Hello

So, what's this all about? Well, I'm quite interested in gardening: I watch the TV shows; read newspaper articles, & I do tend to absorb the info, so I can talk a fairly good pub talk. But when it comes to actually getting my hands dirty... it's all a bit random :/
That's not to say the garden is a totally neglected mass of brambles & nettles (or 'Wildlife Corner" as the journos would have it). There are pots in the yard with living things in, & there are also plenty of plants doing their thang in the borders-n-lawn garden.

Get on with it!

I like our garden, & would like to do more with it, but my approach is somewhat haphazard: I'll do it when I can be arsed. I could blame a hectic social schedule, & in the past that wouldn't be lies, but frankly I just haven't made the time. So diligent calendar watching has never been the name of the game, more of a case of: am I in? Is it raining? What triffid needs hacking before it takes over the neighbourhood? All of which might explain my rather hit & miss success rate...

Step away from the crayons

I've been planning the main garden for ages - I've filled a sketchbook with possible layouts & other ideas. But I've struggled to make decisions, & on the rare occassion I do, to stick to 'em long enough to actually get my arse off the sofa & do something about 'em.

What we're working with

The yard

About 8m x 2.5m of North West facing concrete. Pretty normal then. There are some pots, struggling along, & of course a delightful focal point generated by 2 wheelie bins.

The garden

We've done a fair bit over the years to the 10m x 12m South East facing plot. But it still lacks structure & is a bugger to maintain. The herb bed does a fairly good job of self regulating, but the bottom is getting way too 'wildlife' - I don't want those brambles thinking they can have the run of the place... Back! Back damn you!

So what now?

I'm hoping this blog will help me keep track of my progress out there in the garden. I want to grow more edibles & keep on top of the most troublesome invaders. I also want to learn more about what we already have, cos there's plenty out there that's been here longer than us & I don't have a clue what some of it is. Hopefully that'll be where you lovely readers come in ;)

Footnote

If you're getting lost with all this South West/North West bollox, here's something that might help:

The garden runs from North West to South East. In the pic, the compass is sat on the edge of the BBQ bench, which runs parallel to the house. As we look at the compass, the house is behind us (North West), in front of us (South East) is the gate at the end of garden, & the hedge of doom is to our right (South West). Hope this helps :)