This garden was started back in muddy March, and a very soggy business it was too! Our blog back in March shows us sliding about in mud as we try to make the firepit.

Several days of heavy rain turned this compacted ground into a morass, but we were able to complete the firepit.

First test for the completed firepit – the ventilation holes work perfectly and the fire draws well. This was just as well as we had a lot of brash to burn in it after we had cleared all the undergrowth from this area.

 

The soil here is excellent but it was very wet and compacted, so we rotavated several tons of coarse sand in to help with drainage. The word ‘rotavator’, incidentally, is an abbreviation of the words ‘rotary cultivator‘, and is one of the longest single word palindromes in the English language.

The garden also features a boardwalk which leads through a damp area to a gate giving access down to Cwm Tydu beach. Wood would rot quickly in these damp, shaded conditions, so we made the frame from Kedel plastic wood and the boards are Millboard resin ‘weathered oak’. Each board is cast from a genuine piece of oak, and the end result is impressively realistic.

Everything is ready now for the first barbecue of the year!

We’ve designed and built a display garden for Robert Eynon timberyard, building some unique garden features to show off the timber they sell. These wobbly hardwood posts make a wonderfully effective post and rail fence.

This hand-cut larch arch gives a good view of the curved cedar arch set against sleeper walls clad with Douglas fir.

 

This curved oak decking works well with larch half sleepers arranged as a windbreak fence.

This hand-carved, painted arch is an elegant contrast to the weathered elm sleepers forming a stepping stone path through the garden.

 

Quite a contrast to how it looked before we started!

If you’d like to see the garden for yourself, go to Robert Eynon timberyard in Beulah. Make sure you leave time to browse around the lovely timber they have for sale!

The ice has receded, the snow has melted and there have been a lot of casualties in the gardens of West Wales. Prolonged exposure to sub-zero temperatures has proved too much for many cultivated garden favourites, but the natives and wildflowers seem untouched. Primroses, snowdrops and daffodils are thriving. Just one more example of why it is wise to garden with nature, rather than against it….

 

Recent heavy rainfall has caused us a lot of problems with our current job – creating a lawn, seating area and fire-pit. Sliding around in the mud carrying blocks and stone is an alarming business, but the ground is too wet to bring any machines on. Happily, the Landworks team are indomitable, and work progresses regardless.

Establishing a firm, level base under the watchful eye of a dedicated collie.

The basic structure is now complete, and features air holes, a steel mesh, natural stone exterior and attractive capping stones. I’ll update you further when we’ve built the larch and gravel surrounds. Weather permitting….

Pointing the stones gives a smooth, organic finish to the fire-pit.