So we came in to rectify this by adding a new timber balustrade, as well as raising the steps outside of the backdoor to make it easier to walk into the garden. Our customer’s gardener had dug a small hole to start creating a pond but hadn’t got around to finishing it. We dug it out deeper and wider so that it would be more integrated with the garden borders.

Once it had been dug out we laid a felt liner and then a heavy duty pond liner over the top before we began filling it with water. If you have a water butt you could fill it with rain water, or if you are filling a new pond with tap water, leave it to stand for 4 days before adding plants, amphibians or insects.

We dug around the edges of the pond, lifting the turf but not cutting it off completely, so that we could use it to overlap the liner so that it wouldn’t be visible on the lawn side of the pond.

Rockery stones were added around the garden border edge of the pond, and Denham pebbles and gravel were used to create a beach area. Although the weather was cold, thankfully it was dry and we had a really great time creating this pond. Once the grass grows around the pond, it will really finish it off. More wildlife will be visiting this garden very soon!

The boys dug in lots of posts as the uprights for the balustrade, and then began adding the horizontal pieces. Hazel sticks were bought online, which will be added at a later date as cross beams within the structure of the fence, for aesthetic appeal.

Will worked on the raised steps outside the back door. We managed to find the exact same type of paving slab and used these on the top so that they would work with the rest of the patio.

Check in with us next time to see what we’re up to and to see how the hazel sticks finish off this fence…