General Chat

I remember how lovely your garden is from photos before Colin. Only you know whether or not you will miss the pond but it is a nice idea to grow vegetables. We intend trying a few in containers this year, Normally we only grow tomatoes and cucumbers. (Most of the tomatoes in hanging baskets)

ann
Glos

Hi Leanne :):) and Thank You :):)

You sound as though you have a garden very similar to what I am hoping to achieve with the mixes of things :) There is so much that can be achieved in a small garden :)



Ive just had a chat with the other half about how we can retain the pond and we have now come to a compromise :) I think she was pretty worried about me and ponds as I have built about four over the past years in different positions in the garden :)

We have agreed now that I should keep one but bring it in with the extended patio, a more oblong one with a seating area around it, well thats the idea anyway, it does mean I will have to move the small chinese water feature which is definitely the OHs creation but I have promised that I will re build this also onto the other pond features. Now I had best get that one right :):):)

Colin, lokked at youre garden pics and its lovely!

our garden is only small, but i like my plants and i like veg! so i compromise by planting in tubs which can be placed in with the plants. I grew aubergines last year, lovely colour leaves and tiny purple flowers. I also grew courgettes, but they took up so much room and swamped the patch, i dont think i will do them again! I grow beans in a trough up pea sticks, just finnished the last of frozen off! Tomatoes in a trough, lots of herbs, cos i use them all the time. Beetroot, cos OH loves it, peppers, i could go on! We have a postage stamp, and we have water features, like you i love the sound of water running.
I wouldnt get rid of the pond altogether, maybe make it smaller, and more in the corner?
xxx

Hi Tina :):) and Thank You :):)

I was just speaking to the wife about some of the suggestions here. My brain is ticking away nine to the dozen as it does when I get into a garden planning mode, think that frightens the wife a bit though lol :) Companion growing is a lovely idea and I have ideas flooding for hanging strawberries and tomatoes with hanging flowering plants also now :):)

Hi Stray :):) and Thank You :):)

I can see Hayley my other half saying a big No and never again if I muck up on this one, somehow I have to try and combine the two and keep a fair amount of feature without spoiling it :):)

Colin, your displays are stunning.

I have started growing veges again and am so excited by it all... nothing quite like your own produce.

Companion planting can be achieved though and many vegetables have some lovely foliage and colours.

Enjoy whatever you chose to do.

Tina x

colin your garden is beutiful very colourful and lovely set out

id love a vegtable patch but i no id get lazy after a few weeks so hubby says no :((

maybe when kids r older and dont have all the room for there toys lol

luv
stray
xxx

Hi Nutwood :):) and Thank You :):)

I used to grow swede when we had the allottment, we used to get some good years and bad ones back then, Water was the main key, they just drank and drank it, sometimes twice a day I would find that patch as dry as a bone. Good luck with with growing your own veggies and things :)

Sally :):) Those beef tomatoes are lovely, whenever I had a piece of steak during the summer , ( those were the days) I used to pop up the allottment and pck a nice beef tomatoe to go with it, yummy :):)

Hi Sue :):) and Thank You :)

That is a good idea with the hanging plants etc as the back wall on the shed itself is hardly used really apart from a mirror and a hanging basket :):)

Von :) :) Where we used to live I used to do just that, I used to look after their garden , sadly they are no longer with us. Also up until just before Christmas my friend Mick used to grow his own veggies and things in his garden which is similar in size to our own and he used to pass the excess from that over to us. Sadly he went into hospital and didnt return either :(

I'm sure what ever you decide, there will still be a little edge as to how the things turn out, but hey, good luck in your quest. We try and live off the produce from our garden, but have no luck in growing swedes.


Nutwood

Colin, about the cherry tomatoes, my Dad had hanging baskets, and Mum was always pinching bits of his veg plot and planting flowers in amongst his veg.......so he bought some trailing tomato plants, which grew small sweet cherries, and planted them in her hanging baskets.......they were lovely.......he also grew those big beef tomatoes which we used to stuff.....

Hi Amanda :):)

I love the taste of freshly pulled spring onions :):) There is nothing like it on a cheese sandwich :) My mouths watering :)

The back garden is situated in partial sun only as it is never in full sun in the later afternoon, we see sunshine up till about two oclock then it disapears behind the shadow. The area behind the shed has always been a little harder to grow flowers and things and has a few ferns and more established plants there, annuals and other smaller plants just dont like the area there.

That's a beautiful garden.

You could grow salad stuff and strawberries in hanging baskets. I have also seen strawberries being grown in growbags which have been hung up by one end. You can get quite a lot of plants in a growbag like that.

Sue

I haven't managed to view your garden photos Colin.
We have a new p.c. and I'm struggerling to get to grips with it.............lol

I grew climbing french beans (Cherokee trail of tears) in the space behind my green house last year,
in grow bags......and spring onions in a plastic trough.

Do you get sunshine behind your shed ?

Amanda

Hi Von , Hi Tricia :):)

Von :):) Amanda :):) and Tricia :):)

It is an excellent idea to grow some things in tubs and bags as this would certainly save some much needed space. For those who have seen the pictures I want to try and keep as much of the left hand side of the garden for floral, its the area behind the shed that I am hoping to use, as you can see that area is not that large either.

Hi All :)

Julia :):) Congratulations on winning Gold last year, it is a lovely achievement and feeling when you know all the hard work has finally paid off, it really can be hard work with competitions.

Maddie :) That is a great idea and one I hadnt given any thought to, I love the idea of growing things for a bar b que :):)

Amanda :):) You are very right of course :) There are so many plants that I missed out on just because of the competitons themselves, Judges seem to have their own favourites as we learned over the years so it meant sacrificing space and plants we liked sometimes just to make space for those particular things.

Kay :):) I love the sound of running water and the pond itself, we have a couple of smaller features in the garden now also, Hayley my other half says I am not allowed to tocuh her little chinese garden which has its own little water feature. When I built the pond I made quite a big mistake and placed it in a very awkward position, something I now have learned to my cost.

Sally :):) You and Maddie have just given me a lovely idea, I now have ideas of growing little cherry tomatoes just for the bar be ques.

Hiya Colin very pretty garden
You do what you feel. You can't beat fresh stuff and Oh I miss our allotment too.
A little peaceful haven it was.

I'm thinking of getting OH to plant potatoes in the redundant black dustbins.

Tricia xx

In my humble opinion I don't think that any garden is ever "finished" as such..........it changes as "we" the gardeners do...........as my kids have grown up I've been able to add the longed for pond and green house.
We have an allottment also and grow various Heritage veg types ( some I have to grow in the garden to stop cross pollination ).
Have you tried growning some veg in tubs Colin ?
That way you might avoid such a radical change if you not quite sue which way to go.
Amanda xx

Colin, I just looked at your garden.....it is absolutely beautiful......no wonder you won competitions for it.....you clever, clever man.....

My Dad was known locally as the tomato man Colin, because his tomatoes actually tasted of something, not like they sell in the supermarkets.......he had a small octagonal greenhouse and grew peppers and cucumbers too.......and a vegetable plot,....

Maddie's idea of growing them for use in your barbecue's is great......and when my Dad had his own allotment we never had shop bought veg.......and they used to taste of something.....

Rest on your laurels Colin......go for something different...you could always put your produce into veg shows......