Personal Gallery

This was our garden when we first moved in. Quite a small garden really with a paved area, raised decking and one small raised bed.

After a lot of hard work, the slabs, raised bed and decking area were removed. A gabion retaining wall (great for wildlife) was put up, a red brick path laid and the soil dug over and compost added. The areas nearest the house and annexe were put to gravel.

Autumn is a great time to plant, the soil is warm giving plant roots a great opportunity to get out into the soil and establish before winter. It also means they grow away better in the spring time.

All of the plants survived the winter and were able to grow away nicely in the spring with minimal maintenance and watering.

Planting design isn't just about colour. It's also about different shapes and textures.

As we headed into summer the plants continued to establish well. As the weather got hotter, it was important to water the amelanchier tree and hornbeam hedge that had been planted bare root in the winter.

The perennials in particular soon romped away and were flowering happily all summer. The teasels certainly enjoyed themselves (a bit too much really!)

All of the plants in our garden are wild species plants meaning they're great for wildlife.

After flowering a lot of perennials are cut down, but we still have lovely architectural shapes and seedheads.

You can see the importance of grasses, dogwoods and teasels through the winter providing long-lasting interest.

Taken a few days before Christmas, the frosts add a magical quality to the garden.

Late winter and early spring can be a tricky time for gardens, so adding snowdrops and early daffodils can really help lift your spirits.

Our new allotment plot, luckily fairly clear apart from the bottom third.

After clearing the bottom third and levelling the ground, we put a 7x5 shed up.

Our young son was keen to get involved too, helping me tie the framework for runner beans.

Using pallets from my brother-in-law, he helped make 3 simple compost bays so all green material won't be wasted.

After taking on a second plot next door to ours, I set about making a plan for edged beds and a fruit cage.

With help from family we created multiple 2.4mx1.2m beds and a 6mx3m fruit cage.

Using the no-dig method of vegetable gardening, we soon had lots of crops growing nicely.

By late spring we had a lovely crop of first early potatoes.

Having the allotment is not only great for the food we grow, but also for the calming atmosphere and wildlife we see.

Through summer we seem to pick more than we can eat with carrots and runner beans aplenty.

With any brassicas (red cabbages here), it's important to cover with fine netting to stop the cabbage white butterflies laying their eggs on your crops!

Within 9-12 months we had produced our own nutrient-rich, dark compost ready to mulch all of our no-dig beds in the autumn.

Being down on the allotment before 7am is fantastic - best part of the day!

I have always wanted my own wildlife pond, so decided to make one in our front garden.

After digging out the pond, ensuring one end was 60cm deep (to help keep the water clear) with a gradual slope to a shallow end (to help any small mammals that could fall in), we lined it with pond fleece, to help prevent stones or anything sharp from puncturing the liner.

We then put the liner in trying to keep the base and edges as neat as possible before filling with water.

After saving many original tiles (and getting some new old tiles from family), I re-laid the path from the gate to the front door.

The pond was then filled and cobble stones and logs were used to edge the pond, hiding as much liner as possible.

I planted very few plants around the pond, many just appeared from nowhere. Some may call them weeds, but I consider them to be wild plants that help create a natural look.

In the pond, we added oxygenator plants (to help keep the water as clear as possible), along with waterlilies and iris.