Phase 2 gets underway

This is ‘Foreman’ Steve and Stephen, Foreman Steve and Urban Forest Tribe Paula’s son – making a very creditable fist of swinging that extremely heavy sledgehammer.

Stephen is home schooled one day a week by his dad and for the next few weeks our ‘growing garden’ is going to be his classroom.

• They are going to clear and sort out all random bricks and other ‘stuff’ that is lying around that we hope to use in the garden.
  Learning: thinking ahead, planning and organising the materials so that they are tidy but accessible
• Then they will design the border edges and the raised beds.
  Learning: accurate measuring, drawing and designing, geometry skills in designing the hexagonal beds.
• Building the raised beds, lining them and preparing them for the soil.
  Learning: carpentry

• Finish the pond, build the water feature, install the pump – and maybe even some frogspawn!
  Learning: basic building and plumbing
• Install the trellis mirror and build the arch to the upper garden
  Learning: design, measuring, carpentry skills
• Flatten the area with sand; lay bricks, paving and granite sets to form loose pathways between the raised beds and fill the intervening spaces with soil ready for grass seeds.
  Learning: design

Once that is all done we can bring in the gardening heavyweights to seed the grass and fill the beds with soil ready for planting. And then Stephen will be learning all about soil types and which plants like what kind of environment.

So, what do they have to work with?

Quite a lot I hope. These are some of the granite sets and the bits of paving stone that we plan on using – and that big piece of slate would make a nice table top.

I am sure that all of this wood will get used for the trellis or for the archway – and I have my eye on that rebar grid to support the the brambles that I want to train to actually produce fruit.

We plan to plant carnivorous plants in the butler’s sink in due course as ecologist Michael says he thinks they would like it there – and the kids would love them! But first Steve and Stephen have to sort out all those bricks to see which ones we can use as part of our ‘crazy paving’.

And I have no idea what we can use these roof tiles for, but I am sure someone will have a good idea!

So, it is all go for next week….. All I need to do is to make sure that I have plenty of bread, cheese, biscuits and tea to keep them going!