The Country Garden - Genesis

Im Just A Country Girl

Stuck in the big smoke dreaming about wild open spaces, wild flowers and free range chickens. But alas, I open my eyes and I'm still in the city's suburbs, surrounded by people, cars and noise. That doesn't mean you cant have a little bit of country in your city garden. I wanted to capture that wild feeling and bring it into this garden space.

We took possession of our new home in mid June 2016. The house needed a renovation badly, and with our first child expected in January the race was on to get the house habitable. The gardens had to wait. We did manage to build these and the veggie patch beds, and by we I mean my husband with some help from a couple of young lads. The pathway had to wait. I had started some perennials and annuals in the greenhouse and got them planted just before the baby was due. For the rest of that summer this garden was left to its own devices. The effect was quite beautiful if a bit weedy and patchy.

Its Not All Roses

I sat back and looked at my design, and chuckled with self congratulation. That will do I said to myself. I was very wrong.

Id picked my theme for this garden, built the beds, made my plant list, sowed my seeds, planted and stood back to admire my work. Little did I know that the sheltered position of this garden and its proximity to the dry stream running not 5 meters away would be its peril. I am constantly battling with fungus, mold and rust. The roses, gladioli, hollyhocks and sweet peas are covered in the stuff. I am constantly spraying and trimming to get on top of this pesky problem. This could of all been avoided if I knew my site better. I was so excited about my new garden that I had my design blinkers on and ploughed head on. I sat back and looked at my design, and chuckled with self congratulation. That will do I said to myself. I was very wrong.

Time For a Rethink and Redesign

The air in this garden is so moist. Fugus and mould just love it. By summer Ive got a big problem that even regular spraying wont solve. I hate spraying. Instead Ill create a garden that doesnt need much intervention from me. Im a busy working mum and Im a little bit lazy! The answer is to create a self regulating ecostyem that doesnt need posseting. To do that you need wildlife, birds and insects. Ill have to rethink all plant choices. The roses are going, Ill pot them up and put them up higher were there is more air movement. The two white and yellow bush roses will stay, they too suffer from black spot but are more tolerant than the Hybrid Tea's (they also help disguise the ugly retaining wall). Im also moving away from a cottage style garden and more towards a natural style garden look aka Piet Oudolf style meadow with perennial flowers and grasses. I am also very inspired by Beth Chatto's gravel garden. I will keep the same colour theme, purples, whites, yellows with silver foliage. My plants list will be chosen according to colour, fungus resistance and drought tolerance. These beds are irrigated, which is very convenient but also exacerbates the moisture issue. I regret putting in the spray type irrigation, and would highly recommend using a soaker type instead, not just because of the high humidity here, but because of aesthetics and higher moisture loss with the spray type.

Its a Beer Budget Affair Im Afraid

After buying our perfect family home and renovating it, there is precious little left for any landscaping.

I am been very demanding from this garden. I have just cause. It is in prime position, receives good sunlight (as you will see the rest of the gardens are quite shady), needs to be low maintenance once its established and needs to look good for most of the year. This is a tall order no doubt but I believe achievable. Oh and by the way, I have no budget to do it! After buying our perfect family home and renovating it there is precious little left for any landscaping. A challenge for any keen gardener. I'm just going to have to get creative.

Plan, Do, Love

Its wonderful to see the final results, but I believe the journey is just as enjoyable.

Now that I know my site a little better, next summer should be even better. I have many perennials planted this year that will take a season to grow into their homes. Ill move the roses and rearrange some of the other plants according to the new scheme. Autumn is going to be a busy month! Ill also sow now a few more varieties that I want to try in these borders and get them to put a little fat on before planting season again in the Autumn. I love this part of the process too, yes its wonderful to see the final results, but I believe the journey is just as enjoyable.