On Purchase
Posted: 3 January 2020
When we moved in the plan was that Diana would look after "the garden" and Greg would look after "the grounds". The Garden was be all the open space around the house but not going beyond the decking at the rear.
There wasn't really a garden to the front of the house. Apart from a shed that was disintegrating, it was entirely laid to gravel, the car park for the fishery that used to be run from Ruston House.
The first two pictures below were taken on 25 February 2013, the day we completed the purchase. The third, taken ten months later on 23 December, could easily be mistaken for one taken on moving day.
February to April
The next two images show the "garden" on the north side of the house. As before, the first picture was taken on completion day. The second was taken on 22 March and shows where the planned shed was to be erected and the third shows the view if you turn round, but taken a little later on 20 April.
All of these pictures date from before we moved in on 10 May. The only part of the gardens not shown in these images is that on the south side of the house, and for a good while this was nothing more than a grassed access way and no photographs were taken.
That was not rectified until April 2014, when it was still in the state it was on purchase - other than a mown path way through the grass.
There was almost nothing done to the garden in that first year, apart from mowing the grass which did keep the place looking tidier than it might have done.
Continuing through 2013, the speed with which skips got filled diminished although, in the photograph showing the front door (below) you can see an about to be disposed of, radiator and an old ice box converted to be used as a temporary post box.
August and September
With much heavy traffic on the car park up till the time we moved in the weeds seemed to be kept under control. Greg did manage to find time to mow the grass on the only bit of "lawn" that we had.
However, once we'd moved in the gravel did seem to succumb to the weeds which were clearly in evidence on 13 September, although...
... some of the planters and ornaments that had come with us did now decorate the area by the front door.
