A whole new outlook.

I hinted some time ago that there were changes afoot in our garden. Well finally we have a Tada!! 

A  big reveal.

When we first moved into this house, all you could see was the front door and the garage door. The rest of the front of the property was hidden behind a jungle.

There were so many shrubs, and they were so high,the view from my sewing room was obscured and very little light got in.

One beautiful day, we set about clearing it all out.

 Out came trees, bushes and shrubs, we found an old gravel pathway through the middle of it.

 And kept on clearing. It took a few weeks to get rid of it all.

 Even with help and a big chopper!

Eventually I could see through my window.

Then, after the last of the growth was gone, all except the big old Robinia tree. (Lace Lady)

We got stuck, we didn't really know what we wanted to do with the area.

 So it got used as a dumping ground. Lots of rubbish was piled up here, some of it even got taken away!! But some of it stayed. And of course, the weeds grew, one or two of the shrubs even tried to make a comeback. 

There was also this little area, just hidden away behind the fence, with an ugly little wall. It was too small to do anything much, It felt poky and closed in.

 With not much to look at.

 Eventually we decided to combine the two areas and knowing we couldn't do it ourselves, we called in a landscaping team. 

What a beautiful job they did. We are delighted with our new outdoor living area.

There are still two levels, with a timber retaining wall holding up the new lawn under the lovely Robinia tree, sadly they did have to take one or two branches off him, but I'll forgive them. They brought in their arborist to do it as we had stressed that no damage was to come to our tree. 

They laid tiles and created a sloping pathway up to the drive and the front door.

 It gives the front of the house a whole new feel.

 We couldn't wait to 'move in'.

 Our patio table that Tony's parents gave us and the bench that Joe made look great.

 Kokopeli was gifted to us by friends from the US and finally has a home.

 He will eventually get a shelf, so that the man at the BBQ has somewhere to rest his beer!

 The outlook from my wee room is very much different.

 I've added one or two final little touches.

 Joe bought me this rabbit sometime ago, but he never really had a home, I think he looks happy sitting there beside the lavender hedge that is planted along side the path and right under my window.

 I'll be able to hear the busy bees as I sew.

At the other end of the lavender is this wee chap. Joe bought him for Tony. And I think he looks pretty happy in his new spot too.

The only problem now is...

It is making the rest of the garden look untidy!

LOL

Loving our new space.