![[space ship design]](ship2.jpg)
How does your garden grow?
With Time Gate bells,
and Space Ship shells,
and eclips'd stars all in a row
- 31 August 2005: ...more storms
- 17 July 2005: quieter times by the Space Ship -- the final finishing touches are made to the base of the Time Gate -- the garden is now officially complete, 5 years on -- although the plants will be maturing for years to come
- 28 June 2005: storm over Space Garden
- 30 May 2005: the Space Ship shield is growing, and other parts of the garden are maturing, too
- 17 April 2005: the Time Gate in a maturing garden -- meanwhile, in the Space Garden, red-spikes are engulfed by loacl plantlife.
- 11 March 2005: the Time Gate arrives, is lifted into in place, and securely bolted down -- it's installed!
- 13 November 2004 • the planting • two trees frame the path, with silver foliage below • some black-stemmed bamboo at the back gives height • the Japanese maple will be the focus of the "red" theme, once in leaf
- 9 October 2004 • the light (past) and dark (present) gravel is laid around the rills. Now all we need is the planting, to soften the edges. And the Time Gate itself, of course...
- 2 October 2004 • the brick edging around the rills is complete. The "past" part of the path is laid, and the whole path effect is nearly visible. There's a slot waiting for the Time Gate itself.
- 30 September 2004 • the counduit for the electrics (for powering the water bubbles, and the Time Gate itself)
- 29 September 2004 • the "present" path and circle are laid
- 28 September 2004 • the formers are removed, leaving the rills and ponds
- 25 September 2004 • concrete is cast around the formers
- 24 September 2004 • work starts on the hard paving: chipboard formers show the route of the water rills.
- It's now the turn of the Time Garden, and work starts in the form of a prototype test slice of the Time Gate, with its past shiny side, and is present tarnished side.
- Autumn 2004 • Two years on, and the Space Garden has matured considerably • Vines and catmint soften the gravel drive. Some of the harshness of the house front is alleviated by the camellia tree feature, and the climbers growing over the walls. Most of the planting, like that outside the dining room and that by the apple tree, has grown and spread • The knot garden is edged with maturing box. The bamboo has grown to screen the spaceship from unsuspecting visitors. Ferns edge the patio. More black stemmed bamboo softens the back corner, and the long back path is no longer boring • Some native plants areaffected by their proximity to the alien spaceship, while there are some escaped red alien plants behind the spaceship • All carefully planned, and the Whitebeam we brought with us has now found a home.
- 17 July 2002 • Space Garden planting day! • Vines and catmint soften the gravel drive. Some of the harshness of the house front is alleviated by the camellia tree feature, and will be even further softened when the climbers grow over the walls. Most of the planting, like that outside the dining room and that by the apple tree, currently looks sparse, but will soon grow and spread • The knot garden is edged with baby box. The bamboo will grow to screen the spaceship from unsuspecting visitors. Ferns edge the patio. More black stemmed bamboo softens the back corner, and even the long boring back path is beginning to look more interesting • The pond hasn't been forgotten, either • Some native plants are obviously affected by their proximity to the alien spaceship, while the escaped red alien plants behind the spaceship diminish in frequency as we move further away • All carefully planned, but the Whitebeam we brought with us and planted has been displaced...
- 15 June 2002 • the wilderness is cleared, ready for some planting in a few weeks. At least the Sempervivens have grown, and is even in flower!
- 13 June 2002 • a few months' neglect rapidly leads to the wilderness look.
- 7 April 2002 • we plant a few things, including a Canary Rose and some Sempervivens. But it's still mainly bare earth.
- 24 February 2002 • the pond is finally filled (nearly), hiding the plinth • it has taken ages as we have been using rainwater from our tank, and it has been a surprisingly dry winter!
- 14 January 2002 • the pond is half filled, the concrete plinth is hidden by rocks. The ship builder provides an engine cowling under repair, complete with fake burns, to hide all the electrics
- 24 December 2001 • after a glorious sunset, the spaceship doubles as a snowy Christmas tree.
- 7 December 2001 • the space ship arrives! It will be bolted to a steel base plate, in turn bolted to the concrete plinth, to ensure it does not take off! • First view of the painted article as it slowly emerges from the van. • The whole bronzely gleaming artifact emerges. • The delicate task of getting it to the plinth. • Bolting on the base plate. • Going up... • In position! • Glowing by night.
