Freshwinds Garden Review Part 1

We have had a wonderful year at Freshwinds Garden. It isn`t until I review the photographs that I realise just how much has been achieved in one year. And all the time I hope we are making the garden an even more special place to be.

Many visitors give us great feed-back and we can`t help but bask in their comments, which in turn helps to validate 

what we try to do there.

 The peace, the tranquility, the beauty, the myriad insects, the pet animals...... we love it all.

Here are some pictures to remind us, in these darker days,

 of this year .

In January we developed a new area between the two bottom gates.

There was plenty of chipped bark left over.

By February the new mini-stable for the rabbits and guinea pigs was completed and we had begun to dismantle the rabbit run under the orchard.

By March the patchy orchard grass was clear and ready for reseeding or turfing.

 I learnt to drive the workmax and

 had great fun trundling round the farm.

 The orphaned lambs came to visit and I had the pleasure of

 feeding them.

The areas by the gate and in front of the mini-stable were turfed.

 My sister helped us create the newest scarecrow.

 Steve built a new door for the woodland yurt.

 And a robin built its nest in the witch`s hat inside the cob shed.

 We built a hazel fence round the new grass and strung it 

with lucky horseshoes.

 We made a good start on the new insect hotel.

By May we were ready to prune out the centre growth from the damson tree which seems to have gone wild. 

It has over-shadowed the poor little pear tree.

 The insect hotel was completed.  

The baby robins hatched out.

Anne sawed the top from this old trailer and this was the basis of the fairy garden. Nothing like recycling.

It was a delight to be able to walk round the orchard trees freely,  to inspect the blossom and fruit.

The old water trough was filled with dahlia tubers, which proved too vigorous and were moved later to be replaced with geraniums and busy lizzies.

By June the garden was filling out with flowers and lush growth.

 The polytunnel began to flourish.

 One of the more adventurous tortoises made a bid for freedom.

 The three alpacas settled into the field below the garden.

 The sheep got into the garden and ate the tops from the sunflowers.

In actual fact it did them no harm and may have increased their flowering capacity.

 Dr Who was swamped by clouds of feverfew.

The fairy garden was developed further. It was a delight to create all the miniatures and find suitable tiny plants.

And so the year came round to the halfway mark.

More pictures in part 2 ....... to follow.