Yay! Bought the first plants for my garden today :).

[BadgerBadger]

Hardly breaking news, but it's good to be at this stage at last! Turf is coming at the weekend .

(Levanna)

The hard landscaping can be grim and never ending. I'm also finally at planting stage, so good luck to us both !

Have fun with your turf !

Turf is down at last.

Good luck to you too!

Looking forward to a good few summer evenings here, friends over, food on the BBQ, flowers blooming..... so long as no-one damages the turf!

It's a great feeling- the anticipation of enjoying a glass or two, sitting looking out at your hard work!
DS is 5 and I can remember the tiny section of garden we had "prepared" for his 1st birthday party.
Our garden isn't that big, but is on a slope with a 2/3 foot drop onto the patio, had two concrete paths running the length of it. One half was all veggie patch the other was very country cottage, large oak tree stump, and load of little stepping stones! It was lovely when we moved in but really not suitable for ds. When dd came along (she has Downs Syndrome) we decided that we just had to make it more child friendly.
WE have managed to reduce the slope, lots of digging and topsoil, removed tons of hardcore when taking up the paths,had stump grinding machine in to dig out tree stump, turfed, laid slightly raised borders, and last of all NEARLY completed the patio!
After cutting the grass and tidying up a bit last weekend we sat, just watching the children, hoping that this year we can enjoy our garden rather than spend all our time doing hard landscaping!
ENJOY!

Suprisingly hard work isn't it. Take a photo whilst it looks pristine, and remember: plenty of water !

Sounds great, Dingle. Wish they had a photo bulletin board where we could dump random shots

WE still have a fair bit to do. We would love to take down the old shed at the bottom of the garden and replace it with a nice summer/play house for the kiddies.
We have the last few slabs to lay on the patio, and a 12 foot pergoda to put up. WE want to roof half of that and trellis one side to give us somewhere sheltered to sit with a glass of wine, whatever the weather.

It was amazing to watch the kiddies run around and at long last be able to enjoy the freedom of the garden IYSWIM.

Dingle, funnily enough, DD1's 3rd birthday party is the reason we have flung the turf down before replacing the patio/path! (I say flung, but 90 m2 is shoulder aching stuff )

It would be fun to have somewhere to put the before and afters. Also, it could help with thinks like plant identification!

How long have you been working on your garden BB?

DS 's birthday is at the end of August, it's funny really. Every summer for the last 5 years we have been aiming to get another section of the garden done for his party!
On his first party we didn't even have any grass, we had dug up half the veggie patch, levelled it off and just threw down some bark chippings so that he could have his paddling pool out!

It would be great to have somewhere to show pics, I could show you the pic of the pile of rubble we called a patio last year!

Dingle: Money no object ? Havenwood sheds are rather nice.

I designed and built ours with a chippy. We reused the entire old shed as the interior cladding, and reused old loft ridge beams to fashion a super-thick desk. It looks v. nice indeed.

Cedar shakes (not shingles) for the roof was the final touch of madness. Actually, the final touch of madness was double glazed laminated panes so I could stick a music system in there and kids / burglars couldn't bust the glass !

They look great hub2dee. Probably right out of our budget. I can't justify spending too much as we are meant to be cutting back and saving for an extension; a bigger garage,utility room, a downstairs toilet,an extra bedroom , ensuite, a larger family bathroom and possible a gallery with access into the loft!
I can live in hope-perhaps I should just settle for a large summerhouse! I would love a room for my crafts and card-making as I have taken over the conservatory ATM!

Getting back to the summerhouse/play house. I don't want to get a playhouse that the children will have outgrown in a few years. It would be nice to have something we could all use as a extra room-in the garden!MY creative side wants to be able to whitewash the inside and make it really homely!

They were well expensive. That's why I ended up buiding to own spec myself. Of the order of £4K - £6K for something small (approx 5 X 7ft maybe ?). Their build quality and detailing are great though.

Get a cheapy from a shed specialist or B&Q and paint / treat to your taste - you'll have the extra room without the massive splurge.