knowlesie's Patio & Terrace garden

This part of my garden is mostly paved in three area and is dominated by an oak tree which sits in my neighbours garden but towers above and hangs well over the boundary. It is a lovely tree but quite often determines my activity. The easiest and most obvious is gathering leaves during autumn, excellent for making leaf mould. At other times and during the summer months it sheds all manner of bits that if allowed to accumulate will cover plants, block drains and generally make a mess so living with an oak tree can be a pain.
I am quite proud of my arbor which I built from scratch for about £70, the sun remains here until about seven in the evening and is a nice place to sit and wind down with a glass of red wine.I also laid the patio and built the raised beds. This is at the rear of the house and faces north and so to throw some light back into the area I painted the rear wall an off white which is very effective. Finally the hedge between my neighbour and I is a a long row of conifers which I prune in July-August time and is a full day labour and afterwards I do enjoy that glass of red. Planting is a challenge as the ground is very free draining and so I tend to go for drought tolerant plants. The Saponaria loves the conditions and I also have quite a few alpines that do need some tlc but most of the colour is provided from plants in pots and the raised beds.