I have never been very good at gardening although I love a nice garden and plants. This year we had our drive and patio done as all the paving stones had cracked due to subsidence.We also had decking put in the back garden so that we can lay out our barbecue and garden furniture on it. I would love a nice chair, garden swing or a hammock from Tropilex so I can have a corner of my own to relax.
Whilst the drive was being done our lawn suffered badly so we also laid a new lawn and tidied up the flower beds. Neither my partner or I have any gardening knowledge so we got some beginners gardening books to brush up on our skills. Having a best mate who also owns an allotment is really useful too as Heidi who blogs at kitchentalkandtravels is always giving me tips and advice.
Personally I find gardening rather challenging as I really don't have green fingers at all and have a tendency to kill all house plants I have had in the past. I believe this is because I over water, something I need to pay attention to with the garden.
To keep things simple we dug up the flower beds and prepared them for planting. There were lots of rocks so a gardening sieve from Wham came in really handy to sieve all the debris out. Once the soil was dug and sieved we mixed it with some shop bought comport and mixed it into the ground.The flower beds were now ready to plant.
We also filled the cauldron pot, some small plant pots and a plant trough from Wham with the compost for the bedding plants. Wham have a lovely selection of pots, herb planters, troughs and gardening items at a very reasonable prices too. To check out their full range check their website.
We chose a selection of bedding plants for the pots and wall baskets and perennials for some parts of the garden so that they would bloom year on year without having to replace them.
Whilst the perennials take time to settle in and grow, the bedding plants give an instant colour to the garden The added advantage of growing annual plants is that you can change the colour scheme of the garden with different types of bedding plants seasonally It is also an inexpensive way to brighten up your garden as you can get trays of 12 bedding plants for as little as 3-4 pounds.
The bedding plants also look great in window boxes, hanging baskets and wall planters. They are easy to maintain and I also discovered that once a week watering them with a plant food helps to enhance the colour and bloom.
We also chose some ever greens so that we had lots of foliage in the garden all the year round. I learn't from the gardening books that evergreens can also have coloured leaves that will help to add colour to your garden in the winter.
Gardening is certainly some thing that needs lots of love and care and its hard work too. However its very satisfying to see the results.
Our next project for the garden is to start off our vegetable patch and herb garden. We are currently preparing the vegetable patch as the soil is full of clay and very hard to grow anything init. In the mean time I have planted some tomatoes and chilli plants in pots.I am really excited as the tomato plants are flowering and hopefully I will have my very own homegrown tomatoes to eat.
I am not sure what we are doing is absolutely correct as its a very amateur attempt, however its a learning curve for us and we are hoping that in time our garden will flourish.
I am also planning to grow some herbs in an indoor kitchen garden, I will share this in my next post.
**This post is in collaboration with Wham who kindly sent me some pots and tubs.
If you enjoy visiting citrus spice and travels and have not signed up would like to receive regular EMAIL updates and a monthly newsletter straight into your inbox please sign up by email. You will find the email signup right at the top under my photo in the side bar.
or click the link below.
I love that this was so easy to read as a beginner gardener myself I enjoyed your modesty through the post.everything came out beautiful. For your veggie patch, how did you check the soil?
ReplyDeleteWhen we were digging the soil was really clumpy and sticky and hard to dig. It almost looks like modelling clay. Referring to gardening books it says the only way to fix it is to dig it through break it down than mix in lots of comport and keep turning the soil. Hopefully it works.
DeleteGood for you for giving it a shot! Looks like you are doing well! I would love to start a garden but wouldn’t have a clue where to begin!
ReplyDelete-Mary
I started a little indoor garden this year. I have always been terrible with plants, but so far the majority have survived lol
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are starting off on the right foot with gardening and really making a different to your out door area. Love the flowers.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on starting your gardening journey. Love the photo, everything looks so great and there will be plenty of benefits to you new-found hobby!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on starting your gardening journey. Love the photo, everything looks so great and there will be plenty of benefits to you new-found hobby!
ReplyDeleteI have not had a garden in years, but it is so relaxing. I can so use it now. Great pictures and wonderful garden.
ReplyDeleteSo much inspiration & so little time. I do love your ideas though & maybe next year as right now I'm between houses.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to get into gardening more but never had the time or knowledge. This article really is inspiring me to take another look at it as it really seems to be therapeutic!
ReplyDelete-Jarkable
Feel free to delete if this is a duplicate but couldn't see my post so trying again :)
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to get into gardening more but never had the time or knowledge. This article really is inspiring me to take another look at it as it really seems to be therapeutic!
-Jarkable
I'll be following this with interest - I, like you, have no green fingers so it'll be inspiration for me to attack my own garden!
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law loves her garden. It's quite big and its beautiful, she puts so much effort into it. I live in a flat so I live my gardening through her
ReplyDeleteSome great gardening ideas. We need to start working on our garden as it needs some loving!
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks great! I think the wall planters with flowers are especially gorgeous!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Annie
oh my god, i love gardening, i find it so relaxing, it connects and let me appreciate nature :) Good luck
ReplyDeleteI have been experimenting with gardening this year as well and at the moment my garden is full of chili peppers. I bought one of those grow it yourself kits and ended up with 20 plants. There would have been more but I dropped the greenhouse on the floor one day when I was moving it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice post! This really inspired me to get back in the dirt, haha. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteThose look like some lovely pots and tubs. You may be new to gardening but you are doing a great job, it looks fab.
ReplyDeleteI have a black thumb. I kill house plants, too. I think I over water. I love the flowers on the wall. You did such a nice job. I hope your flowers make it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI love gardening too. I guess I got it from my mom who grows beautiful orchids! I have an herb planter (fresh herbs in cooking is always the best), and some flowering plants around the house too. My only regret is that I don't have a bigger backyard to plant more!
ReplyDeleteI find gardening pretty challenging as well. I have been able to grow a few things but I have never kept at it like I would need to do to have a very vibrant garden. I would like to though.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers! I'm not much of a gardener myself, but I love looking at gardens done by others! :)
ReplyDeleteI just started gardening as well! It's great to have a "chore" to do outside. Any excuse to get outdoors is a great one! It's just so nice to dig in the dirt and plant new flowers/veggies.
ReplyDeleteI find gardening really hard work, I just dont have particularly green fingers! I do however enjoy flowers and gorgeous gardens!
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks great! They can be a ton of work to set up at the beginning, but are totally worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteI am so bad at garden but i have some indoor flowers i am yet to kill.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin loves to garden and she says that it’s very therapeutic for her. I love to look at gardens but don’t have such a green thumb.
ReplyDeletethanks very good about gardening.
ReplyDeleteYeah sure it is one of my hobby. I spent many hour on my gardening and caring on them.
I really appreciate the kind of topics you post here. Thanks for sharing us a great information that is actually helpful. Good day! havehegn
ReplyDelete