Born Again Gardener

Another Picture Post

2010-04-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

The garden is just so full of flowers. Here are some more pics for your pleasure.

Other news . . . a newt has moved into our pond, which, being full to bursting with tadpoles, is a bit like me moving into an Indian restaurant. In fact we may have to move out soon to make room for the many peppers and tomatoes taking up every available space in the house whilst Jack Frost finishes his work for the year.
I have Sprouting Broccoli, Cabbage and Brussels seedlings ready for their new home in the veg garden.
I've created a poor-man's Tree-Fern using a tree and a fern. More about this later.
Oh, and the Parsnips are doing fine, thanks.

Parship Nursery

2010-04-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Germinated in sawn-off toilet roll middles in the cosiness of our conservatory (in less than a week) and planted out into the cold earth last weekend, I half-expected them to wither and die in their improvised propagators.

But this peculiar looking system works fine. On returning this weekend I found they each had a nice strong set of real leaves. I removed the cups, upturned them and used then between the parsnips as supports to keep fleece from squashing them.

Sorted.

Picture Post

2010-04-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Looks Like Winter's Over!

2010-03-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

Is it like this every year, or is this year different?

Months and months of planning, dreaming and longing to get on with things, then . . . . . everything needs doing at once! I've got plants on every windowsill;

and the conservatory has become a nursery too:

I must have had my head buried in a gardening book and missed the starting gun; I now have a list of jobs to do longer (and growing) than the list of jobs completed! It feels as though I'll never catch up with myself. But I look forward to the day when I can load my trug with unusually shaped vegetables and amble home a contented and ruddy faced man.

It doesn't help having a full-time job, but at least I will have some time in the evenings once the clocks have changed next weekend. I have shallots and broad beans in the ground already and parsnips, carrots and beetroot will go in this Saturday if the weather is fine.

The beans were started in root-trainers and grew at an alarming rate; I planted them out in the rain, concerned that I had to get them in the ground as quickly as possible. Here they are under fleece while they get used the big outdoors.
I know that I will learn to 'chill' a bit and go at Nature's pace; I guess its all a part of the learning process, but I have learnt one important lesson; Winter is for procrastination and Spring is for action!

Digging by Seamus Heaney

2010-02-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.
Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner's bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, going down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.

Barnsdale Gardens

2010-02-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

Those of you with long memories will remember Geoff Hamilton. For those of you who don't, let me introduce you. Geoff was a presenter on BBC's Gardener's World back in the 1990's; a personable, enthusiastic and knowledgeable 'Peoples' Gardener' before the programme became populated by celebrities and its format turned into a glossy magazine stlye of show with its nitty-gritty gardening content sadly reduced. He was an early advocate of organic gardening at a time when it was still a radical, even cranky, approach and can possibly take the credit for introducing the concept to the general public.

His garden, or gardens, as there are 38 individual gardens at Barnsdale are open to the public and are a delight to wander around at any time of the year. We went over today to make the most of a sunny February day, to get some ideas for adding interest at this time of the year and to see what even the best gardens look like when laid bare by the winter.

Here are some of the pics that I took.

Barnsdale Gardens are in Rutland. Here's the website http://www.barnsdalegardens.co.uk

Symbiosis

2010-02-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

This is a new concept to me, though I realise the biologists amongst you will already know about it. It first came to my attention this morning, lying in bed reading the excellent 'Woodlands' by Oliver Rackham. In it he states that 'Most plants are dual organisms' He went on to explain that mycorrhizal fungi will attached itself to a plant's roots and as its hyphae are far finer and more richly branched than the plant's roots are and therefore are more effective in penetrating the soil that they share. The fungi extracts minerals and water from the soil and exchanges them with the plant for sugars which it is unable to produce for itself. As a consequence a plant's roots will do little of this work itself, especially in poor soils or in drought conditions. He also exploded the myth that a tree's root system is as far into the ground as its branches are above the ground. Many trees have very shallow root systems, as they delegate the job of seeking water and minerals to the mycorrhizal fungi. This relationship is a 'symbiotic' one; mutually beneficial. Humans too, I discovered, are dual organisms; the bacteria in our gut, so vital for our health, are indeed another organism altogether.

