Seven random garden facts
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Cottage tales | 11 commentsTen days ago, Sara from Farming Friends tagged me for seven random facts about my garden.
I have lived here for fifteen years now, creating and maintaining my garden is how I keep vaguely sane.
When I first moved here it was just after I had been released from a short, unhappy marriage. A marriage that was so brief that all I tottered away with was half the wedding presents and a tattered heart.
I am extremely lucky in “The boy stood on the burning deck” sort of way. My aunt had unexpectedly died and left me some money. I could move to this cottage and start a new life. This life would not include a man, or a therapist. I found two new interests that would not give me any time to dwell on the past. I trained as a computer animator and spent three days a week making a garden.
After a few months I realised that I needed more of a focus than just filling beds with shrubs and flowers. I decided to create a garden full of mystery and surprise, with a whole range of different areas to delight and soothe. I decided to create a backdrop for the greatest love affair of all time. This made creating the garden far more exciting as I was playing with the feel and effect of the plants within the space. Five years later I peered over the parapet and spotted Danny. This was just after I had planted the last rose. Guinee is a rose that begs you to loose yourself in its velvety petals and heavy scent.
I divided the garden into three distinct areas using mainly yew hedging, with box edging small borders and beech hedging along the north side of the garden. Danny finds this useful for drying the washing when the line is full.
Last summer I created this bower in the large herbaceous border in the first part of the garden. At the moment I am busy replanting the side to the left of the path. The Min Pins enjoy standing by the bower and barking at the bank manager next door.
A few years ago we cut an arch in the yew hedge creating a bit more mystery. It is planted with flowers and a honey scented euphorbia. There is also a large statue of a dog holding a basket of flowers in his mouth. This is invisible in high summer.
Years ago a very old friend admitted to me that he would be happy to sit beside a pond and watch the fish all day. I think of him when I stand and lose myself in our stretch of water. The pond is 28 feet long and a haven for wildlife.
A small brick path leads to the orchard area, chicken run and kitchen garden.
This is the hub of vegetable, egg and fruit production. I spend a lot of time in this section of the garden particularly the greenhouse. I love that special greenhouse smell.
Years ago I made a red border, designed to shock as it was planted at a time when everyone was into pastel colours. This was eaten up by the yew hedge eventually. The aubrietia are still clinging on and have a tendency to grow flat on the grass. I love the splash of colour at this time of year. Inca, our youngest Min Pin is always nearby when I potter in the garden.
Now it’s my turn to tag – here are the seven sites that I would like to share their seven random gardening facts (in no particular order of preference);
1. Little Foodies http://www.littlefoodie.blogspot.com/
2. Purple Podded Peas http://purplepoddedpeas.blogspot.com/
3. Joanna’s Food http://joannasfood.blogspot.com/
4. My Dutch Garden http://mydutchgarden.blogspot.com/
5. Kate Smudges http://katesmudges.blogspot.com/
6. Fluffius Muppetus http://www.coopette.com/blog
7. Garden Dogs http://gardendogs.blogspot.com/
The rules:
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 random facts as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 other garden blogs and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.
Leave a reply
It took me quite a while…I have posted my facts http://gardendogs.blogspot.com/2007/10/seven-random-facts.html ; Berry & Basil chimed in too. http://gardendogs.blogspot.com/2007/10/seven-random-min-pin-facts.html
Sarah, Berry, & Basil
Hi Sarah,
I am so pleased that you are taking up the 7 random facts challenge as you have a beautiful garden. Your Min Pins are great too.
I’m glad you enjoy my blog, thanks for leaving a comment.
Thank you for the honor of the tag! I will get to work shortly on seven random facts…I will have to really think about who I will tag…I am a little shy and hardly ever leave comments…this will be a good push for me!
I love learning about your gardening life, thank you for the time you spend on your Cottage Smallholder blog!
Thanks Pat, I love our garden.
Ohhhhhhhhh What a truely gorgeous garden you have!!!!
Hi Sara
I am so pleased that you enjoyed the parts of my garden that were open to the public today.
We forgot to do the lottery on Saturday, so tomorrow I will not be tilling the soil in my garden!
Every garden is a special place. The forgotten ones, where no one goes, attract so much more wildlife than the manicured ones. This is my mantra when I contemplate the weeds¦
Hi Kate
You are so new to me that I didn™t realise that you had already jumped though hoops and accomplished this feat.
The garden is still a refuge and a joy to both of us. At the moment we just don™t have the time to give it the attention that any living thing deserves. Our focus is on the bees, hens and keets. When they are done the focus revolves to the garden, literally 20 minutes a day at the moment. I™d love to have more time to nurture our garden.
Hi Tammy,
One of the many things that I admire about you is that you are growing stuff to eat and when you post about this Herculean Step, every post makes me laugh. And that™s what it™s all about.
Hi Amanda,
Somehow time moves on at a faster pace than any plan for a garden. A plan is only accommodating nature for a while. Garden plants, like humans, can™t be confined for too long.
Fifteen years later we still have packing csses.
Now you’ve really made me want your garden! If you have a spare 12 months off, we could really do with your help to create something magical with ours!
We just had roast chicken on our ‘new’ patio. As we ate we worked it out that it’s actually 12 months old now, we still haven’t finished that part of the garden. The house still has walls that need to be stripped properly and re-plastered, the garden has areas which are beautiful and areas which are truly horrendous (but we have only lived here for just over 18 months). It’s ours and we’re back in the village we love and for that we are very happy and content. That said, it is good to know you lived in mild chaos for a while too.
My GOD, that’s a beautiful garden. You’re lucky there’s a whole ocean between me and that dangling pear.
You have created a wonderful refuge in your garden. It is mysterious and magical. I imagine the cottage looks beautiful too.
A walk through your bower would be lovely on this sunny day. I wish I had as many fish in my pond. The fish look great!
Thank you so much for tagging me, but I just recently did a 8 random facts post … it was good to read yours.
I can’t decide which part of your garden I like best. I think all of it is just wonderful. How you manage to motivate yourself to leave the lovely haven of your garden is beyond me as it is truely magical.
I believe in days gone by the servants of the big house would dry clothing on box hedging!
I like the idea of the yew arch creating more mystery and the bower is delightful.
The rose is also beautiful.
Thanks for sharing these random garden facts, they are so interesting.
Sara from farmingfriends