Gardening with ME: plans for the kitchen garden this coming season

I've been mulling over what to grow in my veg beds this coming season. I decided to focus on the following categories:

A) veg I love but cannot easily get hold of from our local supermarket,
B) veg I love but makes good sense to grow yourself, and
C) some veg I love and just want to grow my own.

This might seem like I'm not leaving much out, but I'm pretty much excluding most of the large Brassica family, as I find them just too much work. In particular, dealing with the depredations of the cabbage white moth, even when using protection such as agricultural mesh. I'm not bothering with Carrots as carrot fly can be quite a pest, again, even when using protection. Anything (except pumpkin/squash, see C below) that requires lots of heat, which you can never guarantee in and English summer, is being left out. So no aubergines, cucumbers or sweetcorn.

In category A fit veggies such as Kohl Rabi, Fennel bulbs, Peas, Tatsoi and Broad Beans. Whilst peas are common, fresh peas are not, and the same with Broad Beans. I adore Broad Beans, and sowed some this Autumn past, and because of the mild winter, they have already taken off.

Some Broad Beans picked last year

Kohl Rabi, is part of the Brassica family, but from previous experience I've learned that it didn't seem to be bothered by pests, in particularly, the cabbage white moth. I'm growing it because it tastes good (roasted in particular), and I mean, how can you not grow it. It's purple. It looks like an alien. It's purple!

Mmmmm, purple Kohl Rabi

Roasted Fennel bulbs are divine. They have a licorice flavour, and even my partner, who doesn't like licorice at all, adores roasted fennel bulbs. I'm going to try Tatsoi because I do love making stir fry and the only place I can buy it requires a car journey.

The main veg in category B is lettuce. Not only do I find a lot of lettuce from the supermarkets bland, more importantly, it's easy to grow, and mine won't be covered in plastic. Lettuce is also one of those veg where one packet of seeds can supply us in salads for months. I'll be growing a mix of salads, including 'Bronze Arrow', a excellent cultivar from the Heritage Seed Library. I'm going to try and grow enough to save some seeds from these.

I also find Climbing and Dwarf French beans easy to grow and fresh beans are so good. The bonus is, if I end up not picking them, I can let them go to seed and then use those in stews in winter.

A pumpkin grown a few years ago

Finally, the those I just love, category C, which include my beloved garlic, but also courgettes and pumpkin/winter squash. Yes, pumpkins need a good period of heat and decent autumn. So this year, I stopped myself from ordering some Queensland Blue seeds (a massive pumpkin), and instead I'm just going to try a couple of the smaller cultivars such as Blue Kuri.
 
Of course, there is a proviso on any plans, my health. You cannot plan for the daily, sometimes even hourly, fluctuations and impact of ME. But I can plan for best case scenario, with the understanding that all might fall apart if the ME symptoms get worse. And to be kind to myself about this, if this is the case.

I've purchased the seeds I didn't have, some from Real Seeds and Seed Co-op, plus this years Heritage Seed Library seed choices have arrived. Now it's just waiting for it to warm up enough to be worth making the first sowings.

Forest garden border: reviewing the first season

The L-shaped forest garden border along the south (left) and west (right) facing fences,

in July, prior to the new kitchen garden beds being created in front.

My forest garden border was first planted out in March this year, and I thought it would be useful to review it's first season. It's an awkward border to photograph on whole, so I tend to do it in sections, South (the left side) and West (the right side), which I'll use to refer to when discussing specific plants. A full plant list is at the bottom of this post.

The L-shaped forest garden border along the south (left) and west (right) facing fences,

with the just finished (in August) new kitchen garden beds in front.

I'm pretty pleased with the results from the first season. For a start, the blueberries already started producing, in particularly, Vaccinium corymbosum 'Hortblue Petite' on the South side. This was enough to add to several breakfast muselis.