My next task was to find out if these mycorrhizals were available to the gardener. Sue reminded me of an occasion out buying roses when we were given a small packet of spores to shake into the hole before planting. Indeed, two of them flourished and the third, which only had the dregs of the packet to go on, was dead within its first year. A quick Internet search revealed that they are readily available, a valuable tool for the organic gardener.

A post isn't complete without a picture so here are the highlights of our garden this weekend;

This plucky little Tulip has been damaged by the extreme weather conditions but will bloom any day now.

A deliciously coloured Crocus with its variegated leaves adding much needed colour to the garden.

Winter Aconites waiting for a little sun to open up fully.

2010-02-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

January is a very lean time for the gardener in the UK. I have read many accounts of mid-winter desolation and stories of sad looking plots, seen endless pretty snow scenes and all manner of mid-winter distractions. It's either too cold or too wet to get out there and get on with anything, not that's there's an awful lot to get on with anyway. We've ordered our seeds, had fun drawing up our plans and heated propagators up and down the land are forcing some extra-early peppers, or what-have-you, into an early start. We can't wait, we're bored of waiting. And when we're not cooing at our seedlings or staring forlornly out of the window we get reflective, philosophical even. Well I do anyway. But I'm not normal, certainly not within gardening circles. This is my first veg garden so I'm not learning from last season's experiences, or considering trying something a bit different, or even eyeing up my overwintering stuff and imagining them in a white sauce or with bacon maybe. No, what I have is a blank canvas and dreams of summer.

What I also have is a flower garden and I thought it would be nice to share its mid-winter, or really-really early spring (for the optimists among us) highlights with you in this post.

Witch-hazel is one of the garden's treats for us at this time of year with its yellow flowers appearing on bare branches.

Looking like threadbare pom-poms they'd hardly be noticed in a busy summertime bed but at this time of the year, with dormancy as a back-drop, they are a charming and whimsical heralding of new life in the garden.

And then there's the Snowdrops. They have always held a strong attraction for people. Some are obsessive about collecting them. Soldiers have carried them hundreds of miles in their tunics after collecting them from battlefields. Generations of perfumiers have distilled and extracted it's heavenly scent for the world's most sought after fragrances. And for thousands of years they have been associated with the 'Underworld' and of mortality itself.

But don't they look pretty underneath the Dogwood?

Fear no more, thou timid flower!!
Fear thou no more the Winter´s might;
The whelming thaw; the ponderous shower;
The silence of the freezing night!!

S. Taylor Coleridge.

Peat Free Gardening

2010-01-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

For once I am going to attempt to be serious.

I have read about Jiffy Pellets and like many other people, from horticulturists to the allotmenteer and the home gardener, I thought 'what a great idea'. Just add water and up pops a little growing cell; in goes your seed and some time later up pops your seedling. What a way to get children's' attention too! The bio-degradable mesh even allows the roots to grow through it so you can transplant the whole thing meaning both you and your precious seedlings avoid unnecessary stress.

They sound too good to be true.

Sadly, they are. They are made from peat. And peat is a non-renewable resource; its extraction destroys the natural habitat of countless numbers of plants, invertebrates and birds. Every year 2.5 millions cubic metres of peat are used by people like us in Britain, people who love nature with a passion. According to the boffins at Kew 94% of the UK's peat reserves have been damaged or destroyed, all within our and our parents' lifespans. Common sense says that this can't go on unchecked.

I am by no means a 'doom merchant', I believe that the decline in our wildlife has reversed in recent years with, for example, many increasing populations of birds. But this hasn't happened by itself; it has come about following the efforts of conservationists by actively engaging those people who can make a difference in the process. Many farmers are now conservationists, whereas ten years ago they were demonised for causing the threat to our wildlife.

It is up to us to make this change, the whole industry is focused on us, the end-user. At the moment it's difficult to find good alternatives to peat. But what did we all do 50 years ago? Yep, we can make our own compost and many people do. But we must force the industry to find economically viable alternatives and, if we put pressure on them, they will. If we create the demand they will follow; some of you will remember the corporate scramble to 'go green' in the 90's. What exactly triggered this groundswell escapes me now but almost overnight even the least 'green' industries were desperately jumping onto the bandwagon, and they still are. Demand an alternative. Do it for the birds.

