We previously lived in a basement flat which had a small patio for 5 years, and during that time I became very interested in plants. Mainly buying them to 'prettify' the patio.
I started reading gardening books. Then I started sowing seeds and taking cuttings. I really enjoyed learning about plants and encouraging insects into the garden. My passion for getting muddy hands, and now muddy boots began.
We decided to move out of our flat and into a bungalow just up the hill and have been here for a year.
It is a lovely little 1930s bungalow. I knew from the first viewing that this would be a fantastic home. Much smaller inside than our flat but it was the garden that we fell in love with.
We are perched on a hill that overlooks the South Downs. It's further away from the train station which is a little annoying but the views and garden more than make up for that.
The garden is very steep. Very higgeldy piggeldy and has plenty of nooks and crannies to be creative in.
It has a glass greenhouse and a plastic greenhouse that we use as a sort of Summer House. I want to move it to another part of the garden as it is impossible to grow vegetables in there during the summer as it is not ventilated.
It is my favourite place to sit and have a cup of tea in Spring when I want a break from digging and it's too cold to sit outside.
There are raised vegetable beds, borders filled with bulbs, perennials, and shrubs. There is a Pear tree which has the most delicious fruit.
The previous owners were obviously plant lovers. I think it must have been a real wrench to leave this garden after putting so much effort in.
The actual design of the garden does have faults, and some of the space is not utilised as best as it could be.
I want to plant some Apple Trees. I would like to build a pond. I have never grown vegetables before and loved having raised beds to do so. We harvested tomatoes, spring onions, salad, potatoes and runner beans last year.
There are 2 raised beds at the back of the garden where I tried to grow some Broccoli, Sprouts and Cabbage but there is a huge Sycamore Tree hanging over from the garden next door so everything suffered from Mildew and my first attempts were put on the compost heap unfortunately.
I have included some photos of our garden taken a few months after moving in.
The first picture shows our wicker sofa beside some green doors.
Once we had settled in I noticed the boundary was very open between my garden and my neighbours, so I wedged the doors in place to create a little screen. Plus they provided some shade which is nice as that part of the garden really bakes in the sun.
I rescued the doors from a skip a few weeks before we had moved into the bungalow. Getting them out of the skip was a challenge but worth it. My other half didn't understand why I wanted them. He just gave me 'the look' and told me off for picking up junk again before we had even moved in.
When I knocked on the door to ask the owner if I could have them he gave me a very strange look. I seem to get that a lot.
So yes, I admit it. I have a problem. I am a somewhat of an obsessive skipdiver/magpie/scavenger.
There is a running gag between me and my partner that I am always on the lookout for rusty treasures for my garden wall. It's the norm in Brighton for people to leave furniture and unwanted objects outside their houses with a 'free to good home' sign.
I have found some great pieces of free furniture for our home and like nothing more than finding something for free and giving it a new home or use. A lot has changed in my garden since these photos were taken, so I will add a few more soon.
I am enjoying this already, it will be nice to have a visual reminder of the changes that happen in my garden.
Goodnight.
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| My salvaged doors put to use. |
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| Well worth climbing in a skip for! |
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| View over to South Downs from Greenhouse. |
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| Walled patio from bungalow and view up into the garden. |
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| Brick edged slate path. Snail/slug trap made from broken pot. They hide inside during the day. Then as Tony Soprano might say 'I'm going to take my friends for a little walk..' |
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