Dampness! Oh no!

So last summer unfortunately was overtaken by solving some dampness issues in our new house.

Over our first winter, we found that we were getting damp patches on all our outermost walls and initially we were very worried.

Luckily for us, we found that it was due to the previous owner using pond liner as weed liner. This was causing water to sit against the house after it had rained instead of draining away from the house. :(

We fixed the damp and then did some extra prevention work in the following ways.

1. First we dug up and re-lay the pond-liner to direct the water away from the house:

Most importantly:

• Ensuring that the mud/earth did not sit higher than the liner against the house.
• Ensuring that the liner sloped down away from the house and that there was somewhere for the water to go.

2. I painted all the outer walls with damp-proof paint (on the inside of the house).

3. I re-sealed all of the windows and doors as some of the sealant had come away.

... And I am very pleased to say, winter 2016 has been damp-free! :)

Additional note:
If you are having trouble with damp, I did a lot of looking into various ways to prevent it and here are the things to look for or change:

1. Ensure that there is no earth directly against the brickwork of your house. At the base of every wall on the outside will be a cement border. Nothing should be above this line that can collect water (including decking or patio). If there is, you can either remove it or, if it is something easy like earth, you can put something waterproof between the house and the earth, like the pond lining above.
2. Always open the windows and close the door to the rest of the house when showering, bathing or cooking on the hob. You should leave the window open for up to 20 minutes afterwards if possible to prevent condensation from hanging around.
3. If you are redecorating, I recommend getting a tub of damp-proof paint to paint the inside of each outer wall (and the border of the adjoining walls for good measure) and you can get these in white too which is then a nice base coat for a colour. :)
4. This one may seem obvious but make sure all your windows and doors are adequately sealed!

The Plans...

OK, so we've been in our house now for 3 wonderful months and we have barely touched the garden aside from some weeding and pruning.

I've harvested some flowers from the garden for indoors which is a quick and easy way to show you some of the pretty plants we already have:

Our current plan (as doodled by Matt and I at the bottom of our shopping list) is as follows:

We intend to:

• Dig up the oak (challenge accepted).
• Reshape the borders.
• Dig up all the black plastic sheeting and re-lay it deeper in the borders (currently there's no soil on top of it at all).
• Put some of the sheeting down under the path to stop the wretched dandelions growing out from under it!
• Lay the middle to lawn.
• Construct veg boxes that border the decking.
• Make a herb box under the kitchen window.
• Plant some more plants around the existing shrubs and trees.
• Paint the decking.
• Sit out in the garden. :)

As we introduce new plants, I'll talk about plant-care too!

The Garden...

To start with, let me give you an overview of our garden.

It's smallish. About 26.5 x 16.5 ft.

10 x 16.5 ft of that is decking.

There's a two-flagstone-wide path down the side to the gate.

The entire garden beyond the decking has been covered with a sheet of black plastic and then covered with bark/wood-chip.

Here is a picture of the garden from the original house advert:
(advertised as 'lovely low-maintenance garden' as you might expect)

As you can see, it's very plain and in need of some colour and life.

Here is a picture of the garden on the week that we moved in (mid-July):

Looking a bit more sunny and green - but somewhat weedy.

... And then here it is today (early October):

After some heavy pruning and weeding (I've not done the path yet).

Good stuff about our garden:

• It's completely in the sun from about 10am - 8pm in the summer.
• It came with lots of 'loot' already.
• Decking.
• Some lovely plants.
• Black plastic sheeting.
• Massive wooden sleepers.
• Volcanic rocks and little boulders.
• ... and other small bits and bobs we can probably make use of.
• It's not overlooked except by our upstairs neighbour - who is lovely.

Bad stuff about our garden:

• It's quite small.
• It's ram-packed with giant spiders.
• An oak tree has very much taken root and is growing in one of the borders.
• Our neighbour's honeysuckle is growing over the fence and whilst I love the plant and it looks very pretty, I'm concerned that it will bring the fence down eventually.

So there it is an overview of the garden as it stands!

Introducing the Gardener...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog!

My name is Chloe.

I really enjoy gardening and I am, at best, 'not terrible' at it... but I'm not particularly brilliant at it either...

Having recently purchased my own house with my best friend and partner (Matt), I thought it would be interesting to document the transformation of our little garden, posting progress shots and all the things I am hoping to learn along the way.

My gardening experience and plant knowledge is somewhat above the average in that I worked part-time in a couple of nurseries as a youngster; had a summer job with a garden landscaping company in my teens and I also worked for a flower farming and distribution company, albeit in the IT department. However, that being said, I have a terrible memory and I don't know a huge amount of gardening 'lingo' so I hope, if you're a new and keen but struggling gardener, you'll find some things on this blog useful.

I am intending to start with the garden transformation but then will move on to individual plant care so hopefully, there will be things applicable to any green thumb.

I will also be keeping a glossary of terms for new words that I learn in the hope that you can learn with me. :)

Thanks for reading.

Chloe

P.S. Here is a picture of me posing with Severus Snape's outfit from the Harry Potter studio tour as it has come to my attention that I have next to no other recent pictures of myself.