If you have been following the story of my son Hugh's garden, you will know that he started with a yard FULL to the brim with concrete about 18 months ago. I got the phone call to please come and help start a garden one morning and was told to bring wheelbarrow,tools and compost! Of course I was keen to see him start to grow vegetables so of course I obliged and by the end of the day he had a little area about the size of 2 dining room tables to plant into. For some months I received frequent phone calls from an excited Hugh telling me his first tomato was ripe or his lettuce was being eaten by goblins at night or asking was it the right time of the year to plant beetroot or bananas! Every evening after work he would sit out beside his patch while having a beer and gaze in wonder, like a father with a baby. It was not a big enough area for two people to sit next to easily, and one day I had another phone call. When I arrived, this first photo shows what we had to tackle to make a second bed. This is the story of the evolution of this bed....
This very morning we finished it and I must say it is a wonder to behold and a delight to sit beside and music to my ears to hear the tinkle of water trickling off the rocks into a pond planted with watercress I originally received from Deb and water chestnuts originally from Cath.
The edges will be filled with lettuces and herbs and you can see a few young amaranth on the left which will give shade in the late afternoon when they grow. There are some tubers of cardamon behind the rocks, and although they don't flower here, the leaves can be used to wrap fish or vegetables, for a fragrance like lemony cinnamon.
The water is still murky as we had only just retrieved one of the large rocks that toppled into the pond while we were adjusting the water pipe!
It certainly goes to show that gardening is all about observation, inspiration and determination!
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4 comments:
Hi Kate,
I've enjoyed seeing the development of Hugh's garden. It's always good to see someone elses patch and get some inspiration and motivation. I especially like the new water garden.
Wow, that looks fantastic Hugh! I'm looking forward to seeing it soon!
How lovely! All the plants look very healthy too.
Great result! But where does Hugh live? On an oil refinery? Great to make use of even small patches.
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