The MGS Forum
Our gardens, a month-by-month pictorial diary of what's looking good now => Our Gardens => Topic started by: John J on August 06, 2018, 06:45:37 AM
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Recently I came across some old photos that had been languishing in a drawer. Amongst them I found a couple that had been taken from outside our kitchen door. The first was taken in April 1997 when I returned to get the house ready for us to move into permanently, my wife was due to join me in the July when she had completed her contract as a teacher at a school in London. The second is of the area to the right, where the old clothesline used to be, and was taken around 2006 when our first grandchild came on the scene. I turfed it as a play area for him, and for his younger sister when she turned up. Once they outgrew it the turf was rapidly removed and it went through a number of incarnations, the current one being the third and fourth photos.
I apologise for the poor quality of the photos but they are scanned from old shots from the pre-digital age.
The first and second photos seem to have become switched over somehow and I am not technologically proficient enough to swap them back, sorry!
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Very interesting John especially to see how a garden can evolve and change according to needs. Although gardening now in a much smaller area I am nevertheless taking Into consideration the ongoing care and maintenance needed as the ever advancing years take their toll and am avoiding subjects that need constant care. One good example being Clematis armandii that I love but that does need such care if it is not to become a tangled overgrown mess with unsightly dead leaves spoiling the effect for large parts of the year. The opportunity to grow different things is endless however and adds to the pleasure as I am sure you will agree.
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Fascinating John; thanks very much!
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I know exactly what you mean, Carole. It's a constant battle between being seduced by some new, interesting plant and finding out what its needs are with regard to maintenance and care issues. We are also trying to reduce the work involved in maintaining our plot, not always with the greatest of success I'm sorry to say.
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Some more of the old photos.
The first was taken not long after we acquired the property in 1968 and shows a few of the olive trees that were present then.
When I arrived in 1997 to get the house ready for permanent residence the field was high with weeds as in the second photo.
I had bought a strimmer in UK but it was somewhere on the high seas in a container along with our other possessions, so I attacked them armed only with a sickle. It was 20 years ago and I was a bit younger and fitter then!
The land was then ploughed, a few fruit trees planted and irrigation lines laid, as in photo 3.
The last 3 photos are as part of the garden looks now.
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What a transformation John - can imagine the hours of work that went into it but also the immense pleasure. I feel there is something rewarding about working on the land that is very particular even when things do not always go according to plan. We are just one element of the natural world and, through gardenening, we can learn so much not only about plants but also about the animal life that shares the land we cultivate and, above all hopefully, about ourselves.
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... just as Carole says! And looking at that olive field at the top, what vision and ambition, John, armed with your sickle and a hefty dose of determination!
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As stated earlier in this thread we obtained our property in 1968 but didn't build a house on it until 1987/88. Photo 3 shows that the determination to oversee all aspects of the job was paramount.
The last 3 photos show that the wooden window frames, complete with slatted shutters, have been replaced by aluminium double-glazed ones. Also the old wooden front door now adorns the back wall of the house, having been duly mosaiced.
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What a beautiful house. Even better is how it sits so well in it's surroundings. There is a sense of rightness and belonging.
Love seeing your little pond.
Daisy
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Thank you, Daisy. As for the pond, we wanted a few water-lilies but didn't feel we could justify too large a container with the on-going water situation here on the island.
As a matter of interest, my wife features in one of the photos but has anyone spotted that I'm actually in there too! ;)
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You're too well hidden for me to spot, John!
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Hi Daisy. Thanks for your commends. I grew up having to fetch the water from a communal tap. It was a very early morning job as it would be turned off by midday. I have always been water wise wherever I have lived and only half filled the bath tub after completing marathons. Having a waterlily pond took years of discussions but finally I soothed my conscience by economising water in other ways. In my next life I will choose to live in a tropical country and have an enormous pond.
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Actually, Alisdair, I only spotted it while I was posting the photos. If you look at the photo of the front of the house, with the pond, the left hand pane of the window on the right has my reflection standing outside the boundary wall taking the photo.
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After much searching did conclude you were on that 'photo John but did not realise it was a reflection - thought you were just lurking in the house!
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Got it! (Had to take off my polaroid sunglasses 8))
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You’ve been watching too many TV crime series!