The Best Birthday Present Ever
Turning 70 made me look back at one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. This is the story of how an old patio became my summer house, a courtyard garden and my own little oasis.
This week I’ll be turning 70, and looking around the garden, it’s hard to believe how much has changed over the last ten years.
It all started with my 60th birthday present.
I’d always wanted a summer house and had a picture in my mind of a courtyard garden. I didn’t know exactly how it would look, but I knew how I wanted it to feel.
In May 2020, during lockdown, we finally got started. The vision was mine, Richard turned it into reality, and Wayne helped with the heavy lifting. I was very much the builder’s mate—fetching, carrying, making tea and helping paint every piece of timber before it went into place.
The garden before work began
The first stage of clearing the space preparing the base.
The rebuild begins. I salvaged all the topsoil from the lawn, storing it in the green bags ready to reuse on the flower beds later.
The patio pavers arrived first, followed by our summer house on an enormous delivery wagon. Thankfully, only one of those packages was ours!
Then the rebuilding began. The base frame went in first, while we worked our way through hand-painting every single piece of wood before it was added
It became a lovely father-and-son project, and slowly the summer house began to take shape.
Next came the patio. For much of this, I was the builder’s mate — fetching and carrying while every paving block was laid by hand.
The finishing line was in sight as the third and final patio was laid.
By July, it was finished.
Built on the old patio, the summer house became the centrepiece of a garden that gradually evolved around it. The lawn disappeared, the courtyard took shape and, little by little, everything came together.
Over the years, it has had several lives. It was my office while I worked from home, later my yoga studio, and these days it’s where I write, edit photographs, plan our travels and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
This week, I added some little cottages that had been tucked away in the attic for more than twenty years. It was only a small change, but somehow it made the room feel complete.
Standing back and looking at it, I realise my original vision became so much more than a summer house. It became my own little oasis in the garden.
It really was the best birthday present ever.
💜 Thanks for reading.
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