Getting on with it...finally!

Well as part of my 50 things by 50 commitment, I need to get moving on my front side garden. I have a corner block and so it is not your traditional shaped garden. I have a fairly small back garden, good size front garden and large front side garden.

Now when I moved into this house nearly 3 years ago now, it had been owned by an old couple who were no longer able to look after it and was quite run down. My priority was fixing the house and just trying to maintain the garden and with a drought still happening I didn't want to put too much into the garden. BUT...the drought has broken...time to start on it again.

I did plant some more hedge plants to fill in the gaps on the boundary and they are sloooowly growing, plus I planted a circular bed in the middle with an English Elm in the centre, surrounded by lavenders and Japanese box.

Now, I have had a plan of how I want it to look and I am gradually working my way towards it but I have had some wonderful inspiration from Kim at Savvy Southern Style, her beautiful front garden with the magnificent white crepe myrtles and gloriously curved garden beds...of course her house isn't half bad either!!!

Isn't this to die for!!!

I love the curved beds

Of course my lawn doesn't look like this either, mine is wearing its winter grey just waiting for Spring to resurrect it!

 This is the before photo...pretty bland

I have started cutting into the lawn to make sweeping beds around the garden.

there is a LOT of turf to remove I looked at hiring a turf cutter but it was too expensive....where as my labour is free!!! It is just going to take a lot of weekends but I am determined to do this.

I am going to replace the failing elm tree in the center bed and the choice is between the lovely white crepe myrtles that Kim has used in her garden above or....

a beautiful white denudata magnolia, I think the crepe myrtle will be faster growing but I do love magnolias, I did have a little splurge and bought this magnolia burgundy glow below for another part of my garden.

I cant resist buying beautiful plants but for most of this garden I will have to beg, borrow and steal ( well not quite steal but maybe a few cuttings here and there!). I love to limit the colour palette in the garden as I would in the house. This garden will be in soft pinks, mauve's, blues and whites. The majority I would like to be white with pockets of colours.

When designing your garden yourself, treat it the same way you would designing a room inside. There are many different styles of gardens, one day my small back garden will be transformed into a Balinese retreat but for now it is the side garden I am concentrating on, it will be more of an English cottage garden with a reduced range of colours.

There will be lots of lavenders and windflowers, roses, winter roses, and more....keep watching and see how it progresses.