urban_retreat (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
urban_retreat) wrote2011-04-05 03:00 pm
urban_retreat) wrote2011-04-05 03:00 pm
Entry tags:
Paving purchased
I should have done this last summer as soon as I built the raised beds but I put it off: partly because I didn't want to invest money in something I wasn't sure would work but mainly because I was very focused on the immediate pay-off of planting up the perennial flower beds and growing some of my own veggies. Instant gratification girl, that's me. *G*
On one hand I'm glad I didn't do it last year because I've has 12 months to think about what would and wouldn't work in the space. The original idea of smaller pavers surrounded by gravel just wouldn't be practical for the space - particularly as in such a small space the path forms my main working area for potting up/repotting every year which gets messy - soil and pots everywhere!
On the other hand I wish I had worked out what to use and laid it all last year because (a) it makes the garden look so much better, (b) visually makes the space seem bigger (at least until the veggies are planted and have grown in) and (c) gives me a solid base so I can put a chair out there and not have to sit on the bottom couple of steps of the fire escape to enjoy the garden.
The paving is Lakeland slate (900mm wide and 600mm deep, retailing at £11.99 per paving stone) and because when I say I garden in a small space, I mean a small space, I only needed 6 paving stones.
PICTURE OF SLATE
The fun came in transporting the paving stones and 15 bags of sharp sand up the stairs into the flat and then down the fire-escape into the garden - back-breaking work!
I'm very glad S had a free day to help me collect the paving and sand from Woodcote Green Garden Centre and aid with moving everything into the back garden. (An aside I realised I needed to get back into the gym when I found I couldn't actually lift a bag of dampish sand high enough to get it onto myt shoulder to make carrying it easier - mind you they probably weighed in at about 30-35kg).
Of course, by the time we'd moved everything into place, this being London and springtime it started to rain so we had to postpone laying the paving until Saturday.
On one hand I'm glad I didn't do it last year because I've has 12 months to think about what would and wouldn't work in the space. The original idea of smaller pavers surrounded by gravel just wouldn't be practical for the space - particularly as in such a small space the path forms my main working area for potting up/repotting every year which gets messy - soil and pots everywhere!
On the other hand I wish I had worked out what to use and laid it all last year because (a) it makes the garden look so much better, (b) visually makes the space seem bigger (at least until the veggies are planted and have grown in) and (c) gives me a solid base so I can put a chair out there and not have to sit on the bottom couple of steps of the fire escape to enjoy the garden.
The paving is Lakeland slate (900mm wide and 600mm deep, retailing at £11.99 per paving stone) and because when I say I garden in a small space, I mean a small space, I only needed 6 paving stones.
PICTURE OF SLATE
The fun came in transporting the paving stones and 15 bags of sharp sand up the stairs into the flat and then down the fire-escape into the garden - back-breaking work!
I'm very glad S had a free day to help me collect the paving and sand from Woodcote Green Garden Centre and aid with moving everything into the back garden. (An aside I realised I needed to get back into the gym when I found I couldn't actually lift a bag of dampish sand high enough to get it onto myt shoulder to make carrying it easier - mind you they probably weighed in at about 30-35kg).
Of course, by the time we'd moved everything into place, this being London and springtime it started to rain so we had to postpone laying the paving until Saturday.