Georgian (Story) Boards

Get set for another before and after story. This time we feature the original Georgian floorboards and their stories.

Like every other room, the hallway was scrubbed and scrubbed dozens of times with a pericarbonate solution because of the cat destruction, leaving the boards stripped and dry. 

(Read about it here in "Win Some?Lose Some") 

As you can see, otherwise, they are in pretty original condition and carry the decades of wear upon them. Note the colour difference and tack line where a carpet runner decades ago was tacked into place and of course the paint spills from previous "handy men". The boards have aged incredibly and still hold a dead straight line and some faintly show the pit saw marks. There are gaps but this allows the boards to swell and contract and we are not subject to draughts because of the solidness of the foundations and the special draughting tunnel built under the boards

(Read about that here in "What Lies Beneath")

The entire area was prepped by a thorough clean down with methylated spirits. Beeswax was gently melted in a ratio of 2:1 with Gum Turpentine. This creates a pliable, softish wax that is skimmed lightly across the boards to put down a thin layer that is then worked and polished with ultra fine steel wool (like size 0). The friction creates warmth and spread the wax in an even layer and helps it to penetrate the timber fibres, nourishing and evening, leaving a hard protective coating but most importantly, a breathable finish.

Rather than plugging holes and filling nail heads, we leave in full view the tribute to a time when every nail was hand made. Many people are tempted to sand back to perfection and then coat with a polyurethane finish.  I find this natural product and glowing finish to be the perfect treatment as we step as lightly as we can upon the history.

My Frost Protectors

Can you see my frost protection?

How about now?

Poppies!

That's right, these over-run perennial borders of poppies are one of the ways I protect tender plants from late frosts. Growing in the midlands is a challenge and last week's low temperatures showed us we are still not safe from frosts.

We are tentatively planting out tomatoes and zucchinis but we're ready with the covers just in case. Unfortunately the poppies weren't tall enough six weeks ago and all but a couple of my iris buds were destroyed but I can't cover everything. Actually in those frosts we even lost things in the poly-tunnel.

Long time readers will remember that when we moved here a few years ago we had our hands full with the house and the garden (paddock!) just had to wait, so I sprinkled some poppy seed hoping to have some spring beauty and a way of keeping some weeds down and mulch at the end.

Besides being cheap, easy, showy and then providing mulch and seed ....

It helped to cut some of the winds and I found it was wonderful protection for emerging dahlias and salvias etc. They are so expendable and if they get broken or blown it really doesn't matter. At the very least they put on a colourful show after the bulbs and blossom have finished and the bees adore them. 

And next year they come again....

When Time Stood Still...

...Or at least it seemed to run slower....

We invited a father and son metal detecting duo to spend a half day at our place this month. We have broken ground on the new shed which is right beside the original stables and we have been unearthing many more "treasures" and old wagon pieces.

Here are some of the items they found and at the end is a little video they made of their exploration here.

The watch above and the silver plated lighter were exciting finds because they are often engraved items but sadly we didn't discern anything on these items.

People on this property have also been very careful with their money...

this is the only coin found, a half penny from 1944 and a penny dated 1941.

Front and back of maybe some horse tack? Anyone have any ideas?

The large piece is very heavy like lead but not terrible soft. Maybe it's a pewter? The little round item is brass and the front has a section of willow pattern on it???

Anyway, here is Jay and his dad with their video. Jay has other videos on YouTube too.

Building A Wall - Building A Community

A dozen strangers came together over the weekend to learn an old skill and created a thing of beauty, something to last through decades, long after we are all gone. We hosted a dry stone walling workshop taught by a master stonemason from Derbyshire UK.

They learnt about the nature of the stone and that there is a lot more to building a stone wall than just balancing rock upon rock. Each piece was searched and chosen from the pile and hammered and shaped to lock in with the others.

 There is a lot of physics involved in creating a stable wall, pinned by it's own weight and tightly tied with key stones running lengthwise and as importantly, transversely.

They learnt about creating features in a wall to weather storms and erosion and livestock interactions. Neil will find it very hard to rub against at this angle! 

There is much to learn about the stonemasons craft but in just two days a group of people who had never done this before created 8m of very handsome and more importantly, safe and sound walling. I am so very proud of them and can't stop looking at it.

Our participants were all so positive and willing and from diverse backgrounds. We had teachers, builders, landscapers, passionate gardeners and old property owners. Their stories were fascinating and their journeys purposeful. Our lives touched briefly but the skills they learnt this weekend will ripple wider throughout the community like pebbles in pond water. As we watched the magnificent pink and orange sunset we couldn't help but pinch ourselves and think how fortunate we are to have these wonderful opportunities. It's hard work, and we have to "make things happen" but the payoff is rich and rewarding to make so many new friends.

Garden Construct and Structure

This has to be the hardest we have worked in the garden! 

Spring and summer are pretty full on with the growing but in this pre-winter period we have been attending to the structural parts of the garden - Remember...this garden just two years ago was a paddock. We have put in some vertical structures like the arches and old gates (like sbove). These give the landscape some substance in winter when most of the garden is dormant.

Over the summer we have been getting ute loads of sandstone "crazy" pavers. These are a random mix of shapes and sizes that we have loosely sorted ready for laying down the central path of the garden.

Some painting jobs are prepped; like the folding seats and a couple of arches but there is lots of linseed oil maintenance waiting to be done too on timber fences and the fowl yard.

Lots of trimming back, dahlia shifting, seed saving, seedling exchanges and vine tying. 

The bulbs!

I've planted about 100 bulbs this autumn, mostly white tulips and white daffodils. I've mixed the varieties in the same colour so that I get a lasting display over the spring between the early and late bloomers.

