Making the Most of Awful August

Posted on September 9, 2021 by paulrainger

It seems to us that more and more August is becoming the start of autumn in the UK under climate change. Certainly our green roof seems to think so!

In the last few years, summer heat seems to have started too early in spring, with an awful August (in time for the school holidays!) before the sun often returns again in September before a final slide into full autumn.

Nonetheless, July’s veg patch bounty continued to accelerate in August, aided by our usual school holiday influx of visitors, put to work on the growing harvest.

Here’s a few of our pics from our August at The Secret Acre.

Continue reading →

Timelapse Trials

Posted on August 13, 2020 by paulrainger

Our new nature watch camera at The Secret Acre includes a timelapse facility that we have been playing around with.

Best so far has been a summer’s day in the paddock, watching the horses and their visitors come and go. Eighteen hours from dawn to dusk compressed into just 9 mins of film. Continue reading →

A Year on the Green Roof

Posted on July 20, 2017 by paulrainger

We love our green roof here at The Secret Acre. Everyone should have one.

July is one of the best months with an outbreak of small white and yellow flowers, although this year’s display is less pronounced than last year, possibly due to the very dry spring compared with 2016’s deluge. Continue reading →

Bedroom Gardening

Posted on December 8, 2016 by paulrainger

Twice a year, I put on my coat, pull on my wellies, and climb out of the bedroom window… to go gardening!

Yes, last month was time (if slightly overdue as usual), for the bi-annual weeding our lovely green roof. Continue reading →

Watch the Seasons Turn

Posted on November 10, 2016 by paulrainger

And another year goes by. So last month I put up two curtain poles and a washing line at The Secret Acre. Because October marked our first year anniversary of moving in. And rather embarrassingly these were the last of the ‘quick’ jobs still undone from that very first month!

But missing curtain poles aside, October was a chance for us to reflect on the good and bad points of our first year. Fortunately, perhaps, our positives and negatives were remarkably similar. Continue reading →

Green Roof, Yellow Roof

Posted on July 21, 2016 by paulrainger

The green sedum roof remains one of the highlights of our eco-makeover at The Secret Acre.

Visually striking, it is a daily joy to behold as it changes and evolves across the seasons.

In June and July a profusion of small white and yellow flowers have blossomed in the green, attracting a mass of bees and insects.

Four Months In: Windows, Doors and Sedum

Posted on August 6, 2015 by paulrainger

After seeming to wait around in June, for the underfloor heating screed to dry and for the windows to be delivered, we finally got watertight in July as windows and doors arrived along with the sedum green roof.

Now it really does feel like the beginning of the end as the second fix gets underway. Continue reading →

I can see Green(ly) now the Roof has gone!

Posted on August 2, 2015 by paulrainger

There was one thing we were clear about when planning The Secret Acre’s eco-makeover. We didn’t want to be looking out from our new bedroom over 60 square meters of grey roof extension.

And it turns out that installing a green roof is amazingly simple.

In fact most of the hard work had already been done by the farm in Wiltshire who grew our roof in self-contained modular trays that arrived stacked on a lorry. Continue reading →

Our Eco Makeover

Posted on April 30, 2015 by paulrainger

Like most eco-warriors I had the standard comprehensive list in my heart of eco-bling I wanted at The Secret Acre – PV, solar thermal, rainwater harvesting, green roof, etc.

But having worked at Forum for the Future on pathfinder retrofit projects, I knew in my head that our first priority on a budget had to be insulation, insulation, insulation.

So making it warm and properly insulated for the next 100 years has to come first, and then worry about the bling. And as with every retrofit, you have to work with the existing building you have to do what is possible, practical and appropriate. Continue reading →

You’ll be Knocking it Down Then

Posted on April 24, 2015 by paulrainger

It seemed like everyone had it in for our Secret Acre’s 1930s bungalow. You’ll be knocking it down then was the default view of Estate Agents, Builders, other prospective buyers, and Architects – especially the Architects! No we bloody well won’t was our answer, muttering darkly under our breath about embodied carbon and the general un-green waste of replacing one set of perfectly good bricks with another set of slightly newer bricks. Continue reading →

The Secret Acre

Our journey to a happier life, more in tune with nature, on a one acre smallholding

Tag Archives: green roof