Hey printesa!

and wow! I didn't realise you have such a large space at the back of your house (or the front, actually).
I love what you did at the front - it looks formal, but also a bit playful. Whoever planted the pots of grass - is it blue grass?- was very patient and precise; did they measure and mark where every plant will be placed? because that's so exact!! clearly not an amateur job.

Did you want that apple shape lawn at the back or it just happen? That was my first thought when I saw it ("look, an apple!"). I bet it was challenging to decide what to do and how much to plant, how big to leave the lawn, what trees to get, etc. I don't envy you, my space was a challenge because of its minuscule size, yours because it's so large! And I really like that you transformed the 'football field' at the back into something that's different and unique!I I bet you can't wait until the plants start to mature and become established - it will really look stunning. Congratulate yourself, you've done a great job!

Paris was great, we met with a friend there who made us rent a car and go see some of the Loire Valley castles and Mont St Michel.
My plants look great! Yesterday I butchered some artificial grass and lay it in between the plants; Andrew doesn't like it but I do, so it stays! I'll take some photos tomorrow and you can tell me if it should stay or go.
Nite-nite all!

Thanks Luciana!
The design was done by a landscape architect. I liked his work and approach and ended up hiring him. The landscapers who are installing had it very easy since everything was measured to the cm on the plan. All was going well until yesterday when they decided to cut corners and upset me. I had to call the architect to show them that they messed up (it has to do with the retaining wall and walkway,,,they will have an earful when they come back on Friday..it's been raining continuously for the last 24 hours and it will be the same tomorrow).
The small grass in front is blue grass indeed. Right now it looks very formal,,like a formal English garden, but when everything will grow, it will have a softer look (tall grasses and some ice flower plants..and lots of others I don't remember right now, but I will when I will start counting:))
In the back, now I see the apple shape:) I think the wide lens made it more round than it actually is. The yard is longer than it looks here. It was not meant to be an apple shape,,the shape of the yard dictated the design.
I was getting tired of looking at grass and having nothing interesting. We wanted to have some grass so the kids can play ball. The opening towards the right was left on purpose so the kids can play with their cousins next door.
There is still quiet a bit of planting to do,,they have the bulbs in Fall plus other plants that are not in yet. Once everything matures, it will look nice.

Your yard looks gorgeous! I am sure that you can have lots of outdoor parties, especially that is open towards the house as well.
I hope you have better weather than we have here!

Great to hear you had good time in France. I hope you got some wine if you went to Loire Valley:)
I'll wait for photos. Have a good night!

OK, photo session finished. I kept waiting for a bit of sun, but it's too elusive - I gave up in the end.
Here is the artificial grass I've played with 2 days ago. I think it adds colour and covers the boring brown; I plan to keep it there until the plants grow and (hopefully) extend.
Hubby doesn't like that I cut it 'artistically' - he thought I would cover the whole ground in it and it would look like the plants grow out of the lawn. Well, I could've done that, but I thought it boring - this is much more interesting! And anyway I need to go buy bark (mulch) to put around the plants. I have some astro-turf left, I'd probably use it on the raised bed behind the bench; for the time being I've just thrown it on the patio, like a small rug under the chaise.
So, what do you think? Shall I keep it as it is or buy more and cover the whole thing?

Luciana, I love the way it looks as cut-outs, it adds a lot to an already smashing garden. It really adds depth and even more interest to the garden. I especially love the way you have it curving up towards and to the back of the pot - makes a lovely progression from the water feature. Again, I love it!

Thank you again, Sunnie!
I like it as well, I kind of regret just grabbing the scissors and cutting away without a plan -- I could've given it more thought (but that's just not my style). As I said, it stays, my argument for Andrew was: "If you'd have had a garden designer, a landscapers' team and a horticulturist, all doing exactly what you wanted, would the garden look anything like this? No, it would've been nice but soooo boring" (I forgot to be modest that day!)
So... I win! Thanks again!

I like it! It looks really beautiful and interesting. I don't do boring either:) Keep it like this because it's great!

oh Luciana, cracking job, you must be so thrilled. Will do a weather dance for some sunshine so you can use it !

Jesse, you rock! Your sunshine dance worked; the weather was rather splendid for this time of the year.... however, we were away visiting the Pembrokeshire coast, so no gardening for me. But thank you, it was great basking in the sun by the sea...