If anybody out there can point me in the direction of good peat-free growing mediums please let me know, nothing I have tried so far has been particularly good. Peat free Jiffys would be really good.

Have a look at Kew's web-site on this subject and, of course, the RSPB is always worth a look, especially their page about peat-free gardening.

Veg Out in 2010!

2009-12-31T11:24:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and a massive Veg Out when the growing season commences again.

And just to show how 'Green' I can be . . recycled veg from my garden plan post.

Time To Celebrate

2009-12-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

We have had the shortest day now and from today onwards each day will be a little bit longer.

Now that is good news!

Have a great Christmas and New Year; before you know it we'll be back in the garden with Spring in the air.

Who Needs Television?

2009-12-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

Here I was thinking that there won't be much to write about during December. But as usual I was wrong.
The veg seeds have arrived and we spent some time inspecting each packet, reading and re-reading the instructions, adding the sowing times to my diary, and then packing them away with all the others. There is no way we will ever have the space to plant out all that we have even now. Wait until Spring arrives, we won't be able to move for them all.
Its a good job that we have bought a heated propagator . . and have a conservatory. I ordered the propagator, after seeking advice on my favourite forums, to make an early start on next year's chillies, especially the more tropical 'superhot' varieties, such as Bhut Jolokia (King Cobra, I believe) Its designed to fit on a windowsill and has seven small covered trays, each with a little swivel ventilator at the top.

When it arrived, one day last week, I couldn't wait to start off a small number of Bhut Jolokia, Jalapeno, Ring-of-Fire and an unidentified variety that i've decided to call Fire Sprites (they're very tiny, red and very hot). I also decided that there would be no harm in starting off a few radishes; well, the seeds looked so plump and fertile, I couldn't stop myself.
In the space of a few days many of them are germinating, but not the Bhuts, they can take a month or more, hence the early start. The next challenge will be keeping them alive, and without bolting, until Spring comes around. Our short days and lack of light will be the biggest problem, even though the shortest day is only less than a week away.
Guess who'll be browsing the catalogues for grow-lights?
The conservatory also has few tomatoes growing in it. I bought some seeds at the end of the season ready for next year. They are all Italian varieties which are good for cooking with; Roma, Coeur De Boeuf and another one, that I'm not venturing into the shed on a night like this to find the name of. Unable to wait until the proper time I started one of each off as a 'trial'.
Well, they have proved to be fantastic vigorous plants and, thanks to my diddling them with a paintbrush, in fruit too. I am looking forward to having more tomatoes than i know what to do with.

I have started to give a bit of thought as to which flowers to plant in my veg garden next year. There don't appear to be many flowers in the adjacent gardens so I will have to put on a tempting display to lure the insects over to party at my place. So far I have a mental shortlist of Lavender, Sunflower, Calendula, Echinacea, Caryopteris . . . all suggestions gratefully received.

Oh, and here's a pic of a baby chilli. Ahhhhhh . . .

Going to Seed

2009-12-10T13:51:00.000-08:00

I heard a chap on the radio yesterday, quoting the Bible, saying that there's a Season for all things, a time to Sow and a time to Reap. It might also have mentioned browsing through seed catalogues and blogging too, if there were such pastimes available to us centuries ago. Well, this the time to do that for sure. And yesterday I decided that it was finally time to take the plunge and order my seeds for the coming year.

I know that its considered to be more environmentally friendly to browse online, rather than send off for 'paper copies' of the brochures, even though most trees are actually planted, for some purpose or other, and not naturally occuring. But brochures can be read in bed, or on the bus, or during a break at work; without having to worry about plugging in the laptop somewhere after a while.
So I have quite a few to peruse, even though I placed my order using just one company- look in my links list to see who.
I had imagined that I had all winter to plan and replan my plot. But I now realise that you have to decide early on what exactly you want to grow. Seeds need to be ordered and got underway in the early part of the year. I know that I could have waited until after Christmas, but what if my carefully chosen cultivar wasn't available? It doesn't bear thinking about does it? Not if you are an obsessive planner, like I am.

