My brick paving is changing
and without constant work and vigilance my back garden is going to look quite different. Can I allow the change?
I think I’m making my peace with the fact that the back garden brick paving is going to look like this from now on.
and probably never again look like this
lovely old stock bricks in reds and golds
just after I’ve power washed it
or even like this
nice and clean
when the sun has bleached it.
I’ve written before about my power washing efforts Lovely old brick paving without power washing
and No more power washing brick paving
What it looks like now
mossy and full of seedlings
and although it is black and slimy and a bit slippery, what I do love about it is that there are dozens of forget-me-nots growing in the cracks as well as daisies and herbs and who-knows-what.
Plants will be attracted to the cracks
My neighbour has a lawn and so I’m always pulling grass out of the cracks but I’m thinking I could just stop doing that. There is also moss growing in the cracks which I really like.
forget-me-nots thriving in the cracks
For 11 years I have power washed the bricks twice a year and recently I just thought I can’t do this anymore. The idea of water and electricity and the noise and the tangle of cables and all the water to be swept away was just too much trouble. I gave up after doing a small area and put it all away.
I also don’t want to disturb the leaf litter so I’m going to have to come to terms with a change in expectation. The slipperiness is a problem and I’ll have to step very carefully when I go out there but I can’t see an alternative. I did toy with the idea of shining up a few patches with a scrubbing brush but decided to sit and have a cup of tea indoors instead.
Letting wildlife survive
I’m ashamed to say I’ve often sprinkled neat bleach everywhere to clean the brickwork but am horrified now that I did that. It must have poisoned everything it touched. Not done it much good anyway.
There’s no denying that it looked gorgeous when I put in all that work
brick paving at its very best
but let’s see if I can get through the winter and let the lovely carpet of forget-me-nots make the paving look like a blue carpet next spring.
I also love the latest blog by Jack Wallington about leaving leaf litter around plants rather than taking it all away. You can read that here
Gardens and our gardening is changing and it’s ok to think about different ways of doing things. Here’s to a good winter and happy gardening to everyone.
