The end of the beginning

I have been busy planting box. With the hard landscaping at an end (although we are still awaiting the decorative stone dressing), we can now get planting structural plants such as box. Buxus sempervirens or Common Box (European Box also known as Boxwood) formed an integral part of our old garden and we intend to use this old friend again here at Ordnance House.

An example is the central main bed around which the whole garden circulates. And today I have been planting the box that encircles this key bed. The box plants are small but I believe planting small develops stronger more resilient plants in the long term.

Meanwhile, the grass seed sown last week, has taken and a green sheen can be seen on the new lawns. I see all this as progress. It's fun watching a landscape transformed by machinery but it scars the ground no matter how careful or light footed you are. And it is now time to let the garden start to settle. It is the end of the beginning...

Putting down new roots

At long last I can now plant in the newly installed main bed. And the very first plant to be planted is a Crocosmia - 'Walberton's Bright Eyes'.

I divided up some clumps in the Spring at Linden Barn and then they came with us in pots before spending most of the Summer in a nursery bed at their new home here at Ordnance House.

In between the Crocosmia I planted Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' an old favourite. The smokey purple will work well with the burnt orange of the Crocosmia.

It feels strangely liberating to again be planting. A sign that we really are putting down new roots at our new home with our new garden.

I love a decent mound

As we near the final phases of the garden build, much moving of earth from one part of the garden to another has taken place. The skill of Ian on the digger is mesmerising and almost hypnotic to watch. And today Ian has been busy levelling what will be the lawn areas on the garden's southern boundary.

Adjacent to this area is a mound atop of which sit two majestic old Beech trees. For some time I have been pondering what to do with this mound. After all, not every garden has such a thing so I feel very honoured to have one.

It is rather intimidating. To reach the summit one can either take a running surge or a gentle ramble. But one does tend to look at it and calculate a route to the top.

Do I have the mound sculpted into two doughnuts, one small sat on top of a large one? No, I have decided to have Ian carve and mould the mound to accommodate a curving path that will gently climb to the summit around the edge of the mound.

The idea came from the many hill forts that are dotted around the landscape of this part of southern England. I love the gentle architectural curves of the earthworks. So, to create your own hill fort in your own garden has to be a fun idea!

After Ian has finished his masterful work, I plan to seed the area and sow it with wild flowers leaving the grass uncut. It will be a lovely spot to look out over the garden with a glass of wine in the evening or a mug of tea during the day.

Height and division

Our plot is flat. It may be on the side of a hill but believe me it is flat. I have used the term that the plot was gouged out of the hillside and this really is the case. The way we add height and use division of the areas will be key to the layout and design of the garden.

Prior to the groundworks beginning, all we had was a patchy lawn and the eye would jump to the far ends of the garden. But with division of the areas and the introduction of height using trees and hedging this will all change.

The first application of this philosophy has been the planting of a pleached Hornbean hedge that backs onto the new vegetable garden. This hedge will eventually surround the vegetable garden from the main garden and in time look wonderfully ornamental. But even in its current immature state, the architectural nature of the hedge is there for all to see.

A kindly gift

Having opened our old garden at Linden Barn for the Yellow Book, one of the real joys of doing so was meeting so many gardeners. Whether or not this comes from some goodness that transmits itself from the soil or if the very act of gardening nourishes the soul I have no idea but what I do know is that all the people I have met through gardening have been kind and sincere.

Today I popped over to Sara who had offered me some Irises as she is in the process of clearing sections of her garden which she plans to restructure. Sara and her husband Dick's garden is very beautiful. The garden envelopes the lovely period house and the plot nestles into the soft folds of the landscape just on the edge of the village. It is a setting with a very real sense of place.

Now, I confess that at this moment in time with a new garden to plant up from scratch, I welcome any plants people are willing to give me. All the better if these plants come from such a wonderful garden. The Irises are Gold of Autumn and will work well in our new garden and fit the planned colour palette and planting plan.

So, thank you Sara. Your Irises have found a new home where they will be welcome and very much appreciated.

More than a fancy

I confess it, I have always had a fancy for Hamalayan Birches. Tall, elegant things with long limbs, pale and translucent and as haughty as a catwalk model. Now I can indulge myself.

Having removed the fountain and ornamental pool in the front garden and which we inhereted with the purchase of the new house; I have prepared a bed and planted three statuesque beauties amongst some box balls.

The effect is immediate and quite satisfying. I am not against water features of course, rather I prefer plants. And no plants go together better than box and birch.

It's comforting that amidst the mayhem in the back garden, now a building site, the front garden is serene and calm. All the more so because of my pale and elegant birches.

An exciting day

Work has begun and a digger has been busy ripping up the garden and preparing the site this morning.

It is day one of the creation of a new garden here at Ordnance House and one I have been looking forward to.

And to add to all this happiness this morning I also received delivery of six truely joyous Portuguese Laurel Standards which will form a grove in the new Parterre. And very elegant they are too.

Long way to go but a good start has been made.

Marking out

Good news! The landscape contractor can slot us in a month ahead of planned and work begins on Monday (8 August).

Now is the time to make absolutely certain that the plan translates to the site, on the ground. So, I have spent the last couple of evenings marking out the site and the good news is it works.

On Monday the site will be stripped and levelled and so I will need to mark it all out again on the bare soil. But I needed to resassure myself that the plan did work.

Fingers crossed for Monday then.