Direction of Travel

Jane and Cheryl seem to have cooked up something fabulous. I am very excited. I love the split between the formal and the wild - work began.... well already

I love plans - I don't just love them I actually drool over them. There is a big pond going in close to the wood (which is off plan to the right). I love the birch grove at the far end of the garden. The bit I am most excited about is the glasshouse and the raised beds. I have spent thirty years having that intake of breath when you get to the vegetable garden in a country house. On the tiniest scale there is an area with a glasshouse and some fruit trees and a few raised beds - bliss.

There are sight lines going on - loads of mowed paths - a shed load of new stuff to get put in ...

Jane has plenty of beds to deal with but from my end the transition from the meadow and pond to the "rescaped" wood will be the legacy, I have this dream that the garden will reach to the bluebells and the bluebells to the garden, It will be 5-10 year in the making but the plan for the garden is beautiful. I have a soft target of having it in the National Garden Visit Scheme in about 10 years. We all need to give up 50 % of our space to nature (We are 75 % but we are aided by a wood). Build a new pond (my brother did in his garden) - Leave over a bit of lawn to meadow - even just leave a log pile. If half of all back gardens were let go tomorrow the effect on the biomass would be exponential.

Having said that I am so excited about the landscaped part with the glasshouse and raised beds - so I am so much a (lower) middle class hypocrite of the highest order !! In some ways we are taking some unkempt bits back Into habitation - my offset is the wood - I am literally burning 80 % of all free days I have in the UK to let back in the bluebells and primroses by clearing invasive laurel. I feel guilty no more - bring on the Hoggin surfaced vegetable garden with Chelsea Garden Show sourced Xanadu glass palace. If we pull this one off to execution I am seriously sitting in a chair for a year - sod the self sufficiency I am doing Morrisons home delivery.

It is so lovely to have a clear direction of the travel. Jane and I made a promise we would execute on this. I watched my parents do 80 % of a garden plan - the last 20 % defeated them in terms of just - well reward I think - they never did the woodland walk etc. Part of me wants to find their original plan and just get a decent contractor and get the hard work they couldn't do finished. There is an idea for Xmas. We all have unfinished books, things we need to cook, people to call, places to see. Enough of guilt - we are all busy - stick vaguely to the direction of travel - potter but do reflect - if we get this all done - well I will be amazed but we are going to have a go. Isn't it the journey and not the result - glad we started on this together as the boys grow up.