One of the great things to have come out of this enforced isolation period is that I’m taking the time to try and get the garden looking more like the wild flower vision I had for it when we moved in. It’s been a slow process, the garden we inherited was surrounded by conifers, and while these prevented us being overlooked by the neighbours, they drained light from the space, but also meant there wasn’t many room for flowers.
When we hired tree surgeons to come and remove said conifers it took out a large proportion of our budget for the garden that year, but it was a good job done, and the roots were so deep that we needed to give the ground some time to recover, so we had a pretty bare garden for a while.
Over the next two years we’ve made a couple of trips to garden centres to add some plants and colour to the borders, which being free of conifers were calling for some life. We’ve planted a David Austin rose bush, foxgloves, Hellibores, Forget-me-Nots, a Magnolia tree and Poppies and I’ve recently planted some Peony bulbs (my favourite) but it’s definitely a work in progress.
Our plan for the next couple of years is to do some major renovation work on the back of the house, removing an outdated conservatory and redoing the patio area so I think there’s part of us that’s holding back on doing too much or dedicating too much time to planting just in case it’s completely ruined and we have to start from scratch post workmen.
However, since Covid-19 hit, its become clear that it’s going to be a couple more years until we can save enough money for the plans we have, so in the meantime I’ve been sowing some flower seeds to plant to the garden, partly as a fun activity to do with Charlie, for him to watch the process from seed to flower, but also as a fun personal project too.
So far we’ve planted some Cosmos and Zinnia seeds in germination trays as well as some Icelandic poppies, and when the frosts lift in the mornings i’ll plant these outside. I’d also love to make use of all the empty pots we have by growing some herbs in them under the kitchen window, to help make the patio feel a bit more joyful too.
As a florist i’m more used to working with cut flowers direct from Holland or the flower market but I have to say I think I’ve caught the bug with growing my own too. I’m checking the seedlings every night and am excited by the prospect of having some Cosmos that i’ve cultivated from seeds plated in the garden soon. Hopefully this is just the start of a gardening hobby blossoming and my wild flower garden dream can actually become a reality…I’ll keep you posted!
