Bare Earth

When I moved into this cottage, the garden was full of plants. Mustard, Nettles, Dock and Comfrey, in no particular order. There was a bit of Ground Elder and some Bindweed to add to it's sins.

The cottage I used to live in is just across the field in front of me. Built as part of a model farm unit in 1876, it was tiny, very comfortable but sat only meters away from the A25 and the noise of the traffic whizzing past was crazy!

This cottage is a converted Georgian Byre. Although it had been lived in, when I agreed to move , there was a running waterfall inside, on the south facing wall, the garden hadn't been touched for over 20 years, add that the entrance was through the farm and, having been closed up for a couple of years, my neighbours odour was prevalent. Not nice. But the house and garden were full of character and promise.

Friends pushed my decision to move and I'm grateful they did. It took over a year to build internal walls to solve damp problems and to bring other issues up to standard so I could move in. Another 2 years to get an access road.

Now, I have a beautiful home with it's own entrance and although my neighbours are still there, their odour is no longer an irritating feature. I can't afford to spend major amounts of money and until recently had little time, so the place has had to evolve slowly, from scratch. My aim is not to have a traditional garden but one that is environmentally friendly and protects wildlife. Knowing that every new change comes from my heart is immensely satisfying.

Today the garden is bare but, when I think how it was two years ago, the difference is amazing and given a couple of months and it will be in full bloom again.

Spring has now sprung... roll on summer!