First blueberry harvest

I had put up temporary netting to protect the fruits from the depredations of birds. However, this isn't an easy way to harvest, at least from an ME perspective, as it uses up more energy than you might expect trying to negotiate the netting and access the berries. So I need to make up a better long term netting set-up. I'm thinking of sewing my own netting cage together, I just need to work out the proportions, based on the size the blueberry bushes will eventually reach (about 1m square). A job for winter/spring.

Temporary netting around one of the young blueberry bushes

The Sorrel bulked up quickly and produced plenty of leaves throughout the season, which I have used in curries and other dishes. And the Rhubarb supplied a couple of kilos of fruit. We added manure around the crown at the end of the season, and will add more in Spring, to feed the hungry roots.

The comfrey has provided it's first harvest and I now have a bucket brewing (right) over winter that will give me comfrey tea, a homemade liquid fertiliser, to feed both edible and ornamental plants plants this coming season. Comfrey is rich in Nitrogen, which supports leafy growth, and Potassium, which promotes strong stem growth, flowering and fruiting of both edible and ornamental plants. I decided I didn't need two comfrey plants, so one has been dug up, and an apple tree has been planted in its place.

The apple trees were finally added at the end of November, after I chose and ordered three varieties at the October Apple Day that I attended. The trees that are all 4-5 years old, and there is a slight chance I might get fruit as early as next season. Fingers crossed.

The apple trees I chose were the following: Newton Wonder - double cordon (west-facing border)

Lord Lambourne (left) and Egremont Russet (right) - both single cordons (south-facing border)

A damson has been added to another part of the kitchen garden area. So not in the forest garden per se, but very close by (like, a couple of metres), so I thought it was worth a mention. I suspect it will be 2 or more years before I get any fruit off this tree. And I have planted some crocuses and daffidols in the border, so I get some early season pretty and the bees will have some food.

Overall, I feel like I've harvested quite a lot for the first season of my forest garden border. I'm not expecting to make any further changes to the planting and layout, so now all the plants can settle in and get growing for this coming and future seasons. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get a couple of apples next autumn?!

 Overview of the south-facing border in December.

Overview of the west-facing border in December

If you are interested in seeing how I planned the forest garden border, see my post creating a mini forest garden border.

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Plant List
I've updated the plant list for the whole border, to include the recent additions.

Canopy layer
Apple trees: Malus Newton Wonder, Malus Lord Lambourne, Malus Egremont Russet
Prunus domestica 'Golden Transparent' (greengage)

Just outside of the Forest Garden border are also:
Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Ballerina' and Prunus insititia 'Shropshire Damson'

Shrub layer
Azalea (variety unknown)
Cranberry (variety unknown)
Vaccinium corymbosum 'Bluecrop' (blueberry)
Vaccinium corymbosum 'Hortblue Petite' (blueberry)

Perennial layer - edible
Akebia quinata
Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum'
Origanum vulgare 'Aureum' (golden oregano)
Rhubarb (variety unknown)
Rumex acetosa (non-flowering sorrel)
Symphytum x uplandicum 'Bocking 14' (comfrey)

Perennial layer - ornamental
Knautia macedonica
Lychnis coronaria Atrosanguinea Group
Omphalodes cappadocica 'Cherry Ingram' (ornamental)

Ground cover (plants mixed all around the border)
Ajuga reptans 'atropurpurea'
Allium ursinum (wild garlic/ramsons)
Armeria pseudarmeria 'Ballerina Lilac'
Crocus Etruscus Zwanenburg
Crocus Orange Monarch
Crocus Sieberi Spring Beauty
Cyclamen hederifolium
Fragaria x ananassa 'Samba' (strawberry)
Galanthus 'Ophelia'
Narcissus Brackenhurst
Narcissus Minnow
Narcissus Mother Duck
Narcissus Rijnvelds Early Sensation
Phacelia tanacetifolia
Primula vulgaris
Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign'
Viola odorata 'Queen Charlotte'

Growing asparagus: a little story about the triumph of hope over experience

I'm certain it's not meant to be quite this hard to grow asparagus. I mean, I know it can take up to four years from when you sow the seeds or young plants, before you can start harvesting. But for me, it's taken nearly 15 years to date. Huh, you say? I'll explain.

