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| Trina and Phil
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Phil and Trina Carlisle realised the garden of their dreams by embarking on a mass clearout with a little help from a chainsaw
'The soil in our part of East Yorkshire is very sandy so plants must be chosen carefully as the garden drains quickly.'
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| After: the garden in summer
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| Before
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| Before
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Starting from scratch
We moved into our cottage in the autumn of 1998 and, with the exception of an apple tree and perhaps a buddleia bush, there was nothing in the garden but coarse grass and weeds - oh yes, and a huge conifer! We have juggled our time between work on the house and developing the garden and the latter is now starting to mature. The tree was the first thing to go, courtesy of my father-in-law and his chainsaw, then followed a lot of clearing up and disposing of rubbish and rubble - much of which was actually buried.
We continue to alter things and, last autumn, we planned a new border beside the pond. The soil in our part of East Yorkshire is very sandy so plants must be chosen carefully as the garden drains quickly. Our garden gives us great pleasure, and to look back on how it was eight years ago, it is difficult to believe it is the same place. It is great to sit back now and look at the garden and see what we've achieved from a near blank canvas; I think the hard work has been worth it.
Phil & Trina Carlisle
Driffield, East Yorks
Submit your garden makeovers
I'm always on the lookout for descriptions and photographs of garden makeovers, including 'before' and 'after' shots. We publish the best in
Gardens Monthly magazine as well as on Gardening.co.uk. Why not upload yours to the
Gallery, or
email me with your digital images and text. Alternatively, send text and photographs by snail mail to Sarah Brocklehurst, Magicalia Publishing Ltd, Berwick House, 8-10 Knoll Rise, Orpington, Kent, BR6 OEL.
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