The Gardening thread.....

[Roy S]

Tidied up the bit under my kitchen window and filled it with bark


Also my potted plants are flowering

Looks good Grant. I planted some seeds in pots about a month ago, kept them watered but just seem to have ended up with a fine crop of weeds.

Looks smarter than mine Grant.


I had some rubble to get rid of, so I built a raised flower bed at the bottom of the path against the wall. Nothing planted in it yet.

Some kind of climber would work well in there, eventually cover that wall up?

Anyway the outdoor 'fracas', chez-moi

Looking good Marco. Have you got a ride on mower?

[Marco]

Looking good Marco. Have you got a ride on mower?

Lol, no... I could defo do with one, but I like the exercise! What you can see there is about half of the lawn, and at this time of year it needs cutting once a week

We've got loads more we want to do with the garden, such as putting a nice [probably antique] water feature in the centre of the lawn, maybe some statues of Griffins too, and turning a large area of ground near the summerhouse into a veg patch, with carrots, potatoes, etc, simply to make ourselves more self-sufficient.

Marco.

[InThe Sticks]

Until i’ve paid Her maj’s tax bill i can’t afford any hifi for now, so all the focus is on my garden. It’s come a long way in the 2 years i’ve owned it, but theres still plenty more to do like replacing all the horrid crazy paving and actually getting round to fitting the new fence that is just propped up against the old one on the left.
Some before and after pics of some of it…
Sorry for the poor phone photos

How it was when i moved in..





Time for the trees to go as they were blocking almost all the sun light.
The tree on the right is a well over 200 year old pear tree and the wood is just about seasoned and smells just divine when chucked on the log burner.





And time reinstate the veg garden





Theres plenty more, but i won’t bore you guys with it.

[hifi_dave]

Job well done. Bet you ache after that lot.

[struth]

Lol, no... I could defo do with one, but I like the exercise! What you can see there is about half of the lawn, and at this time of year it needs cutting once a week

We've got loads more we want to do with the garden, such as putting a nice [probably antique] water feature in the centre of the lawn, maybe some statues of Griffins too, and turning a large area of ground near the summerhouse into a veg patch, with carrots, potatoes, etc, simply to make ourselves more self-sufficient.

Marco.

Bro has a ride on. Makes a big difference. Has a cutter on his mini tractor to for the pastures, but the ride on is for his orchard bit. Tractor doesnt get in there as its walled.
You,d love one and u still get plenty excersise.

[Marco]

Nice one, and I'm sure it does make a difference. I'm happy though using my petrol mower, and storing a ride-on mower for us would be another issue... Our garage is currently full of all sorts of crap, and which is our mission to clear out this summer!

Then that will make a big difference to how much garden stuff we can store. Anyway, the garden's looking quite good now and should be a really nice space to relax in and enjoy when we're finished

Marco.

[Marco]

Until i’ve paid Her maj’s tax bill i can’t afford any hifi for now, so all the focus is on my garden. It’s come a long way in the 2 years i’ve owned it, but theres still plenty more to do like replacing all the horrid crazy paving and actually getting round to fitting the new fence that is just propped up against the old one on the left.
Some before and after pics of some of it…
Sorry for the poor phone photos

How it was when i moved in..





Time for the trees to go as they were blocking almost all the sun light.
The tree on the right is a well over 200 year old pear tree and the wood is just about seasoned and smells just divine when chucked on the log burner.





And time reinstate the veg garden





Theres plenty more, but i won’t bore you guys with it.

Major respect, Gary. That looks fab!

Just my type of garden - a working one, used to create your own produce, and the display areas, where your shrubs and flowers are, aren't too regimented or 'prettified'. You've got the balance right between it looking neat and tidy, but still 'at one' with nature - top stuff.

With all your herbs and veg you must like to do a bit of cooking?

Anyway, feel free to "bore" us more!

Marco.

[GrahamS]

The borders are now planted up. Nearly ready for the open day on the 23rd.

[InThe Sticks]

Major respect, Gary. That looks fab!
Just my type of garden - a working one, used to create your own produce, and the display areas, where your shrubs and flowers are, aren't too regimented or 'prettified'. You've got the balance right between it looking neat and tidy, but still 'at one' with nature - top stuff.
With all your herbs and veg you must like to do a bit of cooking?
Anyway, feel free to "bore" us more!
Marco.

Thank you, and yes i do my best to make something decent to eat (including home made bread, pasta and beer, lots of) I certainly can’t remember the last time i ate a “ready meal”. From memory they are too bland and full of salt and sugar. Yuk.
I really really can't see how hard it is to eat correctly! It drives me insane to see parents shoveling the sort of crap they do into their trolleys at the supermarket to feed their offspring. Then they wonder why little tommy is 15 stone at 10 years old
Sorry for the rant.

Anyway..


I’m systematically getting rid of the traditional borders, and laying down weed mat and covering with pea gravel then planting mainly alpines, hebes, salvias and Phlox as they look pretty are easy to manage. The idea being a maintenance free garden.

Couple more pics (well you did ask)..


The green house should provide a good yield, theres various strains of tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, habanero chilis, sweet peppers and purple basil. Some of which will go into a kick ass passata for ragu and pizza sauce. The Habanero will be used to make chili jam, which goes perfectly with strong cheese.



These feathered beasts are quite possibly the best thing i’ve owned. As a stress buster nothing beats them, they’re so friendly and comical in their mannerisms. 2 of them came from battery farm and had very few feathers and i don’t think they’d been outside before, so watching them adapt to how they should be living is immensely rewarding.
Plus of course, having fresh eggs is a bonus. Nothing beats a freshly poached egg on top of black pudding and steamed asparagus (from the garden) for breakfast.



And this area beside the chickens will eventually be used a sanctuary for bees, i just need to research what plants are best for them.



Oh, and lastly a huge rose…



Hats off to Graham for his beautiful garden, thats a lot of work. Well done sir!

[Marco]

Yes, big respect to Graham... Like you say, a LOT of work has gone into that garden, and it looks like it should be on the Chelsea Flower Show!

Lol - you've got *no idea* how much I agree with you on the whole junk food/ready meal thing! The fact that folks today eat so much of that shite and don't take some time to actually COOK, rather than simply operate a microwave, and eat REAL food, is why the UK, in particular, has some of the worst health stats in Europe

Anyway, we'll save that for another thread! The rest of your garden looks great, and just the type of space we'd really enjoy.

Your veg, chillies, fresh herbs etc, look excellent, but as you say, the stars of the show are your chickens! Awesome... My wife also wants chicks, so plans are afoot to get some. Aside from us being big animal lovers, like you say, there's nothing like fresh eggs from your own hens - different ball game entirely, especially the saffron-coloured yolks - yum!

So, Gary... You should get involved in the food thread and show us some of your foodie creations, using your fresh produce: https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...26#post1095826

Marco.