The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since.*
Now I have no idea just how the garden looked when Joe and Mary Ann lived here or for that matter whether they enjoyed gardening.
But I know that over the last century both the front and back have undergone plenty of changes.
Judging by the picture of Lois taken in 1974 just after Mary Ann had died the front was a mix of border plants and roses.
The cherry tree I suspect will have been planted when the house was new and while we had to cut it down in the 1990s there we have replace it with another tree beside the gate.
The rest as they say has been transformed with a fair degree of regularity since then.
We turfed the front twice in the 1980s, replaced it with a series of bushes and plants and along the way took out the tall privet bushes.
In a way I regret losing the privet which not only shielded us from the gaze of passersby but as all good Victorian gardeners knew absorbed all sorts of pollution.
On the other hand it hid Burglar Bill who twice tried to break in, was a chore to cut and did nothing for the soil.
But I long ago lost my joy of gardening and am no longer happy to spend hours fiddling in the front with weeds and persistent bits of stray long grass, and so Darren has created for us the simple easy to maintain garden lawn.
Gone are the wild array of nasturtiums which took over the garden from spring to autumn along with assorted daffodils, blue bells and Welsh poppies all now replaced by that green carpet.
One day I may find some old photographs pre dating the 1950s of the front garden but for now I can only assume that the Scott’s grew roses.
But at least they didn’t go in for stone and concrete designs which took up number 45 and involved a huge effort to demolish.
Gardens like all things turn on the fashion of the day and I had half thought by turfing we might be returning the garden to its earlier state.
Of this I am no longer so sure but at least I won’t be out there as often.
More so so because the new work was undertaken by Darren Rogerson who did a grand job transforming an overgrown and untidy mess into a neat garden in less than two days.
Many have been the comments in favour of the changes and the finished outcome. But to see it you will have to wander down Beech Road.
And he came round the following day with four free lavender bushes.
Now that is pretty good.
All of which means we will be using him again and again.
Darren Rogerson, darren-rogerson@hotmail.com 0777022125
Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Pictures; the house over the decades from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*The story of house,
http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house
 |
| 1974 |
But I know that over the last century both the front and back have undergone plenty of changes.
Judging by the picture of Lois taken in 1974 just after Mary Ann had died the front was a mix of border plants and roses.
The cherry tree I suspect will have been planted when the house was new and while we had to cut it down in the 1990s there we have replace it with another tree beside the gate.
The rest as they say has been transformed with a fair degree of regularity since then.
We turfed the front twice in the 1980s, replaced it with a series of bushes and plants and along the way took out the tall privet bushes.
In a way I regret losing the privet which not only shielded us from the gaze of passersby but as all good Victorian gardeners knew absorbed all sorts of pollution.
On the other hand it hid Burglar Bill who twice tried to break in, was a chore to cut and did nothing for the soil.
 |
| 2012 |
Gone are the wild array of nasturtiums which took over the garden from spring to autumn along with assorted daffodils, blue bells and Welsh poppies all now replaced by that green carpet.
One day I may find some old photographs pre dating the 1950s of the front garden but for now I can only assume that the Scott’s grew roses.
 |
| Darren's van 2016 |
Gardens like all things turn on the fashion of the day and I had half thought by turfing we might be returning the garden to its earlier state.
Of this I am no longer so sure but at least I won’t be out there as often.
More so so because the new work was undertaken by Darren Rogerson who did a grand job transforming an overgrown and untidy mess into a neat garden in less than two days.
 |
| 2016 |
And he came round the following day with four free lavender bushes.
Now that is pretty good.
All of which means we will be using him again and again.
Darren Rogerson, darren-rogerson@hotmail.com 0777022125
Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Pictures; the house over the decades from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*The story of house,
http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house
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