House one: a lovely large garden on the edge of Witney (Oxfordshire), backing onto fields. We built a dedicated asparagus bed, along with plenty of other veg borders, and I put in year old crowns. It was all going swimmingly, until the swimming part went over the top. Like, being flooded four times in 18 months type of over the top. After each flooding I kept adding manure and compost to make up for what had been taken away by the flood waters. But the forth time was awful on a whole extra level, when a teenage boy got caught in the flood waters behind our back garden and died (more complicated that this but I don't want to go into detail). We sold the house at a loss and moved.

House two: the garden was smaller, but I also had an allotment nearby, and we built an even larger asparagus bed there. It was all going so well, and were getting excited that the following year we were going to start harvesting the asparagus. But life decided to throw a trowel into the works. My partners company was going bust and he was going to lose his job. On top of this, my, at this point undiagnosed, ME, was getting worse and I was down to only being able to work 1.5 days a week. Oxford is very expensive to live in (pretty much London prices) and we decided to move north and make some lifestyle changes (if you want the details, visit here). So I passed on my allotment to a friend and said goodbye to the asparagus.

House three: ok, third times a charm right? Turns out it was the 'things run in threes' type of bad luck charm. The garden was wonderful, I designed it from scratch and it of course included an asparagus bed. However, we had problems with the neighbours. Again, I'm not going into detail, but they were violent and abusive to each other on a daily basis, and often towards us, and were making our life a living hell. I couldn't sit outside in the garden because the constant screaming was overwhelming. We couldn't sleep at night or rest during the day, because the screaming was on and off 24/7, along with frequent physical fights in the street at 2am. It was also extremely triggering for me and I started having nightmares again. In the end, the impact on the health of both us was too much, and we decided to sell up and move.

House four - where we live now. There are some minor hiccups, but on the whole, we think this house and neighbourhood is a winner. You'd think by now that I wouldn't jinx things by putting in an asparagus bed. Well, hope over experience and all that. After all, the bad run of threes is over. Right?

Voila! I haz asparagus bed.

The green mounds of foliage in the forefront are Astrantia (left) and Oregano (right),

then the young asparagus seedlings.

I'm growing two varieties, Asparagus officinalis 'Crimson Pacific', a purple variety, and Asparagus officinalis 'Jersey Knight', a green one.

What are the black sticks around the young asparagus? They are there just whilst the asparagus settle in, to stop naughty cats from digging around them and causing damage.

And just in case, I've added some hot chilli powder, which tends to not only stop cats, but also foxes and badgers.

Surely it's my time for FINALLY having the asparagus crop of my dreams? Well, in another three years. I hope. Sigh.

Wish me luck everyone!

Creating a mini forest garden border

For some years I've been enamoured of the idea to create a forest garden, an edible and fairly low maintenance way to grow food. It's only with this garden that I realised that I had the right conditions to finally create my own mini forest garden border.

Martin Crawford's book (right) is the seminal text for learning about forest gardening, and it was a rare occasion where I read a gardening book from cover to cover. It just has so much information that was written in a straight forward tone, following each step of the process, and offering a large range of suggestions of what plants can be grown in each layer that will suit a range of climates.

My intention here is to show you how you can use the principles of creating a forest garden on a small urban garden scale. I aim to create a space that offers food for myself and for pollinators, that works within my health limitations (I have the chronic illness, ME), and that adds beauty to my small garden, whilst also being low maintenance.

