How the Garden Developed
Once the heavy work of earth moving and grading was complete, the task was now to create a lawn and delineate the garden boundary. The choices for the lawn was between turf and seed. Turf gives an instant result but on such a large area is expensive. Seed can give mixed results, takes a long time to get established and is very weather dependent as well as being susceptible to birds and pests in the early stages. Nevertheless, we opted to seed the lawn.
The garden boundary has a number of options. Fencing, which is subject to a number of planning considerations dependent on the distance from the public road. Block walling, which has similar planning considerations and is more expensive than fencing. Lastly, hedging, which provides a living boundary. The disadvantages of hedging are that it; takes time to establish, is subject to the usual problems of things that grow and once established requires regular maintenance/grooming.
We opted for hedging for the east and west boundaries using Leylandii. We initially left the rear of the plot open to the quarry area.
Once the grass seed got established the garden assumed its normal role as a play area for the children, Above photos are from a Garden Party held for members of the Elgin Synchronised Swimming Club. Please note that paving has been added to the front and side areas of the garage as well as across the back of the house. This replaced the original gravel approach and the single slab pathway around the house. Note how close the lawn is to the back of the garage. This will change in later years. Note also the open area around the LPG tank and the unobstructed view to the west.