There are one or two veg that i'm not growing from seed this time; shallotts and asparagus and maybe broad beans. And i'll have to think about which flowers to put alongside them all too, so there are still seeds to buy later on.
My plot doesn't appear to have many flowers nearby, i've been necking a bit at the other gardens around. I will need to have some flowers to attract insects, I don't fancy spending all summer prancing about with a paintbrush pollinating the veg plants; its not really my job.

I would rather have the buzz of insects for sure. My favourite is the hoverfly. They are the robin of the insect world and are always close-by, watching what you're doing, curious almost.

Digging it . .

2009-11-30T11:43:00.000-08:00

I expected some hard work to get the ball rolling so, in a sense, I'm not disappointed. Its really nice if you catch a bit of winter sun, the robin starts to feel like a friend (I have been picking out the juiciest looking worms for it, juiciest looking I might add, I really don't fancy trying one) and the long-tailed tits always seem to show up filling the trees with little tweets and restless activity. The robin will often hop into which-ever tree I'm closest to and belt out its complex song, always answered by another in equally complex robinese, or whatever it is they tweet. I wonder if its boasting 'Haha I've got someone digging up worms here, you better keep away 'cause you're not getting any!' The reply might be, 'I hope you choke on them you big loud-beaked show-off!'

You see, digging gives you plenty of time to think. Too much time, you might be thinking. Its hard work alright, especially on a new plot, especially double digging, and especially when you're digging through a complex web of roots.

One of the things that I particularly liked about my new plot was the wonderful mature sycamore in a nearby garden. About thirty foot wide and thirty foot high and on the northern side too, so no shadow casting over my precious veg. Here it is in the dying light of a November afternoon;

Lovely, isn't it? A haven for wildlife and a source of leaf mould.

And roots.

Its impossible to stick my spade into ground without hitting them. Its hard work but every time I finish a patch it feels so worthwhile; that bit is done and next year's going to be a doddle after all this hard work. Have a look at the link 'This Month in the Garden' and you'll see the 'Autospade' which can rip the roots up to the surface so I can wrestle them out of the ground. Its a good job nobody's in their gardens at this time of the year though; they might not like the language I use whilst dealing with them.

I will leave you with a pic of freshly dug beds, a very satisfying sight, and not too difficult to imagine covered in beans, carrots, and what-have-you.

Garden Layout... the first of many!

2009-11-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

Click on the image for a larger view..

Now, if you stop laughing for a moment I will explain.

I have simplified the crop rotation business into something that I can just about grasp. That is, OTHER (Legumes and Onioney veg) ROOTS and BRASSICAS

O R B

Sounds a bit rotational and as long as OTHERS are followed by ROOTS and then BRASSICAS then I have a system that at least I can follow without forever refering to textbooks.

Working from left to right; the first two beds are Climbing French Beans at the back with Shallots and Broad Beans ie. the OTHERS.
The next two beds are Carrotts, Parsnips and Beetroot . . ROOTS.
Then come the Brussels (at the back) Swedes and Cabbages; the BRASSICAS.

The larger bed on the far right is the Asparagus bed, which I admit, is a little fanciful, but looks quite nice. Sue likes it, anyway.

Chainsaw gardening

2009-10-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Most men would like gardening if it always involved chainsaws.

But there are things that chainsaws can't do. Not that I've ever tried to dig or transplant seedlings with one but I suspect you'd probably regret trying. No, if you're sensible, there aren't many occasions when its acceptable to get the chainsaw out. But when you do its great.

Today it was windy. And for some time we've been a bit concerned about the giant of a lavatera in our front garden. This massive mallow is the source of a running joke in our family, as I famously referred to it as weedy when it was brought home to plant. At about 18 inches tall it didn't really fill the gap that I thought that it should. Now, of course, with a trunk like an elephant's leg and a flowering canopy with a diameter of at least 10 feet it is a magnificent thing, commented on by all and loved by bees. But I will never be allowed to forget that I considered it a bit small.

Sue mentioned that we should reduce it's wind load before the autumn winds get up. I started the day by giving the forsythia a hair-cut as it was far too big for its neighbour, a young Syston White plum tree which needed some of its space. I then decided to have a go at the lavatera. As soon as I started to expose the main boughs I realised that we were a little late as all but two of its main branches were already split quite badly. Every cloud has a silver lining though. Chainsaw time! In no time it was down to its two remaining boughs; still ten feet tall, slender in appearance, and with bamboo growing through it. It actually looks very good, I only hope it survives.

