Quick links to specific dates on this page:
- Thursday 8th May 2008
- Friday 9th May 2008
- Saturday 10th May 2008
- Sunday 11th May 2008
- Monday 12th May 2008
- Tuesday 13th May 2008
- Wednesday 14th May 2008
Click on a thumbnail image to see the larger picture in the main panel.
Thursday 8th May 2008
The first of our plants arrived today, which was exciting. The kangaroo paws from Holland were amazing and the Callistemon and Macrozamia from Rome were also fantastic. Josh and Scott did a sensational job of laying the granite for the negative edge. Paul managed to get through a whole day without working on the rear wall. Guy and his team continued to build the sandstone wall, which is looking fantastic. We are all hoping that the good weather will continue for a few more days.
TopFriday 9th May 2008
More great weather and the arrival of the four more team members - Patrick, David, Dean and Dean - were highlights of the day today.
The stone wall is getting higher, the back wall is all level and looking fantastic.
Ron is starting to get the ponds waterproofed.
Wes and Patrick started to get the plants trimmed up and looking perfect.
We are starting to get lots of comments from people and the native plants that we have are really attracting attention.
Saturday 10th May 2008
Once again we had great weather today. The guys from Atkinson Pontifex got stuck into the timber framing for the deck. Ron continued his preparations for waterproofing the ponds. The Kimberley sandstone wall continued to grow and Paul touched up some render on the rear wall.
We finally managed to get some trees in place - the Brachychiton are attracting lots of attention and look fabulous. The Callistemon are also proving to be really popular with everyone who walks passed.
Progress has been so good that those who haven't been to London before managed to take some time off this afternoon and go on a double decker bus tour of London.
Sunday 11th May 2008
The plan for today was to get the waterproofing done in the water features. The weather looked after us with another sunny day, but that was about the only part that went smoothly. We had a few hurdles to get over - a hired compressor that wouldn't work, joiners on the borrowed compressor that didn't fit the spray machine and a distinct lack of open shops on Sunday. Eventually we managed to get the spraying done and we are no longer reliant on weather.
We also managed to get some of the decking in place, so we can really start to see what the garden is going to look like.
Monday 12th May 2008
Today we finally managed to tick a few things off the list. Paul has done a magnificent job of making it all perfect. The decking is under way, with all of the sub frame in and some of the decking timber on. The pond is water tight and hopefully by the time we get back to site in the morning will be full. The water feature in the small pond was given a test run and looked amazing.
With just 6 days left to build the garden we still have plenty to do, but we are pleased with how things are going.
Tuesday 13th May 2008
We arrived at site this morning to see that the pond was full, but that there was a problem with the bent water - another challenge to overcome.
By the end of the day the problem was solved, the decking was well under way, the gabion baskets in position and our storage area at the back of the garden was done. We also received some more plants, with the rest due to arrive tomorrow.
Wednesday 14th May 2008
After farewelling Ron last night the team managed to get a good day’s work in today. The decking is going down really well, the curved decking is being completely rebuilt and is coming together really well. The stone wall is essentially built - just a few chips to repair and it will be done.
The last of the plants arrived from Salvador in Spain and we were able to place some in position. The fire bowl was delivered and was even able to be tested. There is still lots of work to do, but we are really confident that it will all be done on time.
Another milestone today was the removal of the last 2 of our shipping containers - really changed the whole area.
