We’ve been pondering a new shed for the last 6 months as our old one was not in the spot we wanted and need repairing. Before our landscapers installed the new shed, they moved the old shed into an open spot in the back garden, that meant we could continue to use it until the new one was ready.

Despite spending hours researching design, we had barely given a thought to the base. Which is a mistake! As our landscapers informed us, if you have a poor quality base or no base at all, the shed will absorb water from the ground. and will rot quickly. And an uneven base puts pressure on the joints of your shed. We didn’t want to waste money on a good quality shed if it was going to be exposed to damp and rot from the base upwards. So we got a concrete base laid first. The shed is now complete and I have to say much better than the old one, no leaks, so far touch wood and it looks fantastic. Thanks for Lockhart’s for building it.

Our second purchase was a new triple wheelie bin store to disguise the bins that look awfully messy in the front garden. This was something we had planned to get over the summer but for one reason or another, we hadn’t got around to it. Unfortunately, our landscapers had long since packed up when the store was delivered so we had to assemble it ourselves. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult, the next job is to paint it to match the fencing which we hope to get done before the New Year if the weather holds.

The post Garden Update November 2018 appeared first on A Small Garden.

As the weather has been too windy to do the roof – it is currently covered with a blue tarpaulin.

It is similar to my studio, so when it is finished I am sure it will be fine.

There has been no change at all to the middle pond area, or the top garden.

I am growing things like mad to plant in these areas later in the summer

Seedlings

These are just a few of the many, many seed-trays that are sharing the house with us at the moment.

Kitchen garden from the studio

The area that has received most of our attention has been the new kitchen garden.

As you will see from the picture above – there are still a few areas which are rather rubbish …..

But the new beds are (mostly) built and we have started filling them up with soil and compost.

Kitchen garden

And I have even marked out the position of the lettuce plants in the furthest bed

But, perhaps most importantly, we have got our chairs in place!

Which is why the pattern the raised beds create is important to me.

There is still one more small bed to go in the very centre.

I fully intend to go into more detail about the decision-making process for the raised beds in a later post.

It is a great way to observe the changes in all or part of the garden so why not join in, post your end of the month views

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Under the supervision of my father, I grew vegetables as a child, but when I first grew vegetables on my own as an adult, I was terrified.  I killed tomato plants, drowned strawberries and failed to harvest potatoes (I thought they grew above ground).  I probably would have given it up, if it wasn’t for the radishes.

These lovely little things grow from seed to table in about one month and short of a major disaster, you can’t stop them.  I plant a few rows throughout the season and no matter what goes wrong, my radishes always go right.

So feeling a little unsure of yourself, need a pep talk or a punch in the arm… grow some radishes.

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Succulents are the new Hotness

It seemed that every pot and container garden either had colourful succulent as a centre point or contained several succulents as accents. These little beauties are drought hardy, colourful and adaptable to most zones, unfortunately for a long time you only saw them planted in boots (campy but true) or in rock walls. It’s nice to see the potential of these amazing plants being recognized.

Plant Vegetables not Annuals

Time was that if you wanted a boost of color in your garden between perennials blooms, you planted pansies, primroses, geraniums, mums, or whatever annual was on sale at the local nursery. But why spend money on annuals, when you can spend the same or less and grow colourful vegetables. In many of the gardens and containers that I saw, Swiss chard, burgundy lettuces, and even strawberries were used where we once might have seen annuals. They cost less, can be grown easily from seed and taste great. Bye Bye annuals!

Think Vertical

At both shows I was totally impressed with verticals gardens. Items like succulents and lettuce planted vertically on a back wall or a free standing wall used as a garden room divider. Smith and Hawken sells a kit to create your own vertical garden, but I think with a little experimenting I can make one on my own.

You don’t really need the newest gadget

At both shows, people seemed to be snapping up collapsible buckets for carrying water and tools or for picking food. I prefer mesh baskets for picking food (the dirt shakes off before you can carry it inside). But the best bucket I have found for carrying tools and water, are the large plastic 5 gallon buckets you can get at hardware stores. They don’t cost much, last forever and come with a lid. I can store tools and even leave them in the garden bed, as they the buckets are water tight. I also use them to mix up water soluble fertilizer for my containers. They are usually about $5 or less at the hardware store, and if you know anyone in the food industry, you may be able to get similar containers for free. Bottom line, you don’t need the newest tool or widget to enjoy gardening.

Garden Shows are missing the boat

Okay, I plan to elaborate on this in another post, but the bottom line is Garden Shows seem to not be in tune with gardening trends and the people who garden. Even the idea that all gardeners are not a like seems to elude them. We all garden in different spaces and climates, we garden for different reasons and we have access to different resources. Despite this, both shows seemed to focus almost solely on upper middle class, female, retired, with lots of disposable income, non-ethnic gardeners. So much is missing… and there is so much they could do to make these shows really meaningful to the majority of gardeners, not just the stereotype. [All this while being profitable]

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