I've planted out violas and pansies for winter colour into spring and we have our cold crops under way and battling the rabbits. Our pasture has been improved and Neil-Not-Veal (calf) is also thriving on cut lucerne and an oat, corn, barley mix. He has grown his winter coat and is getting jolly boisterous.

Our major project over the coming months though will be a dry stone wall down one boundary side. We will be hosting classes taught by a master Stonemason/Waller from Derbyshire UK. We have sourced some lovely sandstone that splits safely like butter and should produce a beautiful traditional boundary to last centuries to come.

(photo by Valerie Carline)

This is similar to what we are working towards and daily we indulge in gate fantasies....

like this beautiful one in Ross.

Timber or metal???

To tie it in with the shed....but that's a yonder still project again!

Another Before and After- Sort Of

This small front strip of garden has had a few stages in it's transformation. Above is how it looked when we first moved in and...

you can read the story of the exciting path find here.

It has since been given a tidy and some planting while other projects took priority. I have planned all along a white garden for this front area and our budget somewhat hi-jacked has priority constraints too. 

Last year I planted 50 white tulips and white daffodils and two Teddy Bear magnolias flanked the front door.

This month I started removing the temporary plants not part of the scheme and laid some weed matting and defined the two beds with some convict bricks. 

Finally I have my long awaited gravel and the front is coming to plan. It's a sandstone colour and goes well with the dressed stone of the cottage. The Erigeron "Seaside Daisy" forms some permanent clumping in the bed and mostly annuals will provide the changing views of this garden. The battering westerly winds would be too much for standard roses etc. 

The plants in this area have to survive quite extreme conditions; westerly sun and winds, frosts down to -7C and low water. We are very mindful of not interfering with the house foundations and the natural breathing of the building.

So for next spring I have planned that white larkspur, wall flowers, and sweet rocket will accompany the white bulbs and be followed in summer by white cosmos and dahlias.

The next part of this project is to paint the windows and front door fresh glossy white and perhaps the front iron fencing too...or perhaps black for that.... 

Don't Fence Me In

(entrance to the sheep pen)

We have a little bit over an acre and it was pretty much just one paddock when we arrived. Over the past 18 months there has been quite a bit of fencing to do, creating a garden/house yard, making the boundaries secure and fencing off a paddock for the sheep. Having sheep also means having a penning area in order to be able to catch them for shearing, health inspection and slaughtering. They don't like corners much and this curved fence above is a good visual for them. It was made from "give-away" timber - an old pool fence someone was dismantling. 

The other side of the sheep catching pen is created by this existing foundation wall from the ruined cottage at the bottom of the property. Over many years, quince and plum trees have grown through an abandoned wire fence above the stone wall and created an impenetrable yet natural looking barrier so we are working with what we've got and saving where we can.

A tall pine tree has been chopped down while the Golden Child was home to help his father and they created a "wall" with the cut logs and made a partition for the compost heap by weaving the limbs. Again, natural, effective,cost efficient and it solved the dilemma of getting rid of tree waste.

Both are pretty solid yet temporary. They are easily shifted should needs change.

And since we've been here, needs have changed and our garden is as fluid as it was in our last place. Already the shearer has decided that we need more room for the vegetables and extended the house yard, employing old gates and recycled timber sourced cheaply from someone dismantling an old deck. These sort of projects cost only a few dollars for the gate fittings as we still have wire left over from the boundary fencing.

The Golden Child and I spent a lovely day together while he was here, dividing off some of the fowl yard for the young chicks as they grow through. Again, the posts, rails and even the wire is all recycled from previous applications and the only cost was the screws and staples. This will also give us the flexibility to have guinea fowl or quail if we desire later down the track.

The fowl yard as you know is made entirely from recycled material and I've posted about it here if you would like to see more photos. At the back of this yard is a little drop door that we can leave open for the fowl to access the paddock and free-range all day. Thus they are fenced from the house yard but have access to the paddock.

So many reasons and needs for fencing and many ways to do it. The boundary fences are properly strained and needed to be secure and have cost the most of course but otherwise, it is possible to be quite resourceful. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Twined Climbing Frames

Thank you all for the lovely encouragement and kind words. 

The long term plan for the front garden is a white garden of cottage style but for now a bit of anything to fill the gaps and bring joy. Bright balls of blooming dahlias. 

These climbing tepees were one of the last projects the Golden Child helped me with before he flew out on Monday. He is so like his father, I have a scheme and he accedes and makes my dreams reality. 

We have been cutting some juvenile English elm trees that are too close to the neighbouring house. We cut some sturdy lengths and used some strappy Siberian iris leaves to weave fine twig lengths around the poles.

I plan to plant white sweet peas to climb these for the spring.

Either side of the door in large urns we have planted evergreen magnolias "Teddy Bear" and under-planted with white annuals. I am pouring over white tulip varieties for late winter and have planted some miniature white agapanthus, some hardy erigeron with it's tiny white daisy-like flowers and helichrysum "Hi Ho Silver", a hardy silver foliage ground cover.

In the front, I have planted a low hedge of Italian lavender.

An After and Before

Thank you for your lovely comments and input.

Some have noted the very quiet January.

All is well here but it has been a delightfully busy Spring/Summer and we have taken full advantage of having the son home (or as one of his sister's calls him, "The Golden Child") for a couple of months.

He loves to garden and practice animal husbandry and over the next few posts I'll show you what we've been up to.....

But for now, here is an "After and Before" photo, just for a change. We are excited to be painting the window and door trims and the front fence very soon but isn't it amazing what a bit of garden can do?

Face It

The generations have always had a gap.

But of each of us has belonged and owned every generation as we move into them.

Are they so different?

Is each successive one really unique?

Some of the faces from china finds from the yard over the past 18 months, indeed dating and spanning several generations. Can you guess the oldest and the youngest?