Early Summer - May 2011

Take a look at a few snaps of the garden in bloom at the end of May 2011

Grange Grise May 2011 - Photo Show

Red Squirrel @ Home

During our April visit I was woken up a couple of mornings by a tapping at the bedroom window and looked to see a small Red Squirrel peering in. Wow....!

I had seen this squirrel a few times in the garden during the day and surprised it, resulting in it running around the perimeter to escape my gaze.

Realising it has scalled the barn walls to look in the windows, I now understand why some of the roofing installation has been found in the gravel path.  A task for my next visit will be to securing the loft opening to ensure we do not have or get Red Squirrels in the loft and keep them in the garden!!

Spring 2011 Arrives

April has again seen the garden flourish and many of the plants and shurbs are blossoming, non more so than the Iris we planted at the rear and south facing wall.  In full sun most of the day, it have rapidly grown as all the plants seem to in the conditions.


During early April, we again treated the grass with Verdone that fees the weeds and causes them to grow too quickly, dying as a result.  Our visit at the end of April showed that the weeds had again been attacked and as each year goes by there are less to tackle.

Our hard work over previous years is paying dividends, as the shrub beds need less weeding and the bark/mulch is doing it's job.  We still have to remember that we are merely taming a field to create a garden, but we seem to slowly be succeeding and can enjoy the environment we have created.

Dry Stone Wall

With a pile of stone left over from the building work  and making space for the windows and doors we were left with the challenge of what to do with it all.  We used some to lay a  pathway to the back of the garden shed, but that only made a small dent in the pile.

I eventual decided to attempt to build a dry stone wall, but quickly realised that  I needed some help and lessons.  Having searched Utube I found one particular video that was really good and explained the process very well, and as a result I also found The Dry Stone Wall Association http://www.dswa.org.uk/ and enrolled on a training course in early November 2010.

The course was a 2 day session and was well worth the fee, teaching me a lot and how to approach the task properly.  Easier said than done!!  Over a long weekend visit at the end of November I managed to complete my first 1 metre long wall, but my stone proved not to be quite as well shaped as the stone on the training course, but nevertheless I was pleased with the outcome.

Without the course, I am not sure that I would have had the confident to attempt the build or to persevere when it got tough, so I would recommend taking proper advise and have a go.