A tree in a car.

Another Day

2009-10-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Today was cooler and with only a little intermittent brightness but no sun. I set about stripping the turfs away with determination; its an arduous task but one that needs to be done. I disturbed some frogs as I reached the low wall and retreated for a few minutes to rest and give them time to find new cover.

There was a lot of bird activity in and around the garden and being without specs I had to rely on their call and behaviour for identification. The Magpie was easy as was the Robin, Blackbird and Sparrows. But what were the little birds with their long tails flitting here and there? As I singled out their call from the others I realised we had a party of Long-tailed Tits dashing from tree to tree. This I took to be a good omen, this little bird really is a favourite of mine. I really must start bringing not only my glasses but also my camera with zoom and binoculars too. If i'm not careful there won't be a lot of gardening going on... but this supposed to be enjoyable, just go with the flow, hey? I could hear hens too, but only very faintly, and decided that they were a few gardens down the street.. Not until later when I was upturning a barrow-load of sods that I caught a glimpse of the chicken run just behind the fence, literally a few feet away from where i'd been working! Very quiet hens indeed.
Working down towards the summerhouse the job was getting harder. The grass was reluctant to let go with the sods now about 4 inches thick. It felt like loading up the barrow with freshly shorn fleeces. There were several Sumach shoots to remove. The stems were tender but the roots were thick, woody and well established.

Thanks to David on http://www.vegetable-gardens.co.uk/forum/ and Sue for ID 'ing it as just some ornamental shrub in the wrong place. According to the books it likes well-drained soil so I might take it that I have well-drained soil. Sounds good.

The little buggers took some getting out though.

I had to admit defeat so there remains a 2 meter section of turf still to be removed. Never mind, next weekend will soon come round and hopefully I will be able to make a start on the digging.

I left it looking like this; its starting to shape up. I'll have it looking like a veg garden one day!

Planning and Rotation

2009-10-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

At this time of the year the evenings are already darkening early so gardening can only really happen for me when the weekend comes. This, of course, leaves me far too much time on my hands to agonise over every detail. What goes where and with what else and when? I suppose a true gardener would just get on with it and learn from their mistakes. There's certainly no shortage of good advice to be found on allotments... generations of knowledge is readily available and is often contradictory. What I relish about this garden of mine is that I can do as I please without looking over my shoulder at the sagely shaken heads of those who know better. I expect that I'll become one myself one day but for now I want to learn from my own mistakes. Little understood and over-researched mistakes, that is. But knowledge will come with time. I can wait. I will have to.

Crop Rotation. I'm not at-all sure that I can be trusted with this concept. On the one hand it brings to mind prairie style land management and, on the other, well, rotation itself; the idea of movement, change and the constantly evolving world around us. Its no easier to perceive rotation whilst admiring a field of wheat waving in the breeze than it is to feel the rotation of the earth or even of the galaxy.

Even on a small plot it is necessary to rotate your crops to discourage an accumulation of soil-borne pests and to prevent the depletion of soil nutrients. Even weeds can be controlled easier as they get less chance to settle in alongside a particular crop. This makes perfect sense.
Sue rotates my underpants in my 'smalls' drawer to prevent the same few favoured pairs from becoming worn out quicker than the others. The principle and effect is similar.
My original plan was to have a three bed rotation system with a fourth bed for perennials (I still can't think of anything other than asparagus for this group) But on such a small parcel of land I am now thinking that one metre strips of planting will allow for more movement. Even after paths have been worked into the plan I now have maybe eight seperate beds to rotate with.

Unless you are lucky enough to have masses of space it is necessary to divide your intended crops into three main groups:

Brassicas, Legumes, Potatoes

Brassicas are green and cabbagey but in this group is also included swedes and turnips. Legumes are peas and beans and can be grouped together with the onion family. The potato family includes tomatoes peppers and aubergines (you thought that your family was strange!) and can be grouped together with the Umbelliferaes; carrots, celery, and parsnips.

Got that? No, me neither. Never mind though, its going to be a long winter.

Growing Radicle

2009-10-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Seeds are akin to tiny sparks of life. Each one will burst briefly into a root to absorb water, a shoot to find light and green leaves to make food; just enough, if the kindling is in place, for a steady flame to develop. After this its work is done.

