Time for a change...

After lots of work, we finally got to a point where we could sit outside and enjoy the garden.... the only problem being the slight slope towards the back of our house, which meant we had to prop up the end of our table.  So, lesson learnt, we made the decision to go ahead and pull up all the bricks, and start over. 

So, over a couple of weekends, all of the bricks were pulled up, and a couple of cubic metres were dropped in to the courtyard in order to get the yard as flat as possible.  It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort, and made the courtyard feel much more enjoyable to be in.

                                      

Once completed, the garden finally felt 'finished', it was just a matter of time for the private green hedge to fill in, and hide the side fences.  We also wanted to replace our outdoor table with a teak setting, but knew that could wait!

  

Below is the side garden looking to the left of the courtyard.  As you can see, the hedge has pretty much joined up, creating a 'walled-room' effect.  I really love the look of green layered against green, and now that the hard surfaces are covered, it felt like a beautiful oasis, especially on hot days when the garden would remain relatively cool with its own micro-climate.

 

In January 2012, we completed the courtyard by painting the back roller door a dark blue/grey, and installed reinforced mesh in-front, on which we grew a Crimson Glory Vine (Korean Grape).  We cut a door into the mesh for easy access to the rear laneway, and made sure the mesh could be removed without too much effort, should the yard need to be used as a carpark (not that we wanted to use it for that purpose!)

 

And, shortly after 'finishing' the garden, we made the decision to sell the house... And buy something with more space for a larger garden.  Our little boy Lachie, was 2 and a half at this time, and it felt right to return to Adelaide where we both grew up. Ironically, we weren't sad to leave the house at all, but definitely walked away from the garden and plants feeling quite sad!  It would've been great to be able to take them with us, especially as some of them had been with us from when we were first married back in 2003!