- 5 December 2001 • the pond is pumped out in preparation for installing the space ship
- 28 October 2001 • we visit the space ship sculptor's studio again, to see the resin shell with the detailing in place. Only one light is fitted, but most of the internal wiring is in place. Now it just needs to be painted, and installed (current ETA, end of November).
- 25 October 2001 • the knot garden paving is finished • now to get a lot of box hedging!
- 18 October 2001 • the knot garden paths start to be laid in a herringbone pattern. The old apple tree forms the centrepiece of one quadrant arc
- 15 October 2001 • the knot garden quadrants are edged
- 29 September 2001 • the knot garden paths are edged, and the paving at the front of the house completed.
- 27 September 2001 • the lines are marked out for the Tudorbethan knot garden.
- 16 September 2001 • we visit the space ship sculptor's studio, to see the polystyrene mould. Wow!
- 12 September 2001 • we start planting, but it's going to take some time...
- 22 August 2001 • the bark and stones are laid • the landscaping part of the Space garden is complete • now all we have to do is wait for the Space ship, and plant up the beds!
- 21 August 2001 • the path bark and remaining pond edging stone are delivered. The membrane lining for the paths is laid.
- 10 August 2001 • the beds by the house and behind the pond are edged and filled with topsoil
- 8 August 2001 • the edging for the beds starts to appear, along with the ducting for the power to the pond lighting and pump.
- 7 August 2001 • the pond is filled to get the level for the edging of stones. The patio step is edged with brick.
- 3 August 2001 • the pond is half filled to bed down the liner. The patio step is laid
- 1 August 2001 • the concrete is poured for the plinth
- 31 July 2001 • the pond liner is in place, along with the shuttering for the spaceship base. The patio acquires brick edging.
- 26 July 2001 • about half the patio is laid
- 24 July 2001 • the patio arrives, and the pond hole is lined with sand, with a base for the rocket left clear
- 23 July 2001 • the Space Garden starts • a digger arrives on site, and the pond hole appears.
- 8 July 2001 • we choose the stone that will encircle the crash crater • Cambrian red slate
- 7 July 2001 • we give to go-ahead for the first stage of the space ship construction • carving the polystyrene mould
- June 2001 • the dreadful rain all spring has delayed the garden contractor • work on the Space Garden should now start end July
- 16 April 2001 • we meet a theatrical model maker, who might be interested in building the space ship for us • he is!
- 12 April 2001 • we go to pick up the finished painting, and take it off to Paragon for display over Easter, before taking it home to hang over the fireplace
- 13 January 2001 • we get a quote from a local garden contractor for everything except the two big features • we go for a phased approach, and he schedules the work on the Space Garden to start around mid-June
- 31 October 2000 • Dave shows us his sketch design of the painting • it's great!
- 19 August 2000 • we agree some minor revisions to the design • now it has to go out for quotation!
- 25 July 2000 • the garden design team come up with a wonderful plan, that incorporates all our bizarre ideas into a design that works. On the west side is a "Time Garden", with a Time Gate dividing the "present" (new, pristine, young), from the "future" (old, weathered, aged). On the east side, towards the front, is a Tudorbethan "knot" garden, representing the original garden, before the space ship crashed into the rear "Space Garden", digging a crash crater (pond), with the ship now righted in it, for repair. To the front is a conventional house frontage, with nothing to warn the unwary visitor except an eclipse "diamond ring" circle embedded in the drive. This is to be accompanied by a Dave Hardy painting, of the ship as it originally crashed, to hang over our fireplace, in the lounge, which overlooks the part of the garden to contain the actual ship.
- 25 June 2000 • Dave fills out his sketch idea for the "Space Ship", for the "Time Gate", and for the Diamond Ring eclipse motif.
- 22 June 2000 • The garden team, and the space artist David A. Hardy, come for a planning meeting, and all get enthusiastic. Dave sketches an idea for an "organic Space Ship" feature, which looks great. The team go away to work up the design.
- 8 April 2000 • The garden designer pays an initial visit, expecting something normal, and goes away bemused but excited by our discussions of Space Ships and Time Gates.
