Martina's Garden     Stile

The upper tier comprises a small pergola, a gravelled herb bed, a mixed border, a rill, a pond a lawn and a backbone of natural stone paving.

This view across the garden from the pergola shows part of the rill with the still immature herb bed immediately behind it and, in the far distance, the mixed border, stocked predominantly with shade-loving perennials.

The rill is fed by water pumped from the pond in the decked (middle) tier of the garden, but also by rainwater from the house gutters. This means that we are frequently (!) able to benefit from plenty of unmetered water from above to replenish stocks.

Nevertheless, for those rare occasions when the losses from evaporation and splashes exceed our gains from the rains, we also incorporated an automatic, mains-fed, top-up mechanism in the lower pond.

And here, more or less, the reverse view showing the pergola, the railway sleeper bench and table, the vine and the honeysuckle. Both inside and outside of this outdoor toilet are now places of great relief and comfort.

This is also one of the few pictures that show any of the lighting we installed in the garden!

The view down the garden from the pergola shows the new lawn, edged with timber for tidiness and ease of maintenance (but already suffering a little from the family pet), one of two sets of curved "railings", a mixed border of sun-loving plants and shrubs, and, in the distance, a set of table and chairs on the lower, decked area.

Coincidentally, this is also of of the few pictures that shows any of the garden lighting: look on the stone wall in the background at the right-hand side.

Here you see a little more detail of the curved railing that marks the boundary of the upper tier of the garden. Note the vertically curved posts (no, they're NOT warped!) and the stainless steel wire rope.

And this picture almost allows you to see the upper pond - or at least the wooden bench next to it and the rill that empties into it.

                             Finally, a bit of pond!!!

New fencing and balustrading tidied up the entrance to the house . . .

. . . and the bottom of the driveway.

Last modified: 06/11/2009