The Rose Arbor

I have a dream!

There is little woodland area I call The Glade. The owl hoots there at night and it's where the deer exit to the fields. Its been a sort of bonfire area and is covered in ivy, brambles and fallen logs. The previous owner tells me there used to be a glass blowing house in there.

One dream is that this area will become a space to gather at twilight. We will have a firepit there and as the day quietens down we will be able to hear the owls hooting and witness the sparkling night sky.

There are two wells here. We uncovered one of them - an amazing brick lined beauty. The water is about 30ft down but at the moment it terrifies me and we keep it well covered with concrete slabs. I want to open it up at some point and make it a real feature (bottled water anyone?) but not yet. The other well has been filled in and we have yet to find any trace of it.

If you look behind the tree (and the slabs covering the well) you will see a pale wall - it is here I dare to dream. This is the beginning of my rose arbor. This little wall is the end of the 80ft wall that runs along the back garden. It is different stone and much shorter so I'm not sure what it belonged to. Anyway here is my second dream, I see this area rose-filled and serene......

Our Polish friend, Woijtek came in like a human JCB and cleared the area in about 3 hours. We have kept the brambles as bare rooted plants and are going to plant them along with beech, hawthorn and blackthorn on a boundary line to create a natural hedgerow. All hedgehogs welcome.

I am not sure quite how this rose arbor is going to evolve, but we're going to dig down beneath the mud as it feels like there is a solid platform underneath, tomorrow will reveal more!