Time In The Garden

I have a love/hate relationship with my garden and I think this is probably true of most people who work full-time and can only spend time in the garden at the weekend. Today is the first full day I have had in the garden this year and, as ever, I didn’t achieve anywhere near as much as I wanted to.
I chose to prioritise the vegetable patch rather than concern myself with the flower borders as time is getting on. I cleared one raised bed and planted onion sets for harvesting in late summer/early Autumn, and planted carrots and peas for early Summer picking. I cleared a second raised bed in preparation for runner beans to be planted next month after the risk of frost has passed.

After all of the hard work I took a moment to enjoy my current successes. My philosophy is to minimise work and cost by clever planting. In the Autumn I plant bulbs for the Spring and in the Spring I plant perennials for the Summer. Year after year these plants will self-seed and fill the garden with glorious colour.  I am also a great believer in using ornamental bark chippings to spread on the garden and thus reduce the in intrusion of weeds. Again, this will save time.

For inspiration on planting the perfect perennial border visit  Crocus.co.uk. Here you can choose your style, place an order on-line for the perfect planting combination, and receive an illustrated planting guide. Two years ago I chose the Bees and Butterflies border and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Brilliant!
Although, there are still many hours work ahead to get the garden shipshape for the Summer I still managed to steal a moment to relax at the end of a hard day and enjoy a long cool drink as the sun went down. That’s what makes it all worthwhile!