I have a garden...
OKAY okay saying I have a garden is a massive overstatement, I actually have a back yard and cannot wait until the weather is better and I can be out pottering around the yard all the time.
I spent the weekend planting lots and lots of things. Trouble is if even half of the seeds I planted take hold I will have no room to potter, (the dog is already complaining); it will be an explosion of green things. So far there are tomatoes, lots, carrots, again lots, all sorts of flowers, herbs as well as potatoes.
Nanny picked me up a little greenhouse which I put up last week and appears to be doing the job, if slight steamy/condensation when it rains is anything to go by. In fact I opened them earlier to put in stuff and there was almost a puff of warm air coming out. If you have a small space and fancy one too the greenhouse cost £9.99 in Poundstretcher and I also saw them this weekend in Aldi for 20 euro and very handy and fairly sturdy they are too.
You may also remember the bulbs I planted in a pot before I moved and which started to sprout as I didn't get them outside quick enough. I put the pots outside when we moved in and promptly forgot about them until I realised that in the middle of all the long green shoots all these lovely things have been appearing and yes I planted way too many things in one pot. But who cares. There were also daffodils in this growth but they have obviously been strangled.
No container is safe from planting either. And this definitely ticks the container criteria for me, I bought these minging things for the Young Wan for a outdoor pursuits weekend with school only I brought home two left, or was it right, feet. So I have cut holes in the boot here and there and stuck some herb seeds into the holes. Who knows if they will take but time will tell.
So where on earth am I going to put all this greenery? Well at the moment there is still stuff from the move to be shifted from the back so a good portion of the yard isn't usable. Once it is gone I am gonna look for a handy wo/man to help, I am a pretty handy woman but there are somethings I am not going to attempt or should I say should not attempt. I tried to hang my hanging basket of strawberry plants from a bracket which I attempted to hammer into the yard wall with a masonry nail but I just couldn't manage it. So they are hanging on the clothes line hook for the moment.
I think it will probably need a drill and as handy as I am I don't have a drill preferring for someone else who knows what they are doing to do it. And I will need more of using the walls if all my plants take because there won't be enough floor space.
This post (and the garden/yard) is something that I have wanted to do for a while having spent the last couple of years showing off my window boxes from the flat on the blog, the idea of having a larger outdoor space is just fantastic.
I should also hat tip S who had an idea that is perhaps being leaned on in this post but as we have had many discussions on such things I hope/believe he'll understand. (Sorry for being cryptic perhaps S will enlighten everyone at some stage.)
The above pix show my garden/yard before we moved in and the last and bigger pic shows nearlyish the same view of the first pic as it looks now. It looks dramatically different now, the first pic would be very different now as I have a pile of stuff to go stored there; stuff like bin bags of rubble, our recycling and rubbish bags which I have been storing in the coal shed until I have space for an actual bin. I will have to have a bin as there are loads of cats who tear the rubbish bags apart.
As a result the back is organised chaos, one side has stuff for the skip and the other side is coming down with pots and plants. So until the skip stuff is sorted I can't really find permanent homes for what has already been planted, never mind where to put everything that will be coming up in the next couple of weeks.
I intend to get some steel shelves to put the vegetables I'm growing and as I said earlier hang other things around the walls. At some stage as well I intend to get a table and two chairs, anymore is being wildly optimistic, actually a table and two chairs is being kinda optimistic already but I will somehow squeeze them in.
So for now I am coming down with growing things, outside, in the bathroom and all over the kitchen and its great. Roll on the summer.
5 comments:
First off.. do you need more containers (lots of small stuff in one big container might help)
how big is the space? Do you want to "build up the walls"?
What direction does it face? Full sunshine or in shade? Is it in rain shade?
What is the soil (Acid or lime? Clay sand or builders rubble)?
What style of garden do you want (sleek & modern or Cottage garden. Given that it looks like a courtyard, an outdoor room?)
What do you want to have in the garden? (You mentioned table and chairs, but shed? hammock? bond villain style bunker?)
Lots of questions, but answering them will give you an idea of what you want
Looking great, fmc! We were thinking of the greenhouse too, nice to see it in action!
I ahve trouble getting beyond my good intentions, but soon enough I won't have wee babies anymore. (sniff!)
Its such an exciting time waiting for seeds to take hold, roll on July when everything reaches its peak.
We are lucky enough to have about an acre for veg, including a polytunnel and a garden that I hope to convert into a permaculture designed garden. In the tunnel I'm growing a whole row of tomatoes, but as I can never grow enough, I'm also planting a tumbling variety in hanging baskets overhead!
Good luck with your urban garden space, its going to be fantastic.
Not sure if I am the cryptic 'S' here, RM, but I am really glad to see you are moving those green fingers of yours out into the great outdoors.
Believe me, even if it is as small a space as the yard I have been working on, it will give you no small enjoyment. Once things get going (and here I would second Will Knott in recommending you develop a selective approach to what you want to see in your yarden) you should receive no end of joy seeing the constant changes in your creation.
Best of luck with house and garden.
@willknot I will need more containers in the coming while if even half of the tomatoes come up. I was checking this morning and my mixed leaves are all coming up and looking good.
I am going to hang things on the walls, with the aid of some brackets and as I said in the post get some shelves too.
The space is small about 10ft by 6ftish and I believe it gets the sun during the summer, theres no soil just concrete. And I would love it to be coming down with flowers over the summer and my own grown food.
Unfortunately theres no room for a shed though my Mum has been slagging me about my plans for the back as if I had a massive garden. I suppose my planting reflects the fact that I am optimistically planting as if I had a massive back garden.
In saying that i would love a bond villain style bunker, can you get them in Woodies?
@jothemama you could plant sunflowers with the babies, depending on how young they are. You could have races on which grows tallest. Then theres the measuring, kids love them.
Irish Sallygardens Wow I am jealous, I would love that much space, I dont know how I would handle it so it is probably best I start small. I can't wait till July either and my tomatoes.
@Picoroco Well hello there and howdie. Delighted you got started and yes of course S is yourself, delighted you heard me calling you. When are youse coming down to see the new place and inspect my yard garden ;)
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