The gardens (front and back) at 66 Sherwin Road are lovely but as you can see from the photo below that was taken in 2007 they weren’t always quite so well-maintained by the then owners.

After (2017) and before (2007) Front garden now (2017) … and before (2007) 1

Today, the rear garden is a great social space with a mix of well-stocked borders and a well-thought-out seating & BBQ area with a picnic bench and a large parasol. There is also a really useful secure shed and a fully-functioning outside toilet. It’s enclosed all around by large shrubs, fencing and some lovely fruit bushes. The biggest challenges with the garden are keeping the ‘jungle’ from next door in check as it attempts to invade over and under the fence and watching out for the highly invasive Horsetail or Mares Tail weeds that seems to love the gaps between the paving slabs!

The front garden is a simpler affair but we have refused to succumb to requests from the neighbouring landlord to just concrete the space over to make more parking. Instead we’ve installed wooden sleepers to make a raised lawn area and provide parking for one car. The front lawn has been mostly re-seeded this year (2017) and is growing back nicely.

We’ve also taken on responsibility for caring for the garden of No.68 because the owner struggles with it due to his age and we’re happy to help. Keeping his garden in check it makes it easier to keep on top of ours so it’s a ‘win-win’.

Images of the back garden at 66 Sherwin Road Images of the rear garden at 66 Sherwin Road

Rather than expect the students in the house to manage and care for the garden themselves, we look after it for them. We’re keen to do it and we take the view that a tidy and loved garden reflects a commitment to care for and look after the house as well. Looking around at the surrounding houses on Sherwin Road it’s clear that not everyone agrees with our view or philosophy but we’re happy to be different.

  1. Before photo: © Andrew Abbott — cc-by-sa/2.0 — http://geograph.org.uk/p/1911121 ↩