The garden

In my haste to get this blog going, I have forgotten to describe the garden.

Well it is big. We live in a flat and this is a mammoth garden - even for a house. It is about 70x50 feet with a large patio and area of trees at the bottom end. There is also a lot of lawn, one large bed in the corner and some narrow beds along one end.

We've decided to grow some vegetables and have dug two of the three beds already. We went for the raised option after doing some research and have mixed in some manure (which was very mature and didn't smell a bit). Using "gravel boards" (wooden boards), we were able to create low rise beds and have even carved out a path between the two. The beds are 12x3 feet which sounds big, but once you see them laid out it doesn't seem so crazy after all. Mr is in charge of the veggie patches, and I am in charge of the rest (fruit, herbs and flowers). (Mr is my other half, my garden pal, my housemate).

It's a sunny day in March and we look forward to sunny days in the summer when we get to enjoy the fruits of our labour.

Seed planting

The garden is huge. Where do we begin? Well today I finally planted some seeds in the cheap propagators from a garden centre (see pic).

In two propogators, I have planted:

Basil
Lemongrass (which is temperamental so I sowed a lot of seeds)
Mint (invasive so I will restrict its growth by keeping in a pot)
Chillies and
Sweet peppers

Once they become seedlings I'll move them into their own pots and decide whether to put them straight in the ground.

I will plant the rosemary straight outside (although I may use a pot for ease) in April.

I also started to tackle the corner bed - which is huge. It is also difficult to decide what to do with it because of the tree stump (complete with many roots) which is near enough bang in the middle. I planted a choisya Sundance and some lavender although I think I put them too close together. Once they mature, they'll have to be moved.

In the garden we have loads of worms. Loads. Which I hear is good. The lawn is covered in wormcasts which shows that they have been busy. We also have loads of bees which make me jump (and run whenever one comes near).