Where to Start and Incredible Garden!

Another gloriously British Summer morning in Warmington...the gentle tapping of the rain on the window and the flat grey sky remind me that we're in mid August! We've been in the bungalow now for 4 months...although I feel so calm and settled here it feels like we've always lived here.

It's always hard to know where to start with something such as a blog - who knows where it will go and what stories it will tell. All I know is that this is the beginning of an incredibly exciting journey for us (and by us I mean me Emma and my best pal and husband Richard - together we are Em and Rich!), and that with the ability to tell our story at my finger tips why not document it - if nothing else we can look back on this when we're old and grey!

As I sit in the most peaceful part of the house, which just so happens to be my bed facing out on to our gorgeous mature garden I always have such a mix of feelings. I feel incredibly fortunate that we have secured such a magical spot and so excited to start making the house OUR home and at the same time so incredibly overwhelmed.

I'm a total novice when it comes to gardening, I dabbled with mixed success with growing vegetables and a few plants in our old place. We'd designed the garden to be very low maintenance, with raised beds and gravel (and a small patch of grass) - so the contrast to here couldn't be more different. We've inherited an incredibly mature garden that over the years has been loved and nurtured, each plant well considered...me I'm still trying to determine what's a weed and what's a plant!

I'm learning...learning quickly as I go - we moved in during May, when the garden was just about going wild everything suddenly turned green and went crazy. I've spent nearly every weekend since we've been here weeding, chopping, pruning, digging, strimming and cutting - trying to contain it has felt like quite the task.

So this blog...expect garden learning (and failing), house chat (Grand Designs eat your heart out) and other general chit chat about village life! So if you're an avid watcher of Escape to the Country, Grand Designs, Gardeners World and Countryfile - buckle up for low rent combination of all the above!

Comments

Chilli Penguin Woody Stove Review | Maiden Lighting

If you've been reading my blog posts, you'll know that we've been sort of renovating our lounge (more by accident than design) in order to enable us to install a log burner for the winter. The 1960's bungalow that we finally purchased in May 2017 doesn't benefit from central heating (just individual electric heaters), and there is no mains gas to the property. While we've been making decisions on the best route forward for a central heating system, we thought we'd crack on an install a log burner to give us a source of heat, and also because a fireplace with log burner is sympathetic to the house, the style we are looking to go for and it's stunning country village surroundings. We were fortunate that there was already a chimney and constructional hearth in place, so it was a case of getting rid of the original decorative fireplace and opening up the original fireplace to accommodate a burner. The original decorative fireplace - for a ...

Is Farrow and Ball Worth the Money? Choosing and Using Farrow and Ball

If you’re reading this blog, then perhaps, like us, you’re embarking on a re-decorating or renovation project, someone has recommended using Farrow and Ball and your wondering 'is it really worth the money?'. Choosing For us, the recommendations had come in thick and fast. Everyone from our (rather fabulous) dog groomer (Ruth at The Cotswold Grooming Co) to the MD where I work had raved about Farrow and Ball; “the coverage is great”, “the colours are outstanding”, “it’s really worth the money” – and so much to Rich’s dismay, we ended up in the Farrow and Ball section of the paint aisle at Homebase. Of course, we did due diligence and looked at other paint brands, everything from low to middle range…and left empty handed with nothing but a colour chart and a few colour swatch cards. Paint looks so different under the lights at mainstream DIY stores, and having already chosen our curtains, we were keen to ensure the paint complimented the curtains as well ...

How to Stay Warm in a Colder House

So yes, harping on about it again....we live in a VERY cold house, and recently it snowed....alot! Part of this renovation project is the installation of a full central heating system. So far we've installed a Biomass boiler, which is heating our water, and in time will heat the whole house with a mix of rads and a retro-fitted wet under floor heating system. However, for now as we are still in the planning stages of room layout we are living with electric, fluid-filled, wall mounted heaters. I...am also living with my in-house accountant/husband...so, needless to say these heaters are used sparingly! We've installed a log-burner (yipee!), but we are currently plastering and painting the lounge so it's out of action (booo). The heaters in the house do come on via a timer system, but only in select rooms...so the long and short of it is, the house feels chilly (and in some rooms that are not in use is as low as 4-6 degrees at the moment!). On the whole though we ...

The Bungalow Blogger

Search This Blog