My Garden
My family and I live in a typical suburban house with a typical British suburban garden. Located in a small town in northern Buckinghamshire, the house was built as part of a development that extended the original village sometime in the late 60′s or early 70′s.
When we moved into the property in 2006 the back garden was a well looked after square of lawn surrounded by classic flower boarders filled with a rather well thought out mix of large shrubs, grasses and lavender and pink flowering plants. We had purchased the house from a woman who enjoyed and understood this type of gardening.
Despite my very good intentions, by the summer of 2008 the original planting scheme was already beginning to be lost in an overwhelming tangle of overgrowth and general neglect. However hard I tried to look after it, I just couldn’t find it in me the love and passion necessary to instill the time and attention the garden needed to remain that classic but pretty creation I had inherited from my green-fingered predecessor.
So, it came to pass one evening as I sat out in the garden with a friend, that I looked up at the rose arch that lead out onto the lawn and found myself complaining.
“I hate those damn roses! Every time I have to go to the garage I get snagged by the thorns,” I said.
“Why don’t you cut them back?” asked my friend.
“Because I hate them that much I just can’t bring myself to be bothered. They grow so fast they’ll only need cutting again in a few weeks,” I replied. “Perhaps I should just cut them down completely!”
“My mother grows french beans up her trellises,” said my friend.
“What a fantastic idea!” said I. “I love the idea of growing vegetables. I understand vegetables. Not like these damn flowers which I know absolutely nothing about. We can eat vegetables. They have purpose. I can contemplate spending my time planting and tending vegetables because they are useful. Yes. I shall cut down the roses and plant french beans. I shall turn this garden into a vegetable plot!”
I had no idea in that moment quite what this miraculous thought was about to get me into.
A nugget of passion was ignited deep within my soul. It burned slowly as I researched the costs and implications of my idea. It gained ground as I realised the possibilities – discovering ideas like ‘potager’ and ‘heritage seeds’, and concepts such as ‘raised bedding’ and ‘companion planting’.
That initial passion might almost have been extinguished by the arguments that arose out of discussions with my darling husband regarding budgets and time expenditure. But, inevitably (sorry dear husband!), it finally burst forth and during one very cold half-term week in late October 2008, with the help of an enthusiastic younger son and an elderly but fit father, the transformation began….
The raised bedding – note that the frames are simply laid on top of the lawn
All in all I had to build 16 raised beds, 7 of which were double height. Despite the fact that I had purchased pre-cut, pre-countersunk and pre-weathertreated planks it took nearly three weekends of endless labour, two new drill bits and many hours of cussing and swearing to finally complete just the empty frames.
Once the frames were complete I celebrated the fact that they did indeed fit into my garden, just the way I had planned on paper – this was probably the first and last time that any of my garden plans has actually come into fruition so completely. I then calculated their total volume and found myself ordering no less than eight tonnes of top quality top soil!
My youngest son gets a shovel into 8 tonnes of quality top soil
At eight o’clock in the morning, on the Monday during autumn half-term, a truck emptied eight tonnes of delicious, airy top soil onto a large groundsheet I had spread out on my driveway. This soil had to then be shoveled into my brand spanking new wheelbarrow (bought just for this purpose) and wheeled all the way through my garage (tidied out by my eldest son who had previously been using it for drum practice), and into the garden to be carefully deposited into each of the 16 beds. On occasion it was necessary to ease that wheelbarrow up a homemade ramp so it could be tipped into the higher double beds.
For five days my father and youngest son worked by my side in the cold and sometimes wet weather. It was back-breaking work but it felt honest and good and, I have to admit that on occasion we burst into song. My poor neighbours had to submit to multiple renditions of Molly Malone as my son valiantly attempted to teach the words to me and my half deaf father. Good memories for us, if not for my neighbours – to their credit, and with my thanks, they did not complain once.
And so, having spent what my husband considers silly amounts of money (and he may have had a point) and many, many hours of hard work, my new vegetable plot lay ready. Sadly, it was by that time November. Other than plant a row of garlic in the front beds outside the picture windows, there was little I could do but wait and watch as the weeks past, the snow fell and my new soil turned into impenetrable steel. For me, and my lovely new garden, Spring 2009 could not come soon enough…
Phil Roberts
February 7, 2012 at 11:02 am
Sarah
Thanks for your ‘Like’ on my garden blog – your post above about the raised beds is slightly daunting when I’m faced with the same sort of thing – fortunately on a much smaller scale at the moment.
So, unlike you having finished then having to wait until spring, I’m frustrated not being able to get started!
As you can tell from my blog, I’m not exactly an expert but it keeps me busy…
Sarah M. Lawton
February 7, 2012 at 8:07 pm
I’m almost jealous that you will be having the opportunity to enjoy the ‘build’ phase.
I actually love the sweat and toil you have to put into structurally developing a plot.