Glad to hear you went away and enjoyed the nice weather Luciana! If you gathered enough patience and have some to spare, send some over:) The landscape project should have been over by now and it gives me headaches when I see that they are lying to my face and making mistakes,,,need some patience so I don't say a few not so nice words to them:)

Printesa,

I know it can be very frustrating and you tend to lose patience when things don't go the way they should. However, you have a few choices (other than nasty words :)):
Firstly, nag, nag, nag until they do it your way! (also, bake them some brownies or something, I noticed builders work better when you treat them with baked goods)

Secondly, ignore them, let them do whatever, don't even go out to look at the garden until it is finished and then refuse to pay until they correct the mistakes. You can tell them that now, that you won't pay them until it is done to your satisfaction (I assume you didn't pay the whole amount yet).

Thirdly, send out your husband and his brother and their father to deal with them :)) Men deal with men differently!

Lastly, I know you want it over, but you've been patient for quite a few years until starting this project, few more weeks shouldn't matter. Think about how great it will be in a couple of years when everything is mature and lush! just concentrate on the future and try to ignore the now.

Sorry I can't do more to help from here. Stay strong! (and bake some brownies:)))

Thanks Luciana for the encouragements:) We've been doing all of those, with the exception of brownies. I told them they messed up and now they have to fix. They are fixing something, even though I don't see how they can do that without taking things apart. The funny thing is that they know that they won't be paid the remaining balance, which is half of the total cost, until all is done correctly. The architect will come at the end again to check their project. I already brought him twice to make some measurements and he said that they need to fix (they didn't want to do it at first). They lie to my face like those kids whose face is full of chocolate, yet they keep saying that they didn't eat any chocolate:)

And the saga is almost over!

My garden is complete! Today, the last piece has arrived in the form of a red Japanese maple. After countless discussions about what tree to have behind the seating and looking online for endless hours, yesterday I went to the local garden centre and found this beauty. I know I said I want a palm, but none of the ones I've seen made me fall in love with it. This maple though... It looks great and adds so much colour... I do love it. I have to wait for the rain to stop so I can plant it. My brother-in-law has been summoned, he knows he has to report for duty as soon as the weather improves.

I still need to order cushions (not sure what I want though), and decide between a large parasol or some triangular sail shades. But that will happen in late June, we are going to Norway next week, then few days after we're back I'm going to Paris to meet with my mum.

So ladies, this is it! What do you think?

i think it is lovely Luciana - and Im so glad you have á Japanese Maple!!! Very pretty.

It looks great in your garden. We gave this tree here almost everywhere and it looks beautiful. It brings color and the same time is not overpowering.
Have fun in Norway! Nordic countries are on my list to visit, especially Finland (I love a few Finnish music bands so I have a soft spot for them:)). Enjoy Paris as well. Hopefully it won't rain too much either.

Wow, it's perfect, Luciana!

Love the garden, where did you get the purple stones

Hi masmccar76, I think the landscapers bought them from some gravel distributor, but you can get them from lots of places, try http://www.pavingsuperstore.co.uk/snowdonia-polished-stones-43229-p.asp or just google "slate polished pebbles". Good luck!

Thanks Luciana - do you find the polished stone can cause people to slip when wet?

Actually, I don't know! Because of the slate slabs, I don't really get to walk on the pebbles. What I can tell you is that, surprisingly, the pebbles are very 'stable', we didn't have trouble tripping or moving 'em when stepping on them; they've behaved well, so far :)). But they could be slippery when wet as their surface is polished, it's just that didn't happen to us.

cool, your garden is great!!! work on mine starts on Monday!! so excited!

Small update: after Andrew decided to prove to the world (or maybe just the neighbours) that he can write on a vertical surface and having to endure next door's girls telling me 'graffiti is not nice', we finally got to replace the yucky plywood gate with a proper one!

I managed to get my hands on a carpenter - finally!! I wasn't sure how to have the gate made; a visit to B&Q helped a lot, as I decided I want the chippie to use deck boards for the gate. The whole garden design is angular and squarish, so I had to have something to match the rest. There was a slight problem with with the curved top, but I didn't let it stop me :))

Anyway, this is it below. Only painted in an undercoat, I have purple paint - it's going to be the same colour as the pergola. I think it looks ok... what do you think?

PS: the carpenter is great! He's also finished the entrance hall. I might adopt him... https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/victorian-hall-dsvw-vd~1199066

The gate is perfect, great job. Would you consider painting it the same as undercoat for finish coat, it looks great, really works beautifully with the brick and flint. Timeless, classic color combination. :)

Thank you, mefor :))!!!

