The clearance
After detailed discussions with our contractor about the plan, we clearly marked in the borders what plants and trees would need to remain and what would be cleared, a man with a digger was called in to do the clearance.
Even though I have designed many gardens, I have rarely been on site when this process takes place. A skilled digger driver is quite a sight to behold. A digger not have to dig holes; pulling out trees, scraping off a layer of turf and levelling out topsoil, and breaking up old paving, there is an attachment for it all.
Over 2 days he cleared unwanted shrubs, the lawn, our old path, a concrete patio at the end of the garden and the top of the old patio by the house, and finally levelling out our top soil into a nice smooth slope instead of a lumpy step in the middle.
All the waste was put straight into a couple of waiting skips. Done and dusted a clean slate ready for the new garden to be built.
All this was done at the height of the summer heatwave, not highly recommended as a time for moving plants or a great time for having a dust bowl for a garden, but better than a mud pit.
In chapter 3 we look at 3 new patio areas and a new path.
