Its been such a long time since I wrote anything on the blog, that I had almost forgotten how it works.
Mark posted a while back that other things were occupying our time, rather than the blog or garden. But sometimes its good just to pen ones thoughts, after all a blog is supposed to be a diary of sorts.
So what have we been up to! Well this year has been quite a busy one. Several garden projects (as im sure regular readers will have expected), trips abroad, a landmark birthday for myself (21 again!!), days out and DIY in the house whilst both of us having busy professional lives too have kept us occupied.
The garden has done well this year overall, a couple of surprises with established plants randomly dieing off - Choisya ternata and Aralia elata variegata. Both had been in the garden for a number of years - the Choisya probably about 10, and had shown no signs of problems but suddenly they were gone. We expect to have lots of none-varigated suckers from the Aralia next year as it was a grafted plant.
We also completed the raised bed on the top patio which had been planned for some time.
This was finished in the same sandstone coping we used on the koi pond to tie it into that look, and after some deliberation the brick wall and fence was painted white behind it.
Beyond this and a few smaller projects the garden is pretty much as it was last year. Winter is now fast approaching and the garden has had some frost already, many of the tender plants are already in the greenhouse or jungle hut, although some are still out, trying to keep them out as long as possible but do need to get everything else moved soon.
As I mentioned above we had a number of holidays this year, after a very quiet year for us last year we were determined to make the most of our time off from work, and also make more efforts to take advantage of living fifteen minutes from Luton Airport.
The highlight was a trip to Bali back in October - this was Marks birthday gift to me, and was a fantastic surprise.
Internally we have finally finished renovating the master bedroom, one of the few rooms in our home that was untouched by our major renovation in 2013.
So with 2017 around the corner, we have a number of plans for more travel maybe even a major change in lifestyle, so watch this space.
Gaz
Mark posted a while back that other things were occupying our time, rather than the blog or garden. But sometimes its good just to pen ones thoughts, after all a blog is supposed to be a diary of sorts.
So what have we been up to! Well this year has been quite a busy one. Several garden projects (as im sure regular readers will have expected), trips abroad, a landmark birthday for myself (21 again!!), days out and DIY in the house whilst both of us having busy professional lives too have kept us occupied.
The garden has done well this year overall, a couple of surprises with established plants randomly dieing off - Choisya ternata and Aralia elata variegata. Both had been in the garden for a number of years - the Choisya probably about 10, and had shown no signs of problems but suddenly they were gone. We expect to have lots of none-varigated suckers from the Aralia next year as it was a grafted plant.
We also completed the raised bed on the top patio which had been planned for some time.
This was finished in the same sandstone coping we used on the koi pond to tie it into that look, and after some deliberation the brick wall and fence was painted white behind it.
Beyond this and a few smaller projects the garden is pretty much as it was last year. Winter is now fast approaching and the garden has had some frost already, many of the tender plants are already in the greenhouse or jungle hut, although some are still out, trying to keep them out as long as possible but do need to get everything else moved soon.
As I mentioned above we had a number of holidays this year, after a very quiet year for us last year we were determined to make the most of our time off from work, and also make more efforts to take advantage of living fifteen minutes from Luton Airport.
The highlight was a trip to Bali back in October - this was Marks birthday gift to me, and was a fantastic surprise.
Internally we have finally finished renovating the master bedroom, one of the few rooms in our home that was untouched by our major renovation in 2013.
So with 2017 around the corner, we have a number of plans for more travel maybe even a major change in lifestyle, so watch this space.
Gaz
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
Ooh, intrigued at the hint at a major lifestyle change. Nice to see you here again, and great to see you've been living life to the max :)
ReplyDeleteHere's to a great 2017!
Is that you and Mark in the next to last picture? Wow, being so busy has changed your appearance dramatically! Seriously, I'm excited for your thought of a major change in lifestyle and will watch your blog to see what happens next! Wishing you Christmas cheer and a very happy new year!
ReplyDeleteCheeky!
DeleteOh you are funny!
DeleteHi Gaz, great to hear from you guys! Wonderful that you could travel to Bali, that is one of the countries that I really would like to visit myself. Wishing you Happy Holidays and a great New Year!
ReplyDeleteWarm regards,
Christina
Great to hear from you again! Does one of the "several garden projects" involve building another outdoor room? You seem to add one every year -- I seriously don't know where you put them all! Looking forward to hearing about the exciting changes...
ReplyDeleteYou both are always working on great new projects. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteSo great to see a post from you! Life does have a way of taking over sometimes and once you take a break from regular blogging, it's hard to get back in the swing. Isn't it strange how established plants sometimes just up and die?
ReplyDeleteGreat to catch up with your news - what a wonderful experience your trip to Bali must have been. I've heard it's so so beautiful, something your photo shows. (Hilarious pic of the monkeys, btw!) Garden is looking good too - and now a major change next year? Where do you get your energy from?!?
ReplyDeleteNice to get an update - and yay Bali!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to see you surface again! As I approach the 4th anniversary of my own blog, I can see the value of taking a break from it to indulge in simply living life instead of talking about it. Still, we missed the two of you! I hope we're going to see more of Bali in future posts. A belated happy birthday Gaz!
ReplyDeleteGood to see a post from you! There's certainly something to be said for making the most of life rather than just writing about it. I can't say I've been very good at either, lately. Bali sounds lovely right now, with snow covering the ground here at the moment. I have to echo Caro's question: where do you get all that energy?
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you. You'll have to post some of the Balinese gardens. I'm guessing you may have visited a couple. Also, please don't judge Australians by the ones you see at Kuta.��
ReplyDeleteAs the others have said good to hear from you, glad you're keeping busy!
ReplyDeleteBali Hai and Happy Holidays! Always fun to see what you've been up to.
ReplyDeleteI killed a couple choisya some years back then gave up. Since it's never seen growing locally, I figured it hates Los Angeles/zone 10. I did see some beautiful specimens in England. There are some interesting crosses like 'Aztec Pearl' that still tempt me. Sorry you lost yours and the aralia too. And you now are obligated to post on that "major" change! Happy holidays (Boxing Day).
ReplyDeleteI visit your sight as often as I can as I see this site as a great way to search for new ideas and keep up with the modern way of gardening. So it's great to see you back in action and posting a new article. I love sitting down after a long day to read the latest article on your site so keep them coning! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you again and to catch up, have a great Holiday and Happy and Healthy New Year!
ReplyDelete