The space that will become my Forest Garden Border

First up, I measured out the space and plotted this onto a base map, including the direction of North. I had previously done a soil test so I knew that my soil is acid clay. Apart from digging the holes for plants, I use the no-dig method. I plan on adding compost and mulch each time a key plant is planted, and will continue to add some each autumn to the whole border and I'll let the worms do the work to loosen up the soil, and release the nutrients that are locked up in clay soil.

I had spent a few months surveying the space and the way light and shadow moved across it and added a sun map on top of the base map. The border has one south-facing side and one west facing side and the arrows show how the sun moves across the garden during the day, moving from the top arrow, down. Plotting this and the base may measurements out was important for helping me decide how many trees, and what type, I could include in my design.

For example, the Amelanchier, which is shown on the Sun Map, is in a raised border off to the right. Though it will cast a small amount of shade a certain times of day when in leaf, because of it's height, and the height of the sun from April to September, this will be quite minimal and won't impact on the amount of light plants like the rhubarb and apple trees will get. And in winter it's deciduous so the forest garden border will benefit from all light available during this period. The greengage is in the South-West corner, and won't be casting an shade at all on the plants below as the sun is always moving in front of it. I do need to ensure I keep it pruned so that it doesn't get to big and block a neighbour's garden though.

Now we come to the layout map. Here I have plotted out all the key plants, A - N, and worked out their ultimate size and placed each onto the map. The ground cover plants will be slotted in here and there as space allows.

See the full list of plants below

Drawing circles is not my strong point(!). But I've been able to map out the maximum size of each plant so I'm clear what can fit in. It will still look a little bare for the first couple of years whilst the plants start filling out, so I'll have to be strong and not add any more, only to have to remove them later because the other plants have grown to their full width and height.

A forest garden has 3 layers, though I've broken them down below into 4 (separating out the Perennial and Ground Cover layers), as I found this more helpful for my planning.

Tree canopy layer: This includes small as well as large trees. These are A, H and N on my plan, a greengage and two apple trees.There is also the Amlanchier tree off to the right of the actual border, that I consider a part of my forest garden. Whilst it looks like they will be crowding the plants next to them, they won't because they will all have trunks with the first branches growing above the plants below in the Shrub and Perennial layers.

Shrub layer: Because my soil is acid clay, it made sense to add in fruit that grows well in acid soil. So cranberry and blueberries have been chosen. One of the blueberry varieties, Hortblue Petite, crops at least twice a year, and it is a nectar source for bees and other beneficial insects.

Perennial layer: This is going to be a mix of edible plants, such as the sorrel and rhubarb, and plants for pollinators, such as the comfrey. The comfrey is the 'Bocking 14' variety, which doesn't self seed. Comfrey, with it's deep roots, is an excellent nutrient and mineral accumulating plant, particularly of potassium. If you plant comfrey near fruiting trees and shrubs, they benefit from the minerals the comfrey has accumulated. This is why the two comfrey plants are on either side of the greengage tree and not far from the cranberry and blueberries. Comfrey leaves can also be used as a mulch, and of course, to make comfrey liquid feed.

Ground level layer: This is also a mix of edibles, such as the sweet violets, strawberries and ramsons, and plants for pollinators. Eventually there should be no bare soil showing, which should limit annual weeds from germinating.

Two Blueberries and some violas waiting to be planted out into the Forest Garden Border

I want the border to be low maintenance, in particular because I have so little energy to undertake tasks in the garden. The main maintenance tasks will be pruning the fruit trees, summer for the greengage, winter for the apple trees, and cutting back dead foliage of the perennials in early spring. At this stage the soil is mostly bare, so there may be some weeding required, but hopefully the ground cover plants will do their job and make weeding minimal in the future.

I took time in planning the border. This is in part because of my health, but mainly because good permaculture practice is to take time to observe the space, ideally over a year. This helps you spot issues that might not show to start with. Although my garden is relatively flat, careful observation showed me that this part of the garden is the highest, but another area is lower and I discovered it could be prone to some flooding, mainly water sitting on top of the soil/grass. Water flows from the Forest Garden Border area down, so hopefully as mulching over time loosens the soil, it will also drain better so it doesn't all flow down to the lower part of the garden.

