we moved house earlier this year. a huge factor in deciding which flat to choose was having a garden.
we're so pleased we chose this flat. it's lovely. light and modern and although a little small, it feels like home.
but... turns out that the garden is based on terrible, rubble-filled soil. the grass struggles to grow and the border i decided to create to soften the harsh, tall fence panels, is full of concrete for the fence posts. there's an ancient sycamore tree in one corner which drops yuck all over all year round. early spring you get sap. later you get a kind of catkin. then you get the keys. in autumn, the leaves drop to form a thick, soggy carpet of yellow across the whole garden, pots and all. it's awful. and the tree trunk gets in the way of the ideal location for the lovely shed we bought. anyway.
making the most of what we have, we've turned this...
into this...
the heuchera border
verbena covering up the fence
nicotiana by the french windows
what did we do to get from there to here?
we pressure washed the flagstones on the patio (thanks dad).
we reseeded the patchy lawn, over and over, with a mix of shady and fast growing seed.
we created a narrow border with a little curve at each end along the back fence.
we filled the patio with big pots with a bamboo, mock orange, clematis, honeysuckle, laurentia-lobelia mix, piles of nicotiana and lavender.
we bought plenty of herbs and they're awaiting a big pot to make an all-in-one herb garden.
we moved the greenhouse from the allotment into the garden so we could better look after seedlings in Spring and tomatoes in Summer.
we started off a container of mixed lettuces and salad leaves, to pick fresh salad daily.
we scrounged a handpush lawnmower and mowed and mowed and mowed.
we've also got some ornamental bits and bobs, like solar lighting, stainless steel spheres, tealight holders and so on, and some patio furniture.
we probably spent far too much money, but most of it will come with us when we move.
we wanted a modern space - it's a very modern flat - without being able to dig up the whole garden and turn it into a sleek, slate-clad sunken seating affair. we had to work with what we had. that's one of the reasons for so many pots. black is a statement. we created a restricted colour border to keep things modern and urban (i hope!) a low cloud of purple heucheras and bright green alchemilla mollis forms the backdrop, with white laurentia and white cosmos contrasting off the heucheras, then very tall spikes of purple alliums shooting up in between. there are a few that are struggling in their first year; blue agapanthus for more tall spikes, pale blue laurentia and campanula to create a continuous river of blue along the very front of the border are not looking at all happy.
what have we got? a butterfly sanctuary. a person sanctuary. somewhere to be outside, in a quiet, relaxing space, in the middle of a busy town. a place to snooze in the sun, grow food, entertain friends, dine outdoors. something to be proud of, a hobby, an achievement.
