Into the void

We're not having a swimming pool, although you could be forgiven for thinking we are, given the size of the void we now have for the garage. Mind you, there's no point in a swimming pool if it's not at least 25m long, according to Andy. It's been all about the big void this week, and things have slowed a bit regarding moving piles of earth around - Julian needs to save some of the solid chalky stuff for backfilling later, whilst saving the topsoil for us, and moving the rubbishy stuff to one side to get carted away.

We've got the "concrete blindings" down (rubbly concretey stuff) now onto which the garage slab will be poured later. The garage walls will be built within the void, then the void backfilled with chalk. Lots more to dig out in front of the garage to make the parking area. The bank along the front of the site seems fairly stable, and contains some attractive chalk stripes running through it.

Thanks to the discovery last week of the drainage inspection chamber being within the garage footprint, we had to get the structural engineering drawings redone for a smaller garage. Unfortunately this took a couple of days longer, meaning ordering some of the materials got pushed back a bit, with a knock on effect as to when they'll be delivered. So progress is likely to slow somewhat over the next week. There is some serendipity here though: our timber frame firm have had a delay on their current project meaning they can't start ours until a bit later than planned, plus our building inspector is on holiday next week when we won't need her anyway, and will be back when we do. So not to worry.

Last week Julian had trimmed out some of the bushes along the top of the front bank; most were lilac but we discovered one tall skinny hazel amongst them, so have replanted it further up the garden, next to another hazel tree, so it now has a friend. Hazels seem to flourish here and we currently have masses of remains of nibbled shells under the lovely big hazel at the top of the garden (seen in the background of the photo here). Something has been enjoying them. I sometimes hear nibbling noises around the base of the big hazel but haven't yet managed to see what it is.

This weekend we finally sowed our wildflower meadow area up the top of the garden, having done the earth moving for this months ago. We've been weeding the space regularly over the summer, hoeing anything that dared germinate and trying to rake away any stones. The soil is thin and of course very chalky, and in an area that gets a lot of sun, so should provide ideal growing conditions for wildflowers. We've bought some seed from Habitat Aid who sell native wildflower and grass seed in soil specific mixes; our "chalk and limestone" mix includes a wide range of species*. Planting in September is supposed to give best outcome, when it is "warm and wet", so straight after this Sunday's rain seemed ideal. Feel we've done everything "the right way" so I have every faith that next summer the meadow will be awesome and won't end up as just a patch of dock and thistle. Go wildflower seeds!

* our chalk and limestone wildflower meadow mix includes:

Yarrow
Kidney Vetch
Common Knapweed
Greater Knapweed
Wild Carrot
Ladies Bedstraw
Doves-foot Cranesbill
Field Scabious
Rough Hawkbit
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Ribwort Plantain
Hoary Plantain
Cowslip
Selfheal
Meadow Buttercup
Wild Mignonette
Salad Burnet
Oxeye Daisy
and a few sorts of grasses

Wild Majoram
White Campion
Yellow Oatgrass