clearing away sheds, greenhouse and decking, digging up old patio and hardcore underneath, to constructing new storm drains, digging a foot down the old grass to try and remove all the weeds, copious amount of soil and rubble removed from the area (all of which was sieved and sorted into topsoil and hardcore and used back into the garden) to the filling of 4 x 12-yard skips – that got us to a blank canvas!
Then began the hard slog of putting down a new patio during two heatwaves and one period of torrential rain, grading and levelling the lawn area of the garden, building a framework around the trees on a slope, and adding 3 cubic meters of premium bark nuggets—all carted from the front of the house by wheelbarrow!!
During the long days of hauling soil and slabs, it felt like the time of seeding the lawn, planning where to place plants, buying pots and painting accessories was a world away but eventually, that time came, the layout planning and details of placing accessories did feel like the icing on the cake.
From a very tired and shabby-looking garden, this area gives the impression of space and privacy, with a low-maintenance patio and decking-edged area ideal for entertaining or for just sitting on the bench with a glass of wine watching the birds make themselves at home on their new bird table.
The videos are shot during the day and evening. The first one highlights the garden lighting at night, showing the deck lights used along with the patio and at the bottom of the sleeper wall. While illuminating the decking when dark, they are not intrusive. We also used a couple of lanterns to enhance the plants. Low-voltage LED lights are also used to illuminate the trees at the bottom of the garden. There is also a wall washer used to show off the brickwork. All of the lights are on timers and can also be remotely controlled from a smartphone so no need to remember to switch them on.
Would we do this again? Yes, but with our eyes open wide with the realization of the amount of work involved, the time commitment, but the knowledge that the end was well worth the effort.