Our Woodland Garden
Back in May 2020, with lockdown and working from home in full force, I hired a digger and a very large skip to start the process of transforming our garden. This is a quick look at the before and after photos of one corner, our woodland garden.
When we first arrived in Tollesbury, this part of the garden was so overgrown that we couldn’t see the fence at the back or the hedge boundary on the right hand side. The area of wilderness, of lost garden, was around 3 times the size of our entire garden in Brentwood!
After removing the tangled mess of overgrown wilderness, cutting down and pulling out a 30 foot privet hedge, having a 60 foot conifer removed, building a 50 foot fence, replacing fence panels, installing 2 archways, digging out large trees by hand and sieving many tonnes of soil, we were ready to start planting.
We grew many of the plants in pots over the years which helps to provide some maturity but the plant bill has been pretty big this year. It’s likely to be 5 years before it starts feeling like a true woodland garden and over time we’ll add further choice plants as more shady areas develop.
The job isn’t finished yet with cobble paths to lay, lighting to install and an octagonal arbour to build, all of which will have to wait for 2022.