I have considered leaving it in dark grey, I also like its look. It will stay like this for a while anyway, as I can't be asked to paint it and hubby is busy (sailing all week!!) I have to do something about the bricks now; I can see the state of the old wall and don't like it.

It looks beautiful. I like the dark color..who knows,,,it might stay this way:) Good to see you back,,I was going to email you and see how you are doing. Haven't seen you around for a while now.

Oana, salve!!!

Long time no see! Since they started UK Houzz, I'm rarely following the US site, that's why you haven't 'seen' me, although I did see some of your comments on visits 'to the other side'.

I hope you are ok - love your red chairs and new pergola in the garden - great place to relax!

I'm glad you like the gate... I may leave it like this. Stay well and take care!
Elly

I forgot that there is a UK site as well:) Our yard is coming along..they ripped almost everything out and redid it as per plan (as much as they could because the trees were too much to relocate in their right place). The pergola still needs the pockets for the vertical garden (I added a few, but I need to buy a few more in Spring). As for relaxing,,yes, that part I still have to get to:)
Glad to hear you are doing well!

sorry for the hijack - my garden is nearly finished - totally nerveracking at times!! - another few days to go to tidy it up and it is still a bit of a mess

some photos

Masmccar76, oh wow!!! wow!! it's gorgeous! fantastic!! I love it, just superb!

Love your plant selection and that black grass under the table... not to mention the yin-yang. Even the fence looks great! - what wood is it?

Now I'm jealous... I don't know what you need to finish, it just looks perfect as it is. Congrats!!!

well luciana believe it or not your garden was very much an inspiration for me!!!! It still isn't finished but I spent ages on the design and finding the materials - only issue I have is that the plum slate was just put in today. It is lashing raining and when i walk on the slate, the colour transfers on to the travertine. The wood is iroko. I'll post another picture when the furniture arrives - can;t wait for that

I'm glad if what I did helped :))

I wouldn't worry about the slate, I think it's only dust; after a few more rainy days it will wash off.
Please post a photo with the furniture, I'd love to see it. Actually, if you've taken pics before you started, you could do a before-after thread; many can use the inspiration!

will do, will dig out the before pics ... furniture arrives in about 3 weeks. I am most excited about the furniture !!! i will do another photo with the lighting on too. There are LED strip lights at either side of the recessed walls beside the fireplace. Now that this job is nearly finished I need to find another one. Do you have any other projects you are working on?

Just finished my hallway - http://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/723044/hall https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/victorian-hall-dsvw-vd~1199066

Next I'd be helping a friend who's just bought a house. I hope she'll let me take photos, I can't wait to play with reconfiguring her bathroom.

I realised I never posted a photo with the lights on in my garden, it looks a bit mad.... voila!

wow cool! love the blue lights - I need to find another project as I really enjoyed doing the garden.. Your friend is lucky to have you to help with her house!

and really love the hall too, very handy to put all the handbags etc!

Love the lights! It looks very relaxing

Hey Luciana, some more photo's added. Have some before photo's added too http://www.houzz.com/projects/728924/small-back-garden

Muireann, it's gorgeous! looks really good. Please tell me, what exactly is the round thing on the wall? I like it :))

hey it is an outside fireplace - :) will get more photos when it is lit

I thought so, but didn't want to speculate. How do you clean the ash? I wanted something like that too; maybe I'll convince hubby to get one...

hey there is no ash, as it is a bioethanol fireplace! - no cleaning at all and no flue needed either

Oh, one of those... hubby doesn't like them. No idea why, but he said no repeatedly when I asked him....

were you thinking of it for use indoors or outdoors?

Both, one for our bedroom and one for the outside. In the bedroom, I had the chimney breast 'destroyed' to make space for a long, slim one (should've been like under the painting). Then the carpenter made a mess with the drawers unit and we fired him and left it unfinished, looked for another carpenter (long story) - however, in the meanwhile, Andrew's changed his mind and doesn't want the bio-ethanol fireplace at all.

Outside, I wanted it where the star and birdie is... would've looked fab...

Give him some time Luciana:) Mine did not want to hear about chandeliers that had any crystals so I had to look everywhere for something that he liked and I liked as well. Now he says that I can have all the crystal that I want (not that I wanted something pompous and castle worthy). So yes,,it might take a bit of time, but they change their mind or they don't care anymore:)

Great advice, thanks Oana!! :))

they are really easy to maintain, only word of caution about using them inside is that the room needs to have sufficient ventilation and a certain size, He will come round eventually

Love the back garden, looks fantastic! Can only imagine how beautiful it looks when the fireplace is lit :)