As we all know, when you have a garden, nothing stays the same, even when it’s a tiny plot like mine which you may think would be easy to control. I started with a plan which I painted on a scrap of paper during our kitchen extension renovations just over two years ago. This was a very hopeful, dream-garden type plan with no maths or exact measurements involved, and while this has been very helpful, the garden has already changed from my original intentions.
Living in a terraced house in a town, cheek by jowl with others, there are some factors which you cannot control. The neighbours on our right have just cut down the huge sycamore tree which formed my green backdrop and, in its way, was part of my original plan. I get it: the tree was in the wrong place, squeezed between their garden wall and garage: the roots had already tumbled the brick wall, and the garage had become unstable. Sadly, it had to go. This week, the neighbours on our right commenced building a huge red brick garden studio. I knew it was coming, and it will be lovely for them to have it, but I will need to start thinking about climbers to conceal some of the stark red brick newness which is rising rapidly above our fence. I should add, both sets of neighbours are lovely people. Their choices are totally understandable. If you choose to live in a town, and in a small terrace at that, it’s part of the deal. It does mean that my tiny sliver of green has become more important than ever before and I now need it to work even harder than ever.
It’s not just changes which are beyond my control. It’s the plants, too. Some of my trees in pots are outgrowing their original positions, so it’s time to rethink. Maybe I can solve two problems at once. Moving things around will allow me to disguise some of the unexpected neighbour-related changes, and give my trees more room. I now have to create my own backdrop. Although I haven’t been able to get outside much over January and February, my thoughts have been whirling.
As well as plants, I have many moveable accessories in my garden. These have been collected over many years, a result of my major love of car boot sales (and now a Facebook marketplace addiction). I’ve just been writing some advertorial copy for a big antiques fair, and talking to various dealers about the beauty of old garden items made me realise what an important part of my own garden scape these things are. The old green chair in my picture, scooped up from a flea market stall during a dawn visit over 20 years ago, is one example. It has been with me through thick and thin, used as a prop, a feature, and a plant stand (rarely for sitting on, though, as it is incredibly uncomfortable!).
The old chimney pot, used to add height to a pot display, is another old faithful. The flour bin, planted with veronicastrum, was plucked from a skip at our local tip. The white herb planter was a £2 buy from a car boot sale last summer and the Blackcurrants sign was a find from our late, lamented local Peterborough Antiques Fair. I have to be careful. In a small space, too many up cycled accessories can look like an explosion in a junk yard. So, I often edit, take things away, and either put them in the shed, or sell them on if I have no room to store.
One thing I always buy is plant pots. I have no real flower beds, so they are essential. And pots come and go. They become frost damaged, and get broken. Larger ones are so expensive to buy from garden centres, so I’m always, always looking for affordable secondhand ones. I never pass by smaller vintage terracotta ones, either, as they are getting harder to find, and the patina is just lovely.
Pots can be a feature in themselves. I have no room to hide things away in my 12x5m space, with no garage and only one shed. So everything needs to look appealing if possible.
This was one of my best Facebook marketplace buys last summer. £25 for the three (and the seller delivered them as he was passing!). I love the colour of old zinc, and these are beautiful for spring bulbs and then summer flowers. The bases are always drilled for drainage, unless something is super special, and then I make it a temporary plant home.
Another treasured zinc bucket, one I’ve owned for years.
Smaller pieces are good for seasonal displays.
Although my garden is bursting with plants come summer, I do need to put in a few visual breaks. This antique terracotta ball was a recent find at our local antiques centre here in Stamford. It was not a bargain, I just felt it would earn its keep.
The terracotta herb wheel is one of my favourite things. I spotted it at a car boot sale last year, not really knowing what it was, handed over my tenner, and when I got it home, I was absolutely thrilled with it. It’s not correctly lined up here, but it is now properly installed and it makes a lovely feature on my patio, and is currently filled with spring bulbs, such as iris reticulata, crocus and mini narcissi. It will be used for herbs later in the year.
The point is that I can create a green world in my narrow slot of a garden. Of course it won’t always go to plan, but that is the nature of gardening (and life!). It’s not just neighbour activities which can knock things off course. My fantasy of walls clad with sweet smelling honeysuckle came crashing down last year when my plants became infested with honeysuckle mite. I’d never even heard of it. Some of my favourite foliage plants have been decimated by vine weevils over winter (including my lovely sedums!), so it’s back to the drawing board on indestructible climbers and perennials, too. Things don’t work out, and then they do. We keep trying.
When I am having a few gardening fails, I might turn to my paints to create my fantasy patch. I’ve sold quite a few versions of this little oil over the years, so possibly this resonates with some of you, too!
I’ll be back with some spring updates soon, but in the meantime, I have a mini greenhouse to paint (or should I say, repaint. The first colour just wasn’t right….on we go).