*That I can’t really take any credit for because my husband does and has done the majority of hard work!
Something happens when you’re in your thirties that makes you take up a keen interest in the joys of gardening, creating and then nurturing a little green space that’s your own. Suddenly you start to find weekend trips to the local garden centre very appealing and can often be heard asking the experts if Acers prefer a more acidic soil, which we naturally have…
We’ve spent a lot of time, energy and money on turning our little garden into an oasis of colour, smells and texture. We built on what was already planted and have been slowly adding to it. Our main criteria when selecting new plants, will it be good for the bees. If the answer is yes, we’ll take it.
We like to play with varying heights and clash flower colours so that there’s always something to catch your eye, wherever your gaze falls. It’s a garden to be enjoyed all year round but is really at its peak in the summer and is best appreciated over a cold glass of fizz and a barbecue.
We have wisteria winding its way across a side fence panel, the roots nestled behind some crazy lavender that the bees and butterflies go mad for.
On one side we have herbs aplenty, my all-time favourite (and Ina Garten’s – if you know, you know) pink hydrangeas, hostas, a variety of different sized acers, bright yellow dahlias, the most incredible hot pink azalea, some David Austin roses that smell like clean bedsheets and a smaller wisteria for a bonsai experiment.
We have sunflowers in pots and flowering jasmine climbing up the back fence, letting off a sweet scent.
On the other side, we have a gorgeous white lupin, a bunch of wildflowers jauntily protruding from a mound where a new acer sits. We have ferns and grasses under my beloved camellia. We have a clematis climbing behind Sheila’s Perfume, a rose not only beautiful in colour with it’s pink and yellow petals but also in its sweet, delicate fragrance.
Then we have my husband’s pride and joy, Bonsai corner. The perfect area to display his ever-growing collection. In his possession are a maple deshojo, Chinese juniper itoigawa, Chinese elm, azalea, Canadian redwood, Japanese white pine and an Acer buergerianum. And that face that looks over them all, that’s Jaqen H’ghar.
It’s a calm oasis. It’s peaceful. It’s full of wildlife, even more now we’ve hung our bird feeder – must remember to refill it! – and made bug hotels by drilling different sized holes into logs.
At night it’s pretty too with various light bulbs hung from branches, string lights wrapped around the chair that holds the bonsai Wisteria and two starburst led lights, which I adore. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a plane land sometime soon.
It’s a garden to sit and relax in. A space to entertain. A vibrant feast for the eyes. And it’s all ours. Admiring all the hard work we’ve put in fills me with a massive sense of both pride and joy, what more could you ask for.
The pictures have been taken over a range of days from bright sunshine to right after the garden being watered.