Like many others I've been spending a lot more time in the garden with such beautiful weather + nowhere to go! Before all this started happening, I had been preparing my garden by planting my allium + hyacinth bulbs back in December + sowing my vegetable seeds indoors. I think I went a little overboard though as they all seemed to take off + now I've run out of room, I can't even give them away!
Last year was when I first cleared the garden + put my design into practice. I love English country gardens, I just don't think you can beat one in summer. I wanted to bring elements of that into the garden, as well as making it a haven for bees, full of all year long flowers, colour + beautiful scents. The space is only small, but I have managed to get the key design elements in that would be seen in a larger country garden.
A place to relax
Flower borders
Green house (my dream is to have one of those stunning large Allitex ones)
Vegetable patch (one day I’d love to have a walled garden!)
Storage
A place to relax...
I have had these BROMMÖ deck chairs from Ikea for years, but you can still buy them now! I’ve purchased some new cushions from H&M, I just love anything lemon print, so it was a no brainer, unfortunately they are now sold out. The Parasol was a bargain, I had been hunting for one for a while that looked classic but didn’t break the bank. Then I came across this natural + wood effect one from Argos for only £36! At 2m wide it’s also just the right size for my garden without looking too big.
The borders...
As I mentioned before I wanted the flowers I chose to appeal to bees. I went for a colour palette of purples, whites + greens with a splash of red from the poppy seeds I grew from my Nanny + Grandads garden. The lavender + hydrangeas I actually saved from a previous project + they are doing so well! I have probably planted everything too close together, but I love a full looking border with lots going on. The foxgloves I bought last year have re-seeded + provided green growth throughout the winter as well as height. I don’t want the border to ever look dormant, so I have planted the following plants to allow for all year long colour + greenery:
Winter greenery
Evergreen Jasmine
Lemon trees
Evergreen clematis
Evergreen Rhododendron
Festuca glauca Elijah Blue – ornamental grass
Mimosa
Scent
Roses
Hyachinth
Evergreen Jasmine
Lemon trees
Lavender
Bees
Hydrangea limelight
Hydrangea
Poppies
Foxglove
Lavender
Roses
The vegetable patch...
Last year I only grew my tomatoes from seed + bought the lettuce but this year I have been a little more experimental! As I have limited space, I put together some raised beds + painted them black, I got mine from primrose.co.uk. I would really recommend if you are also limited on space, even if you aren’t it’s handy not having to bend down so much. Also having a little greenhouse is great for seed growing, I have a lovely glass and wooden one which looks great as well as being practical but it have since been discontinued, but there are similar ones out there.
From seed I’ve grown:
Tomatoes
Cabbage
Spinach
Potatoes
Lettuce
The tomatoes are super easy, although all seem to be growing at very different speeds, some are about 2ft tall + some are only 10cm so I might just give up on the smaller ones… which I find very had to do, that + seedling thinning! Last year all my tomato plants got blossom rot which isn’t something I had heard of before, so I have been using organic fertiliser, so fingers crossed that doesn’t happen again.
I’ve also just discovered that I should have bee recovering the potatoes leaves as they push through the soil, I order to get a better crop yield but it’s too late for that now so I’ll just have to live + learn for next year…
The lettuce has really taken off, so I think I better find some good salad recipes as I’ll be living off of them for the summer! I've also discovered that if I don't eat my shop bought spring onions in time I can stick them in a glass of water for a couple of days then plant out to make them last even longer!
The only fruit I have in the garden is the strawberries, last year I only had one strawberry, but I currently have about 10 little ones growing so let’s hope the bugs don’t get to them first.
For now at least I can put my feet up with a glass of wine + enjoy the fruits of my labour (literally!).
