"So does the good gardener sense propitious time"- Vita Sackville-West

We started thinking about what we could do with the garden almost as soon as we moved in last year in June. We always knew that the turf that had been lain down by the developers was going to have to come up. The garden is not large by any stretch of the imagination, it measures 26 feet by 21 feet or thereabout and at best it could be described as a courtyard. Lawn would be wasted and would take a lot of looking after relative to its aesthetic value. Following all the rains of the winter, we also realised that lawn would readily turn to a marsh. The lawn had to go.

In the summer last year we went to Richmond for lunch along the  Thames. We went to a pub called the Albany off Queen's Road and we were quite taken aback by all the front gardens that had been potted up with plants. In the height of summer with all the plants in bloom it felt like we were walking in a world where magic had waved a wand and turned a dull little street into a floral explosion.  I knew then that that would set the blueprint for the garden. Having seen the effect that a well maintained potted garden could create, Pepe agreed that this was something he could enjoy too. So we set about planning the new garden.

We both had strong ideas of what we wanted to see in the garden. Pepe wanted a terraced effect and thought we should use sleepers to raise beds at different tiers and create structure and height in the garden. Great, except we really didn't have that big  a garden. I on the other hand wanted to the effect of herbaceous perennials but didn't fancy the back and bank breaking task of setting that about, a hundred pots would not have sufficed. I also wanted a garden where we could grow fruit and vegetables alongside the flowers and shrubs. We eventually settled on a combination of planted borders and potted plants. That way Pepe could have the structural height of taller plants without the raised beds- we decided to plant climbers and shrubs along the fence, while on the other side, the sunny side, I would plant fruit trees and grow them espalier on the wall with vegetables at their feet. We also wanted to attract wildlife into the garden so we have combined both indigenous and  exotic plants which should bring bumble bees, butterflies and other winged insects. As the the garden is surrounded by 2 brick walls and 2 fenced walls, we have opted for scented plants hoping that this will leave a heavenly scent in the garden.

So without any further ado, this is the plan we drew up of the garden:

Below are photos of the garden before we started  digging up the place with some of the pots we had bought in anticipation of our new courtyard garden.

Along with photos of getting the place ready for the new shed and the decking...

               



Our trusty lookouts...

And finally the (almost) finished effect...

Nine months in the making

It has been 9 and a half months since we moved into our new home in Bromley in Kent. Not sure where I heard it said but as the saying goes, "Kent, the garden of England". Except it  didn't really feel like a garden where we lived. We bought a new build and while the developers have turned an abandoned stadium into a well turned out housing development called Trinity Village and have planted it with trees and shrubs, somehow our little back garden only seemed blessed with some lawn and an unremarkable crab apple tree, wholly disproportionate in height to the size of our tiny garden.  Not quite picture perfect, not quite paradise.

It is south facing so we have an abundance of light flooding the garden. Summer last year was glorious. It felt as though we were in a southern Europe. Small and rather unremarkable garden it may be so we decided to turn it into a courtyard garden. I have always loved potted gardens and have always felt that you can get so much more out of potted gardens than sticking to planted borders. However, it felt a waste to just pave the back garden; what joy would those slabs bring even with pots, if the ground remained unacknowledged?

Our last place, a Victorian 2 bedroom flat in Sydenham had a terrible back garden. It was North East facing overhung by huge trees from the estate next door and flanked by a garden that had long been abandoned by the tenant.  We hated using that garden and months would go by without us ever stepping into that desperate place. The front garden was better but of course, you don't relax in a front garden in full view of the road and your neighbours.

This is what we managed to do with the front garden in Sydenham....

It was lush and colourful but pleasure in the garden was limited to those moments when leaving the house or returning to the house. It just wasn't the right space for us. We weren't able to sit and relax in this garden, we weren't able to use it to entertain friends and because of its location we really couldn't grow any fruits or vegetables either (Even if they had managed to grow, the squirrels would have made short work of them).

So planning then... what were we going to do and how would it take effect? We decided not to do anything with the garden when we first moved in. we had to prioritise getting the house sorted understanding the home that we lived in and how we felt in the space.  In planning the new garden we knew we wanted a space that would work as an entertainment area and as a garden both for flowers and fragrance as well as producing some our fruit and veg.....