Potting Shed Progress...

Peter and my grandfather have been building the potting shed by themselves out of recycled materials, and they have almost finished. It looks amazing. They started off by building the base on tow-able skids. Then they built the framing for the walls...

The erected framing...

and then built the trusses in situ...

before putting on the galvanized roof ready for painting...

Next they put up the wooden cladding over the framing...

The rest of the cladding and the windows were put in this week... 

 More evidence of the drought. The large standard rose in front of the shed will bounce back we hope...

Soon it will be painted a lovely pale cream to match the Lutyens benches, with the door being painted a French Provence blue. We will complete it with ornate wrought iron ornamental Gothic hinges on the door.

The buxus is hanging on in there through the drought ready to be planted in the front entrance this winter, and also in the garden beds in front of the house and colonnade.

Meanwhile the Hibiscus seems to be thriving in the heat. This beautiful purple species is H. coelestrus. We are going to propagate another 6 plants from it this winter.

Update: Cyclone Lusi should put and end to the drought for now. I just hope it leaves the potting shed still standing!

The Lutyens Bench.... an English standard.

The Lutyens bench above is more correctly called the Thakeham Bench. It was designed for the garden at Little Thakeham near Storrington, West Sussex. The bench has become an archytypal design in its own right. Sadly, many people today would not associate it with the prolific 19th century architect and furniture designer, Edwin Lutyens.

Above: Edwin Lutyens

It has had many spin offs, some of them rather fine:

Lutyens is often associated with Gertrude Jekyll, a horticulturist and gardener contemporary of Lutyens. They collaborated on many houses and gardens, including Jekyll's own house in Goldalming in Surrey, (designed in 1896).

Above: Gertrude Jekyll

A "Lutyens-Jekyll" garden overflowed with dense shrubery, colourful herbaceous borders and strong, classical architecture and furniture. This style was to define the "English garden" until modern times. Here are some examples:

Manor House, Upton Grey, Hampshire, UK