My garden through the years.

A photo journal

I thought I’d share something a little different today, a photo journal of my garden transformation over the years. I hope you enjoy it…

We moved into our house in November 2007. A typical new build, with a layer of top soil half-heartedly thrown down over what had previously been the compound car park. It certainly wasn’t the most inspiring place in the world, but it was a blank canvas and it was ours.

In the spring of 2008 I was heavily pregnant, bored and literally spent the first 2 weeks of my maternity leave watching the grass grow. With a baby on the way we had no funds for the garden so a quick trip to Wilko set us up with a box of grass seed and a multi pack of “mixed shrubs.” We had no idea what we were doing but the greenery looked nice and at least meant the garden was usable when baby arrived.

For probably the first 5 or 6 years we did nothing at all. The garden was a patch of lawn and some random plants that periodically died and needed to be replaced because we had no knowledge of the best conditions for them at all. We also accumulated all of the usual children’s toys; goal posts, a trampoline, paddling pools, etc.

In 2017, inspired after a holiday to a cottage with a gravel garden, and with a puppy who was very much into digging we decided the whole garden was ready for a revamp. By this point the plants had begun to mature and we’d already started to make the space feel a bit more grown up. My weekly visits to the garden centre soft play had given me some motivation and I was beginning to feel the calming effects the garden was having on my anxiety levels. So on a sunny day in early October we dug over the grass and added gravel.

The gravel garden wasn’t much to write home about to begin with but over the next couple of years it gradually evolved. During the lockdown of 2020 it was our classroom, our exercise space, our little sanctuary, safe from everything going on in the world. I can’t even put into words how grateful I was for that little patch of outside space during those months, but if you have a garden I’m sure you can relate.

In November 2021, Storm Arwen wreaked havoc across the North East, taking with it our fence. To many it was just fence. To me it felt as though my heart and my little sanctuary had been ripped apart.

As spring of 2022 came around it was time to rebuild the fence let the garden evolve once again. There was a lot of damage to existing plants and trees, so it almost felt like we were back to a blank canvas. By this point, my interest in gardening had really turned into a passion. I was watching gardening shows, reading books and learning everything I possibly could. The more time I spent in the garden, the more me I felt. Although my husband and I had always done projects in the garden together, it was fast becoming my domain when it came to the growing and planting. Luckily he’s a very willing helper when it comes to digging holes and building fences, arches and whatever other structure I decide is a necessity!

I grew most of the 2022 garden from seed, with the help of my little zippy greenhouse.

Added a wildlife pond and created the “Rosebug Motel” (if you know you know).

And by the end of 2022 the garden was looking the best it’s ever been.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little glimpse into the evolution of my garden. I think the most fascinating thing is that you can see the visible changes in the garden, but the biggest change is the way I feel on the inside. All this time I thought I was nurturing the garden. Now I realise it was nurturing me.

Have a wonderful week.

With love,

Claire x