My Garden In January

 

 

 

I'm joining in with Sarah who is going to record her garden throughout the year...she's calling her series 'Through The Garden Gate' which is lovely, but if you look at mine, well they hardly conjure up a beautiful garden feeling, do they! So my series with just be called My Garden In...

 

Sarah's garden is much prettier than my own...in fact mine is in quite a state, this is going to be a 'warts and all' record of my garden through 2016, and there are rather a lot of warts!

 

There are some areas I just love, particularly the lower garden area, where the studio and raised beds are. It's a south westerly facing garden so we get the sun most of the day, and as you can see from the photos, it slopes down rather a lot too. It's not particularly overlooked, and even if it was, we are lucky that we have fab neighbours.

 

The top patio, that we had done several years ago now, wraps around the conservatory and kitchen. It gets lots of sun, but I've never made the most of this space, as you can see from the last few photos. Basically, it's become a dumping ground! Every spring I clean it up, but by January it looks like this again. I've taken these photos about an hour ago, the wind has blown stuff all over...nothing 'staged' here, yep a mess! The lovely bright orange shed is new, and it will be painted, then I might put it a right angles to the fence, stop the wind tunnel that blows down the side of the house and makes sitting out there, well rather blowy! I've got my eye on some lovely garden furniture for this area too, something comfy.

 

Sadly the quote for the garden path and steps was way above our budget, so I need to have a rethink there. We had a quote for everything that I really, really wanted, including a retaining railway sleeper wall...and a quote for the basics. Even the basic one was more than I had in mind. So more saving will be needed. And as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day!

 

My little green house looks very neglected too, shameful really. But she scrubs up well, and come April I'm hoping she will be stuffed full of plants ready to be planted out in those raised beds. My big greenhouse plans will also have to wait, as we really need the wall building first. The area I want it sighted slopes so will need to be levelled.

 

The spring colour I had in mind isn't really there, that's because I never got my act together to plant out bulbs, but there is some signs of life. Otto loves those signs of life and enjoys chewing little green shoots, we may fall out over this! The tennis balls all over the garden are his, no I've not taken up tennis. He runs after them, and will even bring them back to you, but he's not too keen on letting them go!

 

So that's it for now...and my list of garden plans for 2016...

 

1. Save, save, save...get those steps, and wall in 2017!

2. Fill the raised beds with lovely food to eat, and some flowers too.

3. Finally make best use of the top patio area...some protection from the wind and comfy seating.

4. The two top flowerbeds really need a revamp, some things have over grown, and some plants I really don't like, so perhaps it's time to remove them. This will require the help of the man of the house, and as he hates gardening, this may not get done!

 

 

So that's it for January. What are your garden plans for this year, I'd love to hear them, and if you post anything on your blog please let me know so I can have a peek...thank you.

 

 

 

Have a lovely weekend,

 

 

Amanda :) xxx

 

 

 

I tried to get a shot of her in the garden, but she wasn't having any of it, too cold and windy ;) xxx

 

 

 

 

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