It was also important to really think through what I wanted to grow and why. Each plant I've chosen suits my taste, skill, and health limitations, and is also suitable for the space where I'm creating the Forest Garden Border. I'll continue to observe how the border grows, and adapt, if needed, over time. For now, I'm excited to put the plan into action; I'll finally have my own (mini) Forest Garden Border!

Andrea, my gardener, will be helping get the blueberries and other plants into the ground next week, and I'll choose two apple trees in the autumn. I'll post follow-up in the summer, so you can see how it's coming along.

I inherited the rhubarb with the garden, and it's now ready for my first harvest of the year.

* * * * *

PLANT LIST
Canopy layer
A: Greengage, Prunus domestica 'Golden Transparent'
H & N: Apple trees, to be chosen. They will be on a dwarfing or semi-dwarfing rootstock.
K: Akebia quinata, also known as the chocolate vine. Although the fruit is edible, I'm predominately growing it for the flowers and to allow it to grow all over the wall as it's an evergreen. I'm hoping that, along with the ivy that's already growing on the wall from a neighbours garden, that it will offer a further habitat for small insects and pollinators. 

Also, just off to the right of the top border is an Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Ballerina', also known as  Juneberry or Apple serviceberry tree. This has the most edible of all Amelanchier fruits and I consider it part of the forest garden, though it sits outside the border.

Shrub layer
E: Cranberry (variety unknown)
F: Azalea (variety unknown). It's here because had it, and it's happy in acid soil. The flowers are good for pollinators.
I: Blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum 'Hortblue Petite'
J: Blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum 'Bluecrop'

Perennial layer
B: Rhubarb (variety unknown)
C & D: Sorrel, Rumex acetosa (non-flowering variety)
G: Golden oregano, Origanum vulgare 'Aureum'
L & M: Comfrey 'Bocking 14'

Ground cover (plants mixed all around the border)
*Strawberry, Fragaria x ananassa 'Samba'. This is a smaller sized strawberry, but is made up for in the fact that it fruits from May until November.
*Sweet violets, Viola odorata 'Queen Charlotte'. Edible flowers and good for pollinators.
*Ramsons, Allium ursinum. Also known as wild garlic. Edible stalks and leaves and good for pollinators.
*Ajuga reptans 'atropurpurea'. A good evergreen ground cover plant. Helps cover bare soil so there are less weeds.
*Primula vulgaris. Good for pollinators and will self seed and help cover bare soil.
*Phacelia tanacetifolia. This is an annual that will self seed. It is known as a green manure and is excellent for pollinators.

I will also add a mix of early flowering spring bulbs this autumn to help early pollinators such as solitary bees, and to add further interest and beauty.

Martin Crawford's book, Creating a Forest Garden, was pivotal in helping me understand what should go where and why. I highly recommend it, and because it's been around for some years, it can be found in libraries too.

Front garden - 3 months in

New front garden

The front garden seems to have come a long way since the landscaping was done in June.

Before the landscaping:

After the landscaping (view from above as I seem to have not taken a photo from the same position as above/below):

Plants added in:

Now:

The circle and hole in the middle is because this is where the Quince tree goes when it comes in November. I got the landscaper to dig the hole because it's extremely hard clay and it made sense to use his muscles! I have four Stipa tenuissima there in pots, to go around the edge of the Quince border, then I will be adding bulbs and and corms, like Anemone blanda blue, Narcissi falconet, and some snowdrops.

The path is for both function and form. It makes accessing different parts of the border for maintenance easier, and I hope it invites you to want to wander around and explore what plants are in the ground.

