At the front of the Maison de Maitre, the steps lead down to a little area beside the road. Once upon a time, the pedestrian gate would have been the entrance for visitors on foot, but has been locked with a padlock and chain since long before our arrival.
The area is our most visible outdoor space for passers-by, and has been looking quite shabby.
We decided it was time for a refresh. With hindsight, a mini digger would have made the whole process much easier, but this is only a small area, right?
The first job was to remove the half-dead row of hedging alongside the rusting railings. Once I’d dug all the plants out, we were able to get the railings cleaned, before the task of repainting them – two tone, two coats.
We decided we wanted to gravel the area. This meant digging down, as the levels of the doors and gate meant we couldn’t raise the ground. The ground was really hard, so I borrowed Mike’s rotovator to break up the soil, before wheel-barrowing it away from the area. This was really hard work, especially with the temperature in the mid 30s. What was also quite demoralising, was that each time I used the rotovator, the ground fluffed up. Even after the third cycle of soil clearance, the rotovator made it look like the ground was at the same level as when I had started!
Eventually, the level went down by enough for me to stop digging. After raking the area to as level as possible, we were ready to move on.
The next job was to plant eleven hydrangea plants we had bought – the alternating blue and white flowers should be really pretty next summer. After planting, I rolled out some weed-protecting fabric across the whole of the courtyard, and then got on with the gravelling. Four trips to the merchants later, and the 3 or so tonnes of gravel were spread across the courtyard.
The final bits of work we’ve done to the area is painting shutters in Clare’s shutter workshop, the balcony railings were wire-brushed and the painted, the railings on the steps were painted, the canopy, the balcony poles, and probably the most fantastic change has been painting the grand entrance doors.
What has been nice is the number of villagers who have stopped by for a chat, or waved whilst driving. It’s quite rare to see a freshly decorated house. Maybe they’ll be inspired?
The idea is that it will be low maintenance courtyard, and as it’s the first house in the street, we wanted it to look good. Most of all, we want to show that our Maison de Maitre is coming back to life. That is something that pleases people, and it pleases us too!
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