[escapedtothecountry]

I sometimes feel a bit of a fraud as whilst we have our two acres I wouldn't classify us as proper smallholders. As much as I would love to be able to do it full-time we both have to earn a crust at the moment with our day jobs, and that means we don't have livestock or indeed use our 2 acres enough to get closer to growing as much of our own produce as I'd like.


To be fair we have made real progress.... we have raised beds made up of about 40 full sized railway sleepers (to give you an idea of how many we have done) which we will grow veg in, and have really improved our outbuilding and the land which was in a real state. I have planted willow for wood fuel, and native hedging. I've already got through 800 rabbit guards to give you an idea of whats gone in.


What is my passion is gardening. Over the next few years I want to create a wonderful garden that we and others can enjoy and we can just relax in. That is one of the main reasons we have escaped to the country - moving little over 10 miles from where we use to live, to the village and street where my father-in-law lived for around 20 years, so not total newcomers.


I've had some great comments about my Dahlias, but I wondered how much interest would there be if I wrote as regularly as I could about my travails in the garden department?


It's probably not important to many when I read about how hard you are all working with your land and livestock, but though it may create a bit of light relief when things get hard for all of us?


BTW..... 125kg of daffodil bulbs just arrived, so think of me when I start thinking about planting them.... Apparently thats around 2,500 bulbs!

[bloomer]

i landscape for a living (love gardens) but am not a plants man i am learning as fast as i can...


thats a lot of daffodils just think how stunning they will look in the spring!!!

[escapedtothecountry]

Would love to change my career to be a landscaper.... but probably best to concentrate putting my gardening enthusiasm into where we live. Big lover of bulbs/ tubers etc etc as anything that brings colour to your garden each year is a good investment in my book. Monty Don eat you heart out! 

[bloomer]

for that many daffodils just dig trenches and throw them in loosely to create random effects in given areas


i love bulbs too, snowdrops and crocuses are my favourites!!!

[escapedtothecountry]

Already done a plan of where I will be putting them all.... it's just getting down to doing the digging. As you say... it should look great next year.

[Fleecewife]

I've been into veggie gardening all my life, but we have now had our flower garden made into somewhere we can sit and enjoy, so suddenly I have to learn about flowers, including water plants.
Yes. I would love to read about what you are doing in the flower garden and when 

[Hermit]

I like a garden, one of my real pleasures is having the time to spend cutting lawns and tidying the garden. I dont do twee gardens but prefer the more natural, wild look with trees,shrubs and perennials.

[Fowgill Farm]

I started out as a gardener and then became an accidental smallholder when we bought our present spot. My first garden was old belfast sinks in a back yard, then i progressed to raised veg beds, a greenhouse and flowers in pots. Here at present the garden is a work in progress fitted in when we have time out from our forth road bridge painting(neverending) small holding maintenance. Our big garden problem is rabbits but i planted 42 foxgloves last weekend and they've not touched them so fingers crossed for a good display of flowers next year, my only other success this year had been my hanging baskets and pots which are looking quite nice, i grow all my own petunias, sweetpeas, lobelias. I also have a bit of a passion for fuschias and have a lovely bush one growing in a pot by the garage door. At the weekend i planted pansy seeds for my winter/spring displays and sweet peas to overwinter in the cold frame (an old bookcase on its back!) Like you're going to we planted a zillion daffs last autumn and have had mixed success with the ones that the rabbits didn't dig out. The veg garden meanwhile has been a disaster this year plan to rethink it for next year. I find gardening quite very ferraputic and i like nothing better than standing in the greenhouse planting and pottin whilst listening to the cricket or radio2. Ahhhhhhh.
Mandy

[Mel Rice]

I too LOVE my flower bit of garden but I do try to fill it with minimal outlay My OH is fed up of me buying the everso cheap leftover plants at the DIY store as they ALWAYS cause problems at the checkout. I often nip off small bits as cuttings from friends houses too
Im still working out what does well here. We have much colder but drier winters than the UK and its taking quite a bit of trial and ERROR!

[escapedtothecountry]

Funny you should mention belfast sinks - just bought a couple of old ones to use as planters. Rabbits and we have loads haven't seemed to bothered by our bulbs... probably have plenty of other food to munch on like every onion I planted last year when I didn't realise how many of them there were.

[goosepimple]

Love gardening too, but we are mostly doing it with 14ton diggers, stones the size of a car, levelling out, tree felling and re-planting etc, so more landscaping I expect.  I do stop and say a hello to the wee-est of flowers around though, popping their little heads up through allsorts.  We are lucky enough to have lots of beautiful wild flowers and a previous occupier of our holding was a plantswoman (runs a plant nursery now) and her input still exists which we are most grateful for.   I like our holding in winter best when its frosty and you can see the structure of everything.  But let's not speak about that yet .

[suziequeue]

I like gardening but I have no idea about borders, plant placement, colour co-ordination and all that landscaping malarkey.


I want to get started on our garden proper once the house is built and al the earth is moved to its final place and I know where I am with it. I really want an old fashioned cottage garden if I can..... but veg does take priority.


But a lovely garden is such a treasure - I really want to have one eventually

[Mammyshaz]

I love gardening ( or at least trying to garden) OH has a thing about building from pallets. We now have a free supply and have started fencing veg beds from kids and dogs. Large run for hens and soon starting a second large enclosure and coop for more hens. The perimeter is in progress of a new fence too 

Just given a polytunnel for birthday in June (21years and a bit  ) so learning a new stage to gardening. Bit disastrous but I suppose we all learn from our mistakes  the hot chillie plants and couple of cucumber plants are doing great in there 

[Castle Farm]

I've been a gardener for over 40 years and worked in a number of private gardens in the UK and abroad.

Head gardener at 3 places and part time senior gardener to Lord M at the moment.

Getting a bit old now to do what I used to, but supervise the rest of the team.

It's been a good life, but as in all jobs theres good and bad employers, some have been bloody awful to work for and some have become long term friends.

[suziequeue]

I want a garden full of dahlias and tall colourful plants and a big cottage garden thing going on.......