Sixteen Rosebarn Avenue

Sixteen Rosebarn Avenue Our garden in Exeter as it changes and evolves over the seasons and the years

Inspired by a feature on BBC Gardeners World we decided to spruce up our garden with some rebar grids more normally foun...
16/08/2026

Inspired by a feature on BBC Gardeners World we decided to spruce up our garden with some rebar grids more normally found on building sites. We’ve made wall supports for our clematis, blackberries, and rose bush as well as loads of supports for our herbaceous beds and a retainer for one of our log walls.

If we had bought the equivalents from specialist retailers the cost would have run into 4-figures but we got away with less than £225 and that includes buying the angle grinder that we used to cut everything to shape.

06/08/2026

We have added a day spa to our high rise bug hotel. A solar panel on the roof powers a small pump to keep the water fresh. The pond has pebbles laid on river gravel to provide shallow pools for birds to drink and bathe in whilst bugs can fly in and settle on the pond sides or pebbles which stick out of the water. We will be planting around the pond to provide cover and food sources. A few logs dotted about the place may also encourage frogs to come and check the pond out as well. Pond, solar panel, pump, gravel and pebbles all came in under £100 and we are really happy with the finished result

The lily in our little pond at the front of the house has finally flowered after five years! It doesn’t look like ther...
26/07/2026

The lily in our little pond at the front of the house has finally flowered after five years! It doesn’t look like there are any other buds so that’s probably it for this year but at least we can look forward to seeing more in the years to come 🤞🏼

We decided to upcycle a couple of pallets to help get our squashes off the ground and make a little more space for them ...
21/07/2026

We decided to upcycle a couple of pallets to help get our squashes off the ground and make a little more space for them to grow. We painted them black to make the pallets absorb and retain the sun’s heat to help the squashes ripen.

So far I’d say they have been a great success and we have several squashes ripening in the sun.

H**e Midsummer Beauty looking elegant in their pots. I bought them thinking they would be balls just like all the other...
04/07/2026

H**e Midsummer Beauty looking elegant in their pots. I bought them thinking they would be balls just like all the other ones we have. Imagine my surprise when they were delivered in a very narrow tall box. The clues were there, after all I bought them from hedges direct and they were a lot cheaper than all of the h**e balls that I saw when I googled h**e. Not wanting to admit that I had made a blunder and bought hedging for my pots I cut them back, crossed my fingers, hoped and waited. And they have turned from ugly ducklings into beautiful swans. 🦢 🦢 🦢

28/06/2026

It’s good to be back out on the plot after a week of 30c when all we could do was water in the morning while it was still relatively cool. Everything seems to have got through the heatwave more or less unscathed.

The passiflora has surpassed itself this year and makes the way up to our veg plot look very inviting
28/06/2026

The passiflora has surpassed itself this year and makes the way up to our veg plot look very inviting

Here’s our wild meadow at the bottom of our garden. It was planted with mixed plugs in early Spring and is now in full ...
19/06/2026

Here’s our wild meadow at the bottom of our garden. It was planted with mixed plugs in early Spring and is now in full flow. We have hit Verbascum, Oxe Eye Daisies, Common Knapweed, Wild Carrot, Teasel, Toad Flax and Ragwort.

We’ve already seen Cinnabar Moths flitting about so hopefully we will be seeing the caterpillars in a few weeks time.

For those that say they don’t have room for a wildlife pond this is our micro boating lake in our courtyard. Whilst it ...
16/06/2026

For those that say they don’t have room for a wildlife pond this is our micro boating lake in our courtyard. Whilst it may not be huge we have packed it with oxygenators and the reeds provide a great drying out spot for newly fledged damselflies to dry their new wings as they start their new life outside of water. And whilst we don’t get their bigger cousins, dragonflies the pond does attract damselflies and it’s nice to see them courting in and around the pond.

The little yacht isn’t without its uses as a wide variety of bug life use it as a platform to rest after having a drink. The ferns, hostas, heucheras, astilbe and fuschias all provide plenty of cover for them and the pine cones we use as mulch also provide a home for woodlice, earwigs and centipedes.

Following on from our post the other day about our multi-storey bug hotel here is a Privet Hawk Moth resting just outsid...
12/06/2026

Following on from our post the other day about our multi-storey bug hotel here is a Privet Hawk Moth resting just outside our third storey habitat dedicated to butterflies and moths. It’s stuffed with straw and the vertical slots allow moths and butterflies to get in and out easily.

Apparently these moths are the UK’s largest and this one was no exception. It was easily 5cm in length and looked in robust good health. We were surprised to see it out in the day but apparently it’s not uncommon for them to be seen resting like this during the day. It’s a nice spot to hang out as the bug hotel faces south and there is a small, shallow pond right below and plenty of flowers surrounding it.

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Exeter

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