For many years I have had a veg plot in our garden. I think it was originally a dog run for the previous owners greyhounds. However it was fenced all round and was a wonderful sun trap, out of the brisk Westerly winds we get. It started with a few beds cut from the rough grass turf and slowly grew to accommodate the old greenhouse left by the previous owners in a very shady spot, some raspberries and the all important shed. Problems in design soon came to the fore, namely the ‘turf’ was old pasture and primarily twitch grass and perennial weeds whose one mission in life was to reestablish dominance in my lovingly tended beds. I also had the added problem that we are based on the same sub strata as the long gone Hilton Gravel Pits, now a nature reserve, namely river pebbles and boulders! Great for pebble ponds, paths and general coastal planting but not so hot for carrots, parsnips and anything you want a straight root from. Potatoes do very well as an old friends gardening Guru husband predicted they would. I lost count of the times I brought in a bucket of potatoes and found myself trying to peel a pebble.
Time has moved on as has priorities and health and the veg plot was all but abandoned with the onset of a building project that would see most of the plot buried under a new double garage and wood store and all the associated excavations and builders rubble. The up side was that I could have the plot landscaped when building was completed and access to all those lovely heat retaining South and West facing brick walls.
Here are some photos of what I started ‘again’ with, part 2 with improvements to follow.
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