I have added the new Acer Griseum tree. Again, I got the landscaper to dig the hole so when the plant arrived it wasn't too taxing on my limited energy to get it in. In the below photograph, it's in the top middle, but I think it's hard to see if you don't know it's there. It's a young tree but will grow and become much more noticeable. I've planted it just where the afternoon sun in winter will hit it to highlight the beautiful paperbark branches (it's known as the paperbark maple).

The wooden structure is the bin store. As time goes on the plants will grow around this more. I've got some Allium purple sensation to go along here as I thought they are tall enough to stand out well against the wood.

It's starting to fill in a bit, but I can see some gaps, even allowing for the eventual full size of those plants currently in the border. So I guess this means I'll have to buy some more plants - what a shame!

The large planter has three different lavender in it, but they are currently swamped by the nasturtiums, which have attempted world domination. I'm hoping the nasturtiums will self seed around the front garden. Eventually I want it to look like a sunny hot jungle. Well, maybe not jungle, this is Sheffield after all. But the primary colour scheme, reds, yellows and oranges, along with the secondary, blues and purples, should look nice and hot.

Still to go in are lots of bulbs, plus some Primulas, more yellows and oranges. And I think I'll have to add a couple of yellow hellebores. Along with the different grasses, I'm trying to give it structure and colour all year around. Also planted are two Sarcococcas, S. confusa and S. hookeriana var. digyna 'Purple Stem', near the path/front door, so we can savour the fragrance going in and out of the house.

I'm really pleased with how it's going along. It's more attractive to me, to bees and butterflies. And to Goldfinches. I daily have flocks, nay, gangs(!) of Goldfinches descend on the bird feeder, which I can see from sitting on the sofa in the lounge room.

Oh, I really need to add some new plants into the Gwenfar's Garden box! I'll get there.

An interim design for the new back garden

Work has completed on the back garden and I thought I should introduce the design and how it all looks now. The design for the back garden is not yet fully formed, but like with the front garden, I'd really like to get plants out of pots and into the ground to reduce the amount of watering I'm doing, which has been taking a toll on my very limited energy. So here's what the garden looked like when we moved in:

We got rid of the sheds immediately on Freegle, as we have a large garage that is basically my garden shed, so didn't need these. They were taking up growing space. Of course, once they were removed, this is what was behind them:

Ignore the beehive shaped items, they are my compost bins, but otherwise, quite the mess*, and you can see how much the conifers were trying to take over. Even as all this was being done, I was thinking about my interim new layout, which I now present:

Note that the three trees in the top right are the conifers which have been removed.

Originally I was going to have one long bed on the right-hand side, next to the beech hedge. But then we realised it would make trimming the hedge very difficult. So I changed this to the three beds you now see. The spacing allows you to both access the hedge more easily, but also walk around the beds to view the plants from different positions. It's a much better and more interesting layout too. These beds are north-facing, but still get a lot of sun. So they will be for ornamentals only, including some that like a shadier spot. The shade will develop over time as the Acers I'm planting** grow and provide dappled light.

Alongside the hard standing on the left are two beds with my arch in the middle. Because I have acid soil, I'm unable to plant my clematis direct to the soil, so I will be putting them on each side of the arch. These two beds get sun all year around, and will be a mix of herbs, some vegetables and some ornamentals.

The L-shaped bed will be for vegetables. I'm not growing a lot of vegetables at the moment, as they require more attention and energy than I can give nor have. So it will be for easy to grow veg, like my garlic, sorrel and salads.

Finally, the old dilapidated fencing has been replaced. I'm still trying to work out exactly what I'm going to do with this area. There will be a border along the fence, and probably where the pergola is going, but ideas are still whirling around in my head.

All this, along with the Raspberry border, completes the work for now. I have plans for the rest of the garden, including a pond and the pergola, but they are for next year. I also know that there is an issue with some standing water over parts of the grass, when we get lots of rain, and I need to work out how to manage that.

This interim design allows me to get plants into the ground, and the raised beds will make things easier on my back and my energy levels. I can now start gardening whilst I still work out what to do with the rest of the garden. Plus, time to save for the next round of work.

