Heave–Ho!

Relocating a timber frame house may not be so unusual in some parts, as long as you use properly qualified people with the correct equipment and appropriate transport on suitable roadways. A slow and sometimes tricky operation, but not all that impossible.

This weekend Clayton moved our greenhouse, using his muscle power, brute strength and ability to dig in hard rocky ground, and putting up with my sarcastic and hopefully sometimes useful opinion as to whether a particular feature appeared level, straight and horizontal-ish or not. Given the AA’s judgement of the quality of my vision, it is remarkable that the greenhouse is actually still standing right way up!

The greenhouse is a simple-frame lightweight structure made of a galvanised tubular metal and covered with a flexible polycarbonate fabric made for this purpose, a thick translucent plastic sheeting, if you will. It is an average size at 4.8 metres long and 2.4 metres wide.  At a rough guess, the structure had been standing just north of the back of the garage for near on 20 years or so. The time had come for it to be moved in preparation of the planned new veggie garden.

With the assistance of, say, four others (preferably weight-lifting enthusiasts), we could have jacked up the house on three long cross-beams and lifted and carried it pall-bearer-style. But there was no such assistance in the offing. Plan “A” was thus a non-starter.

So, we looked towards our ancient Egyptian ancestors who were in the habit of doing pyramid and sphinx-type stuff. If only we had three dozen three-metre broomsticks, we could roll the building to its new location.

We could roll it on firm hard level ground. But the ground is hilly and bumpy, squishy and soft in places, and we only had one regular-length broomstick.

So that put paid to plan “B.”

Then we devised a cunning scheme. To lift-push-pull the house along a rail-road track of timber. Sort of.

And so it came to pass that this cunning scheme evolved into Plan “C”. Regrettably we had no photographers who could bear witness to the sweat and toil, but I have taken a few shots of the aftermath scenes of the battlefield for posterity.

(Above): Ground Zero, the previous site lays fallow after the departure of the greenhouse, opening a sunny space for future generations of yummy organic veggies…

(Above): One of the “railway lines” of Plan “C” along which the house was lifted/dragged/ pushed to its new location nearer the boundary fence. When we were almost done, we discovered by accident that jamming a sliver of polythene on top of the rail under the greenhouse frame dramatically decreased the pulling effort required!

(Above): The greenhouse stands squarely on its new site nearer the boundary fence. Next we need to attend to its renovation and re-cladding, to fit into the planned new garden precinct.

Snake In The Garden

July 5 –6 : Saturday and Sunday proved to be typical “summer” days, but without any heat – just a noticeable degree of gentle warmth around midday. It proved to be excellent weather for tidying work in the garden, and we took advantage by one more working through the maze of overgrown shrub branches and matted underground root-masses and the remnants of spent tubers and stumps of yesteryear. It is quite clear that the beds have seen very little maintenance over the past decade or two.

(Above): An aerial view of the northern part of the gardens, with “The Snake” (outlined in yellow). This is where some clean-up work was started previously. The area labelled “1” which is directly in front of the lounge and conservatory is being re-worked, adding a firm edge and splitting the bed into two (as indicated in red). The area to the north, labelled “2” will be done later.

Here are a few photos of the work in progress:

(Above): The bottom part of Snake “1” starts taking shape, with a bit of a curved edging, rather than the straight undefined and overgrown boundaries, which were difficult to maintain and mow with any success.

(Above): The clearing of the top portion of area “1” has been completed, in readiness for the proposed hard edge. Theoretically, mowing will become a lot easier and give a neater appearance. Time will tell.

(Above): While digging and sifting and carting away the roots and weeds, we were constantly being supervised by Jacko, on hind legs, peering over the nearby fence from Goat-Hill.

(Above): Looking southwards at the newly-created walk-through between the two sections of area “1”

(Above): On Sunday, the new hard edge of the second part of area “1” starts taking shape as well.

(Above): Towards the end of Sunday, the second part of area “1” nears completion and its time for a general tidy-up. Doggy footprints all over the newly-raked soil indicates that the dog inspectors have done their walk-about to sniff every upturned grain of sand!

In the words of statesman Cecil John Rhodes (and probably many others), “So much to do, so little time…” I am philosophical about such things – There is no rush, really. It is good to be able to spend leisure time like this with family in the pleasant natural surroundings of Chartwell, and to be able to take a warm shower after viewing the success of the handiwork… I am not anything near a gardener as yet, but perhaps, over time, my fingers may become a bit greener…

The Garden–different points of view

Looking North from outside the lounge patio

Looking East towards Kents Road perimeter. The kitchen pergola is visible through the cutting.

Closer up looking East towards Kents Road, with a better view of the hydrangea display.

Looking towards the South-west, with the new fence in the distance. This could become the home of a Billy-the-Goat-to-be…

Looking Southwards with the overland power cables visible top left. The pines along the    s-bend perimeter are just visible top centre. Chickens might possible live there one day.

Looking towards Chartwell from the Western perimeter.