New Year, New Plan

I'm going to start in January this year, so I can document an entire year in the garden. I'm going to keep it up and take lots of photos to show what the garden looks like in each month.

Let's see if that happens...

The Start

Probably the hardest part of my gardening year is where to start.  I'm very good at planning and surveying and not too hot on the doing. So last month I decided to get stuck in and begin the process of clearing the garden.

There are some real problem areas in my garden, like the side of the playhouse where I shove things so that they are out of sight, filed under 'to deal with later' or the area just outside the back door where the bins are - dumping ground for all kinds of stuff - currently two bottles of oil, the top off the sandpit, two old pots full of soil and a Tupperware container with fish gravel in. Then there's the sheds, full of empty compost bags (well, I could use them to plant potatoes in!), old plastic containers (you never know when you'll need 25 10cm pots!), and that's before we factor in the children's bikes, toys etc.

The playhouse problem - that's a sandpit,
 a trampoline and an incinerator at the side!

So, you can see that where to start might be a bit of problem for me.  I've ever been good at tackling one area at a time.  I fall into the trap time and again of trying to clean the whole lot in one go, not really completing any of it and then feeling disheartened and having a few days (weeks!) rest to get over it.

A closer look at the side of
 the playhouse,oh the shame.

The messy patio, weeds, last year's 
swimming pool(!)and dead ferns

Last year's plants, a rusty
barbecue and tin buckets
 full of rainwater

This time I am determined things will be different.  So I started with the sheds.  Not a straightforward task after we had the roof retiled last year and I didn't cover everything up beforehand.  Dust over *everything*. So one whole day was spent taking everything out of the sheds, cleaning it and then putting it back - unless it was beyond help, then it went to the tip.   Next came the side of the playhouse. The sandpit had to come out and be cleaned (well, it's still waiting to be cleaned...) and the whole area needed sweeping and weeding.

All ready for some potting work. 

Much better - now we just need
 screening from the neighbours.

After removal of swimming
pool and weeds.

I think that's quite a good start, everything cleaner and ready to be planted in.

Information Overload

This always ends up being my downfall.  I spend hours researching (looking on Pinterest) looking for information about times to plant, how to build a raised bed, best veg to grow in containers, flowers for shady areas, flowers for sun, planting to attract wildlife... And before I know it it's July and I haven't achieved anything in the garden.

Pinterest is amazing, but should come with a warning that you will get nothing done once you start looking at it.

Oh but look at the colours!

My ultimate goal is to have a mostly edible garden. Now I know I should take one step at a time and build the garden as I go along, but I am an impatient person and I want an Alys Fowler style garden to appear overnight.

This is never going to happen...

So today I resolve to get something done which takes me a step closer to my goal. I don't know what that will be yet, I'll just head over to Pinterest for some inspiration.

Spring in the Garden

The weather this week has been absolutely fabulous and everything seems to have sprung into life all of a sudden.  I've been out in the garden doing some tidying up, but couldn't resist taking some photos too.

There were hoverflies dancing around the garden.  Often mistaken for bees or wasps these insects have no stinger, so no need to be scared of them! You can tell a hoverfly from a bee/wasp because, well they hover.  Neither bees or wasps hover, they are always on the move, so if you see one of them hovering you can be sure it's not going to sting.

I managed to capture these hoverflies having a little afternoon delight in the sunshine.

Mating hoverflies

This is most definitely a bee though.  How can anyone can be scared of something as cute and fluffy as a bumblebee?  I ended up watching this little one buzzing around for ages, they are never still!

Cherry blossom against a clear blue sky.

I'm loving getting out and about with my camera and this weather makes for some gorgeous pictures.

My Gardening Year

I have created this blog to provide a focus for my gardening year.  It should follow me and my garden through the four seasons and help me to plan and manage the project that is my new garden.

This is what I am working with at the moment.

My long, bumpy lawned back garden.

My plan is to create a vegetable plot at the bottom of the garden and also a hidden area for the boys to play in.  The is currently an apple tree in the centre of the lawn and a Buddleia bush on the left which has been pruned this year.

The washing line spoils the view for me, but it is necessary - how lovely is the smell of clean washing straight off the line?  I might look into getting a retractable one instead of the permanent line that's there now.

The view from the end of the garden.

I would like to move the playhouse - not sure if I want to keep it or not yet. The ideal would be to build a pergola to screen us from the neighbours and provide some shade.  This would mean we would probably have to extend the patio area on one side to give us a bit more space for a table and chairs.

The water butt needs attention, I'm not sure if it's storing the water it collects or it's draining out of the bottom.  And the tap is broken too.

I enjoy whimsical touches in the garden and have planted flowers in boots, wellies etc in this vein.

Pansies in old boots - how cute?

My starting point is to clear out the sheds and tidy up the garden after leaving it to its own devices at the end of last year.  I think it's good to let the garden get a bit wild in the autumn and not to clean up all the leaves etc. it adds to the soil quality if you leave everything to decay a bit then dig it into the garden in spring.