Goodbye August, Hello September

With the bank holiday weekend behind us, it’s time to say hello to autumn and the new school year. But seriously, where did August go?

I don’t know about you, but August flew so fast! I hardly had time to catch my breath. Between managing the builders, DIY garden project, hosting BBQs, playdates/outings, a kiddo with bronchiolitis, and driving lessons, it has been a busy, but productive August. I thought I share a few photos of our little garden project from early August. 

Our Garden: A Labour of Love

Our garden has come a long way since we moved to our little corner of SE London seven years ago. We transformed the hideous “workshop” at the rear of our garden into a light-filled garden studio aka “The Sunroom”. Together with the gardener, Kenz and I whacked all the overgrown weeds, removed a dead birch tree, painstakingly leveled the entire garden and then laid fresh turf. We then created a pathway using recycled materials we uncovered in the garden and filling the gaps with pea gravel. We put some serious sweat equity into the garden. It is truly a labour of love. 

With some new garden purchases this summer, our 5mx3.5m paved patio area was starting to feel small. We could never open the double French door as the outdoor dining set was in the way. Grilling was tricky as there was not enough room to maneuver around. There was only one way back into the house. So on a whim, Kenz and I decided to extend the paving slabs as a DIY garden job. On a whim, I mean we decided on a Sunday to get started on a Wednesday. 

I know…what were we thinking? 

Even with the shortage of basic building materials, miraculously we were able to source enough materials for 4mx2.7m patio extension. Jewson came to the door and dropped a pallet of 30x25kg bags of sharp sand, 10 bags of cement (which is in low supply!), and 54 paving slabs. There’s no turning back now. 

I ask again… what were we thinking? 

The tricky part was that Kenz and I had to manage the DIY patio project between Lady Yeya’s part-time nursery and work calls. We worked as efficiently as possible in 5 hour blocks over 4 non-consecutive days. I had to first remove about 6 bags of gravel to make way for the new patio extension. Unfortunately, our DIY project was delayed by monsoon-like rain for four consecutive days leaving our garden in a big muddy mess. 

Again, what were we thinking? 

Kenz did most of the mixing of the mortar, whilst I did my best to lay and level 54 paving slabs in a neat grid of 9×6 to make a 10.8 square metre patio area. The levelling was hard, mostly because we couldn’t quite level the subcore previously laid five years ago. This DIY project took a lot of physical strength and patience, but nothing compared to the sweat equity we put in to rototill the entire 60’ garden. Still, it was a lot of hard work. 

It isn’t perfect but it was surely a labour of love and we look forward to spending time in the garden as long as the British weather allows us to do so.