It was dug up and replanted with a mixture of trees, shrubs, climbers, roses, bulbs, perennials, annuals and some vegetables. The soil is slightly alkaline (we live near an old lime quarry), quite stoney and dry in places. I'll never be able to grow acid loving plants (camelias, rhodedendrums, azaleas, heather), but I have a good soil for lavender and other plants that like dry soil. Some plants g
row exceptionally well: Lupins, Foxgloves, Sweet William, Aquiligea, Buddleja, Lilac, Sweet Rocket, Echinops, Poppies, Scabious, Broad Beans, Raspberries, to name but a few. Unfortunately, I've never done well with Sweet Peas, Meconopsis, cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower. I will admit that I'm a bit obsessed with gardening and buying plants, so I've decided to try and convert my obsession to run a (very) small plant nursery. I try to keep prices as low as possible because most plants have been raised from seed, cuttings or seedlings dug from the garden. I do buy small plug plants online which are grown on in the polytunnel, so these might be a bit more expensive. I don't have a huge range of plants, compared to the big garden centres, but my collection is starting to grow steadily (excuse the pun). I have a mix of perennials, shrubs, a few tree saplings, annuals and the odd spare veg plant. My plants are for sale in our driveway, so if I'm not around, you can just pop the money in the box. If you'd like to have a nose in the garden, then just send me a message and we'll arrange a time/day. I'm starting to collect seeds from my garden, so if there is a particular plant you like, then you are welcome to have some. I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for new plants to try out, so if you have an interesting plant that could be propagated, then maybe you'd like to do a plant swap. I defintely do not consider myself to be an expert horticulturalist! But, I just absolutely love gardening and talking about it. (I could bore even the likes of Monty Don with my garden). I love having a nose in other gardens too, from stately home to small back yard. THE BACK GARDEN
I try to leave some of the garden to fend for itself. Apart from almost removing the brambles, hogweed, old man's beard, bindweed and ground elder, most other "weeds" and wildflowers are just left to grow and self-seed. Luckily, I discovered wild primroses, violets, cowslips, ox-eye daisies, thistles, knapweed, daffodils, orchids and foxgloves happily growing under the trees. I've added native (NOT SPANISH) bluebells, snowdrops, pulmonaria, lily of the valley, crocus, cyclamen, wood anenome, aconites to naturalise in shady areas of the back-garden. The back-garden is quite challenging. It's a steep slope that has been terraced, to a degree, although the poly-tunnel sits on a slant. The garden is surrounded by mature trees: hazel, walnut, elder, sycamore, ash (these self-seed readily), but many plants are happy in shade. There is a small fruit and veg patch at the top, in between the poly-tunnel and large tramopline. WILDLIFE, PETS AND CHILDREN. Naturally, we like to share our gardens with critters of all shapes and sizes! Our 2 pet rabbits have a nice spot with a large run and cosy hutch. They are a bit pampered because they usually end up eating the surplus spinach and carrot tops. They love dandelions, (so I leave them to grow and set seed in the back garden) and the rabbits reward me with copious amounts of poo. The straw and poo from Flopsy and Mopsy ends up in the compost mix or is used as a "mulch" around potatoes and shrubs. (More on mulching later). I encourage birds into the garden with all the usual stuff: nuts, seeds and water. I love watching the birds and hearing their songs and tweets. We usually see robins, blackbirds, tits (blue, coal, great and long-tailed), jays, magpies, pigeons and occasionally, wrens, goldfinches and the odd bird of prey. Hopefully these will eat the pests, although some birds will become pests as they decide to feast on your berries and other crops (see section on pests). Unsurprisingly, most damage is done by the 2-legged variety of pest: kids. But, to be fair, it's not usually deliberate ("Honest Mum, I didn't mean to knock the head off the beautiful rose that you had been waiting 2 years to see flower, after those months of care and nurture, honest"). So, next to the trampoline, is the patch for our offspring to dig and nurture (in theory). And she likes to water the garden with the hose-pipe. With this in mind, I don't use any chemicals or pesticides, but it's really up to each individual as to whether they'll use these such things in their gardens. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the agri-chemical industry (but we'll politics out of the debate for now). Plus they quite expensive to buy and you have to worry about safe storage and use (especially around pets and children). I do use an organic seaweed feed on containers and veg or use a homemade feed from comfrey or nettles. The soil is kept fertile with homemade compost although I usually use shop-bought compost for growing plants in pots and raising seed. PESTS
Slugs, snails, aphids, beetles, rabbits, birds, wasps, pets, children will try and get the better of you! It's like they've all decided to conspire against you and your lovely flowers and produce. Most of the time I try not to get too upset, basically life is too short and precious to worry about the odd aphid or bug, because you can pretty much guarantee that there will be a predator hanging around. Sometimes, though, action will be needed to combat a particular problem. Speaking from personal experience, a single wild, baby rabbit can devour an incredible amount of sweet peas and newly- planted roses in the space of 2 nights. I had to take action. But, I'm a pesco-vegetarian, so I wasn't going to kill it. I deterred it using a mix of blood, bone and fish, sprinkled around my vulnerable plants and some fencing. I think it's worked, hopefully the rabbit just moved on! Slugs and snails are a pain, everywhere. I don't use slug pellets (they can poison wildlife), so I use copper bands around pots. When I find a slug or snail in the garden, I chuck it into the wood beyond the garden. Aphids on roses are removed by gently shaking the flower heads or by spraying soapy water.
