A PLACE TO SIT (PART ONE)
POT'S GROWING ON? 08/09/23
This week our little patio extension, being expertly crafted by Graham, has been finished. Using spare slabs from around the farm, with some extra bits to fill in gaps. Once the pointing is dry it will match what’s already there. The extra area turns what was a pretty unusable strip of patio, into something usable and accessible - it even has an existing ramp for good access.
The photo above shows how the old paving strip, the remnants of something larger, was hard to use. Even walking around chairs risked a slip. We used spare slabs and stone, filling gaps with matching reclaimed stone from a local supplier. Called York stone, if you want to use similar, it is super expensive at £145/square meter these days! But it is built to last, between 6 - 7cm thick. The bit of random wall at the back from the previous structure Graham reused to form the riser wall of the new patio.
We were lucky to be able to reuse so much, reducing the environmental footprint to a minimum. And it could last for many decades to come, reducing the impact with each passing year, one of the benefits of using a highly qualified installer.
This is the original image I roughly drew, showing the idea, and the way Graham has worked the stone is perfect. The extension rests on the foundation of a previous patio area.
My mind has quickly turned to dream of planting up around it. I’ve already added some plants I’ve been growing and dividing. Primarily Astrantia, Geranium and Brunnera. Unbelievably this one area is the same size if not bigger than our old city garden.
A big thank you to Graham for the hard work on the patio and to Chris (shown) for helping reduce the size of rubble for the base and infill. Which involved lots of fun smashing with our sledgehammer.
p.s. have you spotted that the Wild Way has a snazzy new web address? WildWay.info is the new home of this newsletter if you’d like to read more issues.
p.p.s I list 10 of my favourite September flowers in the main Wild Way magazine for paid subscribers, link below…
WILD WAY: SEPTEMBER 2023
VORTEX (PART TWO) In the vortex (read Part One), the shady area below our main garden, I’ve been experimenting with bolder colours while still aiming for a semi-naturalistic look. I’ve been inspired by our walks through the lush lower layers of the British Columbia temperate rainforests
York stone used to be the standard paving stone here in Westminster. At £145 a square metre it’s not surprising that most of it was stolen and never replaced. Better microchip yours now that I know where to get some😉.