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If.........

If you suddenly became the owner of a large garden, let us say 6 acres, what would you indulge in? 

ok, some of you already have such space but most of us haven't

I have helped shape such a garden but it is not mine .....put in an orchard, large veg plot, lots of ornamentals, a pond, a secret green sitting area, and developed a sunken disused quarry, etc. but all done sort of piecemeal.  They do sort of knit but from a blank canvas   I would prob do things differently.

A vinery would feature strongly if this were mine.....a top gently sloping, south facing field with a view of the sea would be my indulgence.  

A wild meadow plus grasses and sanguisorbas would wave and billow in the breezes.  my dislike for roses would suddenly evaporate as I would indulge in highly scented climbers.  Not too near the more desirable ornamentals of course.

my other indulgence, "if" allowed, would be more woodland.  Trees I cannot grow here 

come on folks, what if........image

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  • B3B3 Posts: 27,473

    Deciduous woodland ( peaty, musty smell) with a stream in one part and coniferous (must have strong scent) with a lake in another part.  I love the smell of pine and open water.

    A path thinly scattered with gravel so that it makes a crunchy, slippy sound when you walk on it in the rain.

    A long, wide herbaceous border with old red brick walls behind it.

    A laburnum walk. A conservatory /orangerie with a huge grapevine

    A shaded , drippy walk with ferns, moss, hostas etc and the sound of trickling water.

    I think I've run out of space. Can I have a few more acres please.

    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    A bluebell carpet in a deciduous woodland (Beech or Oak)  A large Oak tree is essential to hang the swing/ hammock/cacoon from.

  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,352

    I would love a walled kitchen garden (complete with a team of nice young men to tend it for me of course), an ornamental garden, and a woodland walk incorporating a stumpery with lots of different mosses and ferns.

    The ornamental garden would feature lots of cottage garden style plants grown informally but tightly contained within large borders and beds edged with box which never gets blight. Lots of height from pergolas, obelisks etc

    The woodland area would tend to acid soil for some of the plants I want to grow (rhodies, azaleas, meconopsis etc) and would also have a burbling stream tumbling over boulders (a waterfall would be good too) eventually feeding into a very large pond (small lake really).

    The pond would feature lots of cornus for winter colour as well as the usual marginals and aquatic plants. There would be a small boathouse with a rowing boat and a jetty for summer evening G&T's and access to the pond for swimming.

    To keep OH happy there would be a range of outbuildings to be used as garages / workshops / music room etc etc

    Need a big win (and probably more than 6 acres!) for that little lot....image

    Last edited: 08 March 2017 08:50:38

    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,663
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  • daisy doodaisy doo Posts: 90

    Definately a very nice tree house - im thinking something repunzel like, only i have access to for horticultural contemplation. along with a coffee maker and wifi. An orchard and herbaceous borders. Also a small hazel copse and a small team of helpers.

    Oh and a ride on lawn mower with a drink holder 

    ?. Oh to dream x

    However back to reality

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    A group of silver birch with hellebores underneath like they have at Barnsdale.

    The tree house  from  Foggy Bottom at Bressingham.

  • Beaus MumBeaus Mum Posts: 3,554

    Such wonderful what ifs you have all described.

    i would like very shallow clear stream running through so I could paddle with Beau.

  • Joyce21Joyce21 Posts: 15,489

    A driveway lined with azaleas and rhodos and planted with carpets of bluebells, snowdrops, daffs and narcissi. A pond plus a stream. Primulas en masse. Fruit trees for blossom, the fruit would be a bonus.  A wild cottagey garden with paths through it and a secluded " summer "house .  A woodland glade with hellebores, cyclamen, primroses.

    SW Scotland
  • PalaisglidePalaisglide Posts: 3,414

    A piggery, free range hens, Geese, ducks, a small paddock all weather for the pony. Already lived in such a place with a walled garden South facing, fruit trees on all the walls including my favourite Victoria plum. A Green Lane adjacent to ride the pony and we have plenty of them around, a small babbling stream at the bottom of the field with hedgerows full of Bramble, Sloe, May, Wild Roses for their Hips and rushes for the wild life. A Hay Meadow wild flowers and to bring back the wonderful scent of Hay making year on year as well as feeding the animals.

    A Garden would be a small personal section the rest to work for me, brought up on home cured bacon fresh eggs, produce from the vegetable garden and our own fruit nothing these days tastes the same. The main reason would be to give my Grandchildren the freedoms I had to live with animals learning how to tend them the freedom to roam meadows and lanes, play in water and generally run free in the open air, all these things they do get on occasion but it involves travel and arranging.

    My upbringing at the time on smallholding and farm seemed to be the norm, I now realise what I had was unique (there goes that QU again) we had it all, three miles away in the Town they did not hence the flood of people on the bus to our open spaces the Village Green complete with Pond, the Show Field so called because the Barnum and Bailey Show was there in early 1900. The old Mill Walk past our house and down one of the Green lanes mentioned above, every Bank Holiday sunny or wet they flooded in for a few hours fresh air and some of Mothers home made lemonade and cake, "oh and the Garden gate open for them to use the old toilet up the garden".

    Indulging myself in that amount of space without using it as more than eye candy would annoy me, my Peony's, Roses bush and climbing, would be a must with enough room in the vegetable garden to rotate and have Tomato's and Strawberry's in season of course.

    Reading my Income Tax return yesterday and what I am expected, no told I must pay in the next year, I should have splashed everything on buying such a place years ago and not bothered saving for my old age, we live and learn.

    Frank.

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