Short pictorial history of the garden

In November the 2005 the plot was cleared.
In January 2006 landscaping started. Leveling the ground and making canals.

the plot when we bought it		November 2005		January 2005		denuded soil		not yet eroded
August 2003		mowing the garden		landscaping		after landscaping		new canals

In February the garden was plowed and we made a design for the paths. In March we started building a shed for the garden workers and the construction for a well with a small water tower. Planting of trees started in April and at the end of this month the rainy season started also.

removing the last plants 21-2-2006		the wheel for lifting baskets		for a full basket with sand		garden house on the background and in use 3-6-2006		4-6-2006		the first plants labeled
plowing the field		starting the well		waiting		water tower		frame finished		water tower finished

On 10 July the rainy season was really "on" the garden was very wet.
The canals did their work well but we had erosion, and this was going on.

muddy garden		plants and ground wasted		and more waterfalls
rainy season in action		erosion and waterfall		more erosion

In October 2006 the construction of the walkways started and three bridges were constructed.

gravel on geo textile confined by pvc water pipes		the next piece of the path		concrete foundation		looks international
construction walkway's		measuring geo textile		bridge under construction		playground for the kids

In the first three months of 2007 we had to make a few more paths and we needed a temporary bridge over the canal. On the Google Earth image (image date 3-3-2007 )this bridge is clearly visible. This bridge has been removed already.

view in the garden		seen from the water tower 3-2-2007 one month before Google's		visible on Google		3-3-2007
ready walk way's		overview walkways		the temporary bridge		Google's garden view

But this is also the dry season. The well did not have enough water. So the well should be deepened by 1 meter, but after a short time the workers had to give up. They reached rock. The only solution was to drill a new one. The new well is 39 m deep, and water pumped up from a depth of 33 m.

below the mud is rock,2-11-2007		watching the constructor ?		but not so clean		when dry the road is more like concrete
deepening out the well		preparing the drill		a lot of water		the mud stream

With the new well we had sufficient water. But the paths with mud should be cleaned.
The garden layout and the watering system are "finished" except for the repair of the erosion damage of last rainy season.
But the new rainy season was about to arrive, but we tried repair the pipes.

three pipes		easy to do		we needed two more pipes,11-9-2007
pipes for the canal		Going on with the pipes		The drain fixed

After filling the gap with sand there was a big rain and all the sand washed away. We decided to wait for the dry season. The rainy season lasted longer than usual. In march and April 2008 we could start repairing the damage from 2006 and 2007.
On some places not enough mud was removed, so keeping out weeds is difficult.
The gravel had to been washed.
For filling up the hole made by the waterfall we needed a lot of soil.
This soil is covered by geo textile, sand stone and rock. We hope to have fixed the erosion for many rainy seasons to come!

digging up the gravel is a harder job		with sand stones and rock		but how long ?
Washing the gravel		Waterfall erosion in repair		Fit for next rainy seasons

On these pictures you can see that the construction works well. The waterfall starts if we have more than 100 mm rain in a short time say within 2 days.

will it keep?		water out		water out		no problem
a small river		waterfall		turbulent stream		next day

In 2008 there were groups of students visiting the garden. But there was no accommodation for the guests.

students interested in medicinal plants		espacially when it is raining
looking to plants		too crowded

It was clear we needed some better housing for the staff, an office and a terrace where guests can sit, have a drink and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and the garden.
We found a constructor. The building started in the end September 2008.
The building should be finished end December or the beginning of 2009, but actually this was in March 2009.

ground work in progress,3-9-2008		plot 12 x 10 m		hand made concrete
location for the footings		need 12 poles and footings		concrete for the footing

The layout is clear: the building will be 10 x 12 meter, in three strokes

• One stroke of 3 x 10 m for the staff with two rooms 4 x 3 m and in between a small kitchen
• The middle stroke 4 x 10 m for an office and two storage rooms.
• Terrace 5 x 10 m for the visitors' room with a bar.
• A separate building for the toilet/douche.

The construction goes well: October 6, 2008

terrace for the visiters,office and storage,rooms for the staff		5 m terrace,4 m office and storage,3 m two rooms for staff
front		side		details

14-10-2008		13-1-2009		4-3-2009
roof finished		skew wall		not yet finnished

End March the house was really finished and in use.
The shed was removed and the area for the shed was added to the garden.

23-3-2009		27-3-2009		29-3-2009		29-3-2009
deconsrtuction old house		house finished		toilet finished		old house gone

The last construction in the garden was a pond.

the place and size		the hole		making the walls		filling with sand		footpath finnished 4-08-09

To see the difference between the old and new garden layout is clearly by comparing the two pictures below. The light blue spot was the shed.

google 3-3-2007		27-5-2009

The following pictures are of the house, the pond and the new garden area as on 13 January 2010.

front view		pond		rain gauge		entry toilets		staff rooms

the new garden area without the shed

13-01-10		13-01-10		13-01-10