07-11-2020, 09:14 PM
1
Fruitcake Folly Estate, virtual lockdown tour.
Panoramic view of the back garden.
Covid Yard. We recently had the space between the house and garage covered over to create a sitting area for visitors (when permitted) as my Uncle/FiL is no longer able to get to the gazebo area anymore.
Night-time view. Being able to order stuff over the interwebular has been a goddess-send, including these lights, cable, and remote control switch-gear.
Daytime view.
Close up. We like the unusual hence the mermaid holding a hurricane lamp, the bird-house lantern, and the Mexican sun. The double sided clock was a present from our youngest.
In the shadow of the Folly.
Sunny corner with home-made Amish-style gazebo.
The train now arriving in the garden ...
A lovely spot to sit and ponder. I carved the seat last year out of a piece of wood from an old fish tank top, and made the base from a defunct solar powered water feature.
One of my lockdown 1 projects. The barrel and wheels are made from rings cut from scaffold planks set round a length of drain pipe, and the truck is made from an old work bench.
A rocking seat for relaxation therapy.
Pinks and a Hebe in a brandy barrel.
The replica post box is another example of our eclectic mix of ornaments. I planted it last year using a piece of tree-trunk donated by my neighbour.
Our permanently shady corner.
The view from the corner. A pigeon once sheltered underneath the dovecote during a rain storm, and a starling once went in through one door and out another, but sadly it has never actually been inhabited by a dove.
The place was full of rocks when I moved in so I used them to create this tranquil corner. I put the pump and stone trough in last year after inheriting them from my parents.
We like milk churns by the way.
Looking back across the estate.
Nearly back to the start.
The central hub of the estate, where all the magic happens. The mess is because I am currently installing a ceiling to improve insulation, and to improve natural lighting by painting it white once it is finished.
The view from my workshop.
Another lockdown 1 project I made from the side of an old wardrobe, a sheet of stainless steel, and glass-fibre resin castings. You might have guessed that I like to keep busy.
Some of the estate residents having an afternoon dip.
That concludes your tour of the Folly estate. Please feel free to add photos of yours, or perhaps start a thread along a similar vein if you prefer.
08-11-2020, 12:08 AM
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Re: Fruitcake Folly Estate, virtual lockdown tour.
Originally Posted by Mags
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An amazing garden Fruitcake, such a lot of hard work has gone into it.
After my Lovely Cousin moved in with me following our wedding, I modernised the kitchen, then started attacking the jungle of a garden. The original outdoor dunny door had been chucked under a tree, old kitchen tiles were buried in the lawn and border, steel framed windows and asbestos guttering were buried in a raised garden, and the mains water pipe appeared in the garage, went up over the garage door before disappearing through a side wall into a raised flower bed and then descending underground to finally rise up in the kitchen.
Switching on the garage lights resulted in blue and white flashes appearing all over the exposed wiring, and my Uncle got a belt off a ceiling light whilst cleaning it because fence wire had been poked into the ceiling rose to attach a lampshade suspended by metal chain. Apparently the previous owner was a merchant seaman electrician!
I completely rewired the house as a precaution.
The basic landscaping to make a labour-saving garden took me two years from 02 - 04, and nearly killed me in the process.
I built the gazebo in 2004 and have added or changed bits and pieces around the garden here and there ever since as the mood has taken us.
It has been a continuous labour of love for the last thirty eight years, and I would never want to live anywhere else.
08-11-2020, 12:12 AM
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Re: Fruitcake Folly Estate, virtual lockdown tour.
Originally Posted by Tiffany
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You have a lovely garden Fruitcake. Have you ever had birds nesting in the post boxes?
The one that I made is a dummy front and is screwed direct to the wall. The "opening" has been painted black to give the impression that it is hollow, but is actually just the garage wall directly behind.
08-11-2020, 01:09 AM
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Re: Fruitcake Folly Estate, virtual lockdown tour.
Originally Posted by Mups
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Very nice Fruitcake.I can see you have done a lot of work.
Are the strings across the pond to keep the herons out?
May I ask how long you have lived there now?
I have lived here since February 1982. My Lovely Cousin has lived here since August 1983. Her parents, my Uncle and Aunt, have lived here since November 2017.
Despite living here for thirty eight years, I am still not considered to be a local. Fortunately, my Lovely Cousin
is a local girl so I am at least tolerated. 
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