Now, my little garden is almost too efficient – I don’t get to do a whole lot more than plant, water and weed!
Good Luck, keep in touch and – for me – do enjoy!
Sarah
Anne Grace Crowder
March 11, 2012 at 6:02 pm
I, too, am a gardener… and a blogger. Just found your comment about our renovation project in Brittany. Thanks for commenting. I have 4 cats, one of which is 22 years old. Born in Northern California in 1990, she wandered into our lives and hearts and has been with us ever since. We tend to attract abandoned animals. She has crossed the Atlantic with us 4 times. The other 3 are all French cats. My garden is above our drain field for a new septic system (part of the renovation). And it’s true: things grow great over the drain field.
Carry on being you. And cheers, Anne Crowder
Sarah M. Lawton
March 11, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Thanks Anne.
Great to meet you. Your cats sound great. My mum brought all of her cats over from Sweden. They were already over 17 years old and only lasted another two years but she never regreted it.
I’ve always wondered if animals have different languages in different countries like humans.
Growing your garden over your drainage sounds really smart.
Sarah
Anne Grace Crowder
March 12, 2012 at 7:00 am
The garden started out as a flower garden and has changed into a vegetable garden – thanks to the economy. I love knowing how my vegies grew, without toxic stuff on them. I am a ovarian cancer survivor and feel that what I eat is important to my continued good life. As to animal language, I have observed that it is tone of voice that they react to rather than words. Although I did have one cat, Rob Roy, who learned to imitate me. He could say “I love you” and “I don’t know.” Sadly he has passed over the rainbow bridge.
Just planted my lettuce patch. It was a really good crop last year. I am growing peppers from seed as well as cucumbers and parsley. I’m worried we could get another cold spell so these are on window cills around the house. Pomme de terre did well last year, also. A neighbor and I exchange plants and info. I trade what he doesn’t grow for eggs. I do love fresh eggs!
Nice to get to know you and good luck in all your endeavors.
Anne
Sarah M. Lawton
March 12, 2012 at 4:45 pm
What a lovely comment.
I now buy the few plants I need as seedlings from my local garden centre to save the pain. Our potatoes did well last year too. Am just winding myself up for this year now.
Thanks Anne.
You sound really good with your seeds. I stopped growing from seed when I realised I didn’t have the heart to compost a single seedling… not good when you have a small garden.
Keep in touch.
Sarah
Eleenie
April 14, 2012 at 4:55 pm
A woman after my own heart! Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables! The true purpose of being in the garden.
Sarah M. Lawton
April 28, 2012 at 2:36 pm
And so tasty they are too!
I’m so with you on this one Eleenie.
Sarah
Anne Grace Crowder
April 14, 2012 at 5:02 pm
I’ll be planting broccoli tomorrow if it doesn’t rain. Grew the plants from seeds and they look pretty spindly but may survive. Raised beds are the way to go. My next blog will show more of wht’s goin on over the drain field. Good luck, Anne
Sarah M. Lawton
April 28, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Anne
Did you get that broccoli in the ground? I hear it has rained in the UK for the past two weeks while I was in Nepal.
Sarah
Anne Grace Crowder
April 29, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Too much rain so far. in fact, if it doesn’t stop raining I can’t get good pics of the garden thus far. Oh, woe is I!
About that Visa. You were soooo lucky. My daughter works for the Eon Film people (who make Bond films) and had a business trip planned to take props to Brazil. She was so excited about seeing Rio. But when she got there, she was told she couldn’t enter the country without a Visa she’d never heard of. They put her on the next flight back to London after she made arrangements for a responsible person to take her extensive collection of stuff to the exhibit she was supposed to supervise. She was one angry lady!
How was Nepal and the elephants?
Anne
Wanderer
May 11, 2012 at 9:43 am
Once you get back from your expedition, please post pics of your garden. Who is taking care of it now in your absence?
Sarah M. Lawton
May 11, 2012 at 4:50 pm
I’m already back! These accounts are retrospective.
Luckily I managed to plant everything I needed to before I left and it rained a lot while I was away so I came back to many tiny seedlings. I also spent last weekend planting courgettes, pumpkin, tomatoes, squash, chard, brassicas and other various delights. This weekend I shall cast another few rows of peas, plant the climbing beans, build the cane supports for the beans and do some weeding.
My OH is willing to water the garden in my absence, and he is happy to harvest, but I’m the one who plants and weeds etc.
It’s only a small plot so doesn’t take more than 10 hours a month at this time of year.
I’d put up photos, but they wouldn’t be very exciting. All the raised beds look a bit empty at the moment as everything is still only just sprouting.
However, I have got a new bird house made from recycled bin bags by Nepali villagers and some prayer flags to put up. Perhaps I’ll get around to that this weekend too – they may be worth photographing!
Sarah