The formation of the seed completes the process of reproduction.

The First of the Sods

2009-10-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

Finally we have had some rain. If we'd had this weather during the summer there would have been talk of drought and hose-pipe bans. Several weeks without rain in late summer and early autumn though goes without a mention. Unless you're a gardener, that is. There was no way I was going to remove the sods until the ground had been softened. We even had a frost this week; time to make time.

Dressed in old brown corduroys and a Rolling Stones t-shirt I carried Sue's rusty old spade (I don't have a spade as yet) up to Carl's. The sun shone intermittently and a few drops of rain fell from the occasional passing cloud. The gate to the side of their house was unlocked and I let myself into the back garden. I emptied my pockets onto the very nice hardwood patio table. Tape measure, notebook and pen, phone to take photos. I was going to measure up and divide, make notes, scribble and calculate, take ample photos of before and during and of anything else that caught my eye. At the time I hadn't thought of starting this blog but the geek within probably had it planned all along.

My first task was to mark the limit of my territory. This I did by measuring a line 2 metres from the fence all the way down to the summerhouse, a job which would have been much easier if I had brought some stakes and a length of rope. Which, of course I hadn't. A quick sortie in the shed, disturbing a frog in the process, revealed nothing of the sort, only every conceivable lawn maintenance gadget going, for mowing, strimming, vacuuming and god knows what else. All no doubt both costly and very noisy.

We now have a not very straight line.

The grass was relatively easy to lift and beneath it the soil was wormy and sausaged nicely in my grip. Its was also good to note the number of insects that decided to make me their new home as their previous one was on the move. I barrowed the old sods down to the summerhouse where I piled them brown-ways up to facilitate their transformation into next year's compost.

Here's a picture of Sue.

The pile grew alarmingly high. I will have to find somewhere else to stack them; its starting to resemble a termite mound and will dwarf the summerhouse.

Next job was to clear a section the actual size of one the four main beds. Three beds for rotation and one for perennials, asparagus that is. This, I thought would give some perspective to my winter-long planning task. Each bed, I discovered, would be a modest 2.4 by 1.5 metres after allowing for paths. Not very big really but a managable size for the novice and, if I am careful to plant high-yielding varieties, enough for a decent harvest.

The grass growing closest to the fence was of a different type to the rest and considerably harder to budge. If this turns out to be couch grass it will cause a lot of work as it will have to be painstakingly removed. I will have to consult an expert (guess who!)

Note the shadow cast by a dead tree standing in an adjacent garden. This will provide dappled shade for part of the day for the top two beds.

By now I had had quite enough exercise for one day and, feeling pleased with my first day's work packed up my stuff and walked home for a soak.

Some Background

2009-10-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

There are no allotments in the 'village' where we live. There were gardens here once but, like so many others, they were lost to the need for housing. I can't really complain; the house we live in was built on land that was once for gardens. The original road name 'Garden Street' remains and runs at the back of our house. We have actively lobbied the local authority to make available land and enlisted the support of others. But these things take time and also require that you become involved in the political process, something that doesn't appeal to me at all.

Meanwhile, a chat with a friend over a Saturday afternoon beer gets round to the Landshare project and what a good idea it is. Carl, my drinking companion, stated that he'd happily let somebody use his garden, but didn't fancy the idea of strangers hanging around outside his house.

That's how it happened.

As long as his partner Carol agreed, which she did, we were free to use a part of their back garden as though it were ours.

We arranged to go and take a look and this is what we saw.

Carl and Carol were so relaxed about the whole thing and were just glad that the space could be used, neither of them have any interest whatsoever in matters horticultural. It also meant a little less grass to cut. We were free to use the left-hand-side; south facing, only 2 metres wide but 11 metres long. Perfect, I thought.

Before we could make a start we were offered another garden. This time an old vegetable patch in a lovely spot... very tempting. But I wasn't convinced that this one was without 'extras'. Carl and Carol's offer really was with no-strings-attached. Sue agreed with me. Off she went to decline the generous offer and I told Carl, yep, you're on, we'll do it.

Except, it didn't quite work out like that. We now have his-n-hers gardens. And this is the story of mine.