Now that the landscaping has been completed, next up is the planting - the best bit!

* * * * *
My landscaper was Mark Spence, John and Jordan, of Spences Landscapes, Sheffield. They did a fine job and I definitely recommend them.


*I blogged about this in my original new garden blogpost, so I'll not repeat myself here.
**I'll talk about the actual plants once they start going in the ground.

New design for the front garden

I'm in a bit of a bind. I want to follow permaculture principals and take time before making major decisions about my new garden. But I am also in an odd situation where I have exactly the same layout of our previous garden (not the one-year rental but the one before that). In fact, it's not just an East-West layout, we are sharing the same side party wall and therefore having the sun and shadows fall the same way as the last garden.

These facts are also coming up against me needing to reduce the amount of plants I have in pots, for as the recent warm weather has shown, it's been a lot of work maintaining them. And I just don't have the health to keep managing this sustainably from an ME perspective.

Current front garden

So I've decided to take the plunge and go with the ideas I have for the front garden. To be honest, they aren't new ideas. I had them for the last garden, I just never got a chance to implement them. And that idea, is to have a 'hot garden'. By hot garden, I mean, hot colours. Reds, oranges, yellows. The hot colours will tempered by a few cooler blues and purples as well as the grasses. I'm choosing hardy perennials, really hardy ones, that I plan to leave to fend for themselves once they have been watered in.

The hedge along the driveway will be removed

You can see the plan at the top of this post. The driveway and current paths are grey. I'm getting the hedge alongside the driveway removed. This is to give us a bit more space, particularly when the car is parked and I need to get past it with my mobility scooter. But I'm also adding a bin store (the yellow rectangle bottom left) for, well, the bins. I've chosen one that's made of wood, which should be reasonably attractive, as these things go. Eventually plants should help it blend in better.

The hedge shared with the neighbour will be reduced by c. 50cms

The hedge along the footpath will be reduced by half, to let in more light, and also because it's currently out of control. And the beech hedge I share with the neighbour will be cut by about 50cms (I've already oked it with her). I don't want to reduce it too much. I love the beech hedge but would like it to be just a little less high.

Geum Totally Tangerine

All the grass is going and I'm putting in a path, that is wide enough near the driveway to make it easy for me to turn my scooter around, and then leads to a central circle bed, which is where I'll be planting my Quince tree. Yes, I'm trying a Quince again. I'm thinking of trying the variety 'meech's prolific', as it should produce fruit a little sooner than other varieties, and is, well, meant to be prolific!

The reds will include Dianthus cruentus

My plant list includes Heleniums such as Dunkle Pract and Waltraut, Crocosmias including Irish Dawn and Coleton Fishacre and Geums, Totally Tangerine and Mrs J. Bradshaw. I'm going to finally grow a plant I've admired for several years, Kirengeshoma palmata, and the shadier side, next to the beech hedge.

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora 'Irish Dawn'

Grasses will include Stipa gigantea and Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'. And a cutting of a cutting of a cutting (times a couple more), of the first plant I ever brought in the UK, 20 years ago. It's something a little 'boring' in that it's so common, but it captured my heart 20 years ago, and it captures the hearts of bees on a daily basis. The plant is Hypericum 'hidcote' - yes good old St John's Wort.

I'll also add some purples for contrast, such as Verbena bonariensis.

These will all be under planted with bulbs, from Galanthus and Crocus to Tulips and Alliums. My aim, is to have a explosion of colour all year around. Ok, I'm still working on the winter bit. If you can recommend any bulbs that flower in December, let me know. But you get the idea.

Grass will be removed and borders and paths added. Plus a quince tree.

This also sounds like a lot of work, right? Yep, it is. And to actually do the work, I'm getting in landscapers to do the landscaping, then Andrea to do the planting. I'll be using my limited energy wisely, making tea.