Informal formality.

One of our most exciting Christmas pressies was a box of Heritage vegetable seeds. They were burning a hole in my creative pocket, so to speak. In the light of the slow progress on the house renovating  front, we pressed on with the creation of the productive area of our garden.

 
Using oak sleepers stained black to create six raided beds across the whole width of the garden. The gentle slope created the stepping effect we had seen in so many formal Italian gardens. Using more of our recycled paving slabs and brick mowing strips with grass paths.

 


Molly was a great help in moving the 8 tons of topsoil and promptly made good use of the raised beds as a bed.!

Planting got underway immediately .
 Little in this world is as unprepossessing as a packet of seed and nothing touches them for explosive potential.


We are now practically vegetarian and enjoying freshly harvested French Beans, Borlottie beans, Courgettes, Asparagus peas, Beetroots, Perpetual spinach, Carrots, Sweetcorn (decimated by greedy Badgers)Rocket, Mitzuna,Radish and looking forward to Ruby chard Pak choi and Black Tuscan Kale.

Into the garden maud

In between the joyful intricacies of planning /designing and finding a builder for our mid century eco renovation project, we decide to take our frustrations out on the garden.
This one is a very different proposition to our former garden, crated from an old walled rectory garden, quite shaded in parts and bounded by a high wall. Wrapped round the house, packed full of rare plants and very high maintenance. My pride and joy.

The new garden is a conventional 1/3 in front of the house and 2/3 behind the house.
 We wanted this one to be a combination of three disparate elements.
(1) Italian formal. (2) Productive fruit and veg plot, (3) The wild landscape of Norway's Valldal valley location of the stunning Juvet Landscape Hotel.
The one thing they all have in common is green green green and though this may not be a marriage made in heaven  at least we hope to get them all on speaking terms.

After the studio went up we realized the long south facing border in front would make a perfect site for a longed for Asparagus bed.

The borders are lined with reclaimed bricks from our demolished dilapidated summer house and the main path uses aged but inexpensive patio slabs from the existing rear patio. Softened with grass between the slabs ( easily maintained with a hover mower) it immediately gives the landscaping an aged look. We filled the bed with compost brought from our former garden and planted five each of an early, mid and late season Asparagus. There may only be a week or two between them but its called hedging your bets. We now have to be patient as ideally asparagus should be left for two seasons to bulk up before harvesting. Tick Toc Tick Toc.
Attached wires to sides of the shed and planted twoTrachelospermum jasminoiddes. This well behaved evergreen climber turns a seasonally jolly red in cold winters and is smothered in very fragrant flowers for four months 
As a surprising bonus tomato seeds from last years compost have germinated and we are currently enjoying an self sown glut of tomato variety's.

Here comes the sun

The impending reduction in the feed in tariff sent us into overdrive.
The reduction is only a small percentage but over 20 years amounts to a lot of money.
After a complicated jig involving installers, deliveries, scaffolds an so on, it all came together in two days. The solar panels were installed and commissioned just in time to qualify for the higher tariff. Phew.

Thrilled to be generating 16Kw a day in the first sunny week of installation.
Totally different approach to using electricity and spent the first few days switching electrical appliances on instead of off .The feed in tariff pays you for half of what you generate so if you can use it all yourself your quids in.
We all recognize the need to make a rapid transition from dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy. As individuals it signify s one less household dependent of fossil fuels. One less household  dependent on irresponsible energy companies  exploiting our beautiful Earth.   One more household contributing to saving the planet.

Mix3dStitch

Fun but exhausting few days setting up Mix3d Stitch first open studio show.

Exciting work from three talented makers.

Hilary Grayson, Textiles
Jane Charles, Textiles
Yvonne Elliott , Textiles

3 Station Road
Winslow
MK18 3DZ
Tel: 07967 742598

livingtowork-workingtolive.blogspot.co.uk

6th/7th June. 12th/13th June/ 20th June 

Saturdays 11am-5pm Sundays 11am-5pm

Get along there if you can but be warned,you will want to take a lot of the work home with you and the prices are very accessible.! Just look at the enthusiastic crowd at the private view.
For lots more pictures gp to https://goo.gl/photos/Ts7ZT4NSgYev5eYu7

Done and dusted

Finishing the roof shingles at great cost our knee joints.
Add the guttering and rainwater butts and its time to finish off the inside

The natural birch proves a bit too woody so blond the walls with Liberon white wood stain.

Have a therapeutic edit of all the studio junk we have collected over the years. 

You have to be ruthless.

Dig ourselves out from a mountain of mug hooks and get them into the wooden walls, easy peasy.

Its great to have enough space to show the many samples that never make it to the website. 

Find a new home for our garden pots,topiary box and lilies in pots and were done and dusted.

Our first major project in the new house under our belts. Time to start planning the garden.

Pop in and visit the studio anytime , just let us know in case were walking Molly.

We love an excuse to stop for a brew.

Overture and starters for ten.

So here we are, moved in with the bare essentials, and all the good stuff (art, music, books etc) in storage.

Our long held dream of finding an old house to eco renovate is at last coming true. Be careful what you wish for.

Fully immerse ourselves in the maelstrom that is architects plans, building control, green technologies and the integration thereof. The shamefully cynical and wholly inadequate Green Deal (a complete waste of time) and the frequently fruitless quest for a builders quote,  (if you ask six you may end up with the recommended three) Its all slow slow slow, and very draining.

We must be able to work so press on with is the building of our new garden studio. Once the kiln is set up in the garage we clear away the broken down old summerhouse and garden shed.

Nothing beats a bit of demolition for tension reliving therapy and provides us with enough combustibles for a roaring bonfire.

Andy is in his element preparing the groundwork’s. Laying in mains water pipes and electricity. Frustratingly I am forced into a supervisory role due to very recent heart surgery. The sidelines is not my natural habitat.

A hired concrete mixer is a joy and goes right to the top of Andys Christmas wish list.

The bits arrive for the 3 X 6 mtr wooden shed from Dunster House Constructions wiz along and are completed in 4 exhausting but satisfying days.

Paint the outside as we build ( something I can do Yay) with Sadolin extra durable wood treatment in black. A favourite colour for all garden buildings, it makes them recede into the background and stops them dominating the space.

Inside we add extra velux windows on the north facing side and insulation in the roof and floor.

Its good to be back

Hello my darlings, long time no blog.
As my dearly departed mother used to say, time flies whether your having fun or not.
So a quick recap on the last 5 (yes read it and weep) FIVE years.
We got back from our Italianate adventures safe and sound.
Though we absolutely LOVE the place, ultimately it is as infuriating as it is breathtaking.
Living there is not an option.
We have enjoyed a few shorter visits in between. The Venice bianalle (of course). Back to Florence and we always ski in Alta Badia as many times as we can afford every year.
Now we have sold our B and B and have moved to an unreconstructed  mid century chalet bungalow just round the corner. Great views over a tidal salt water lake and far enough away from the clanging church bells for us to enjoy them.We are at the planning stage of an eco renovation, knocking out all the ground floor walls and installing solar thermal, Solar voltaic panels, an air source heat pump. Air and rainwater recycling and underfloor heating throughout and insulating, insulating,insulating.
Lots of folks have asked us to blog the eco House, studio/ garden renovation so here we go.