This back garden for a family with primary school aged children was designed for play, grow-your-own, relaxation and wildlife. The design incorporated a greenhouse, 9 small fruit trees, a little vegetable garden, an in-ground trampoline, a seating area out of the hot sun as well as a herb and flower bed, with some cut flowers.
Starting with a blank canvas, the garden had been leveled and raised with railway sleepers.
Work started in November 2018, at a rate of about two days a week. The soil with which the garden had been leveled turned out to be heavy clay which needed to be dug out, and lots of soil improver dug in, setting the project back considerably. After the trampoline was dug in a small terrace with porcelain tiles was installed in the corner. We also found out that a soakaway had been put in the garden, but higher than the terrace. So this also needed digging out and put in deeper which was done in April 2019. This was another set back, but the finished elements of the garden started to be enjoyed.
In July 2018 the trampoline had already provided many hours of play. The herb garden was productive and lots of flowers from alliums to delphiniums had been in bloom. Birds, bees and butterflies visited the garden as well as a frog and ladybird larvae.
Cambridgeshire County Council came to drill three hedgehog holes in the fences, so hedgehogs can roam freely. In October a hedgehog and a fox graced the garden with a visit and the owner had dug a small pond in which a frog was spotted.
In August the courgette harvest was in full swing, the beans were well both next to the path and on the arch. Lots of tomatoes had been eaten, as was the garlic which was planted out in January. In the greenhouse there were chili plants and aubergines Earlier in the year the greenhouse produced lots of salad leaves, spinach and radishes. An existing rhubarb plant had been moved into a position in the sun with lots of soil improver and had been the main ingredient of many crumbles.
In the coming years the fruit trees will mature and the garden will provide up to three months of orchard fruit. A Victoria plum will be trained as a fan against the west facing fence, three pear treas as cordons and five apple trees espalier and step overs, thus fitting neatly in the space provided.
In October 2019 the garden was finished. The supports for the fruit trees and the pebble paths were installed. Mosaic footsteps of the family members were put in the paths. When the children grow up, they can compare their feet with the size their feet were when the garden was finished.