Hello you lovely lot.
I know its only January, but thoughts for Summer are already arising. As we've got a little outside space i want to use it to its full potential. Firstly it needs to be cleared of the broken up bits of slate that someone thought was a great idea to use instead of gravel (just as bad) in gardens, no offence if you happen to like this look, but i really don't. We're going to lay down some decking and build some vegetable boxes, In the communal hall theres a window that not only over looks the patio area but is the 1st thing our neighbour see's, so I'm going to put a trellis to cover it and grow a mixture of sweet pea (these were my granddads favourite) and runner/broad beans. so i can't see there being any complaints, number 3 will open their door to pretty flowers rather than seeing my washing. I've also got plans to grow a nice variety of herbs such as basil,mint, lemon balm, chives and that kind of thing, i also want to get a raspberry bush or lemon tree and grow strawberries. i want my garden to be full of aromatic scents,so that when dusk starts to full on those summer nights the gentle smell of lavender and jasmine fill my sense's. I've noticed that we don't get a lot of birds or bugs (well apart from slugs and woodlice) coming into the garden, even though i put out some bird feed its not been touched. So i think alot of Bee/Butterfly attracting plants might be in order too, i love watching these little things fly around doing there thing. I want to also have a go at growing peppers, chills, tomatoes, carrots, celery and potatoes! ambitious? perhaps but hey why not? if it goes wrong theres always next year. Plus after reading "The Edible Garden: How to Have Your Garden and Eat It" by Alys Fowler and her dream of making a difference to how we get our food, and how we relive some of the strain on mother earth by not importing or exporting foods, it kinda brings out the Eco warrior in me, I want to compost, i want to get a water butt, but most of all i want to eat fresh homegrown food and enjoy the bounty that my hard work achieves, knowing that I'm not adding to the carbon foot print, Lee's Nan does alot of veggies so I'm sure i can exchange with her and maybe friends too. Its all rather exciting and of course i can't help but browse the Internet for ideas. i must mention that yes i want a garden for foods, smells, colours and my own little space, but also i want to use it for entertaining, out of all my friends with flats, we've got the only garden, so I'm hunting for floor pillows, collecting jars for tea lights and trying to decide what sort of BBQ to go for!
I didn't mean to go on for quite this long, the next coming weeks/months I'll show you our progress on the revamping of the patio and my attempted to grow flowers and veg.
Loves and sparkles
Vegetable boxes sounds like a great idea! I have that Alys Fowler book too and found it very inspiring; it got me growing my own fruit and veg last year.
ReplyDeleteHope you have loads of fun getting your own garden started :)