My Patch

You're not alone in the rocks thing Trunky..... A friend and I once took a short road trip and we managed to fill the back of her car up with rocks from the different places we stopped at. I was sure anyone else would think we were crazy!!!

 

A few more random pictures from my garden (and I do mean random...)

Father-in-law made this bird table/nest box construction to his own design a few years back.
For a while it stood proudly in the middle of the lawn, where is was used by cats, squirrels and pigeons but little else. :fingerdrum:
So I quietly re-located it in one of the shrub beds where it is slowly blending in to become a 'rustic' feature. :WINK1:
It has actually been used a couple of times by nesting blackbirds, hopefully the pyracantha has afforded them some protection from predators.



I like a few Teasels around the place, I always allow them to seed themselves and leave them in place throughout the winter to provide food for the birds and to ensure next years plants. This seems to have been a good year for them here.



My solution to the problem of marauding pigeons eating my winter brassicas.
This is made using some redundant football goal nets which would otherwise have been thrown away, obtained from my previous job as a groundsman. It may not be very aesthetically pleasing, but it works!
So that's dealt with the pigeon problem, which just leaves the caterpillars, snails, cabbage root fly, whitefly, leatherjackets.....:fingerdrum:



Poppy, doing what cats do best....

 

Glad it's not just me then.
Wherever you go on holiday, you'll find any number of gift shops full of tacky, over-priced tat which will probably be thrown away or fall apart a couple of years later.
This way, I get a cheap and very durable memento which has a real connection to the place it came from. :D

 

Your 'Patch' looks great Trunky...
Take care..

 

All looking great Trunky ..Hope you have a swift recovery ..

Dave

 

Many thanks for all your comments and good wishes, much appreciated.
Just a few more shots from Trunky Towers.

An impressive clump of mistletoe growing in one of my apple trees. I managed to get this started by simply rubbing a few berries into the cracks in the bark. It's been going for about ten years now.
In the last couple of years, several more shoots have appeared elsewhere on this tree and one on another large apple tree nearby, so it's spreading.
I'm happy to let it spread, as I think this is one of those plants which brightens up the bareness of winter with its lush green foliage and shiny white berries.



Meet the girls.
I've always kept chickens, they're an integral part of the garden for me.
For those interested, we have here;
1 Buff Sussex
1 Hybrid
1 Light Sussex
1 Bronze Maran.



A place to sit and relax.

 

I'm revisiting this thread which I started back in 2011, shortly after I joined you all here on GC.

If all goes according to plan, we'll be moving house sometime in the next few weeks and so I'll have a new garden to play with.

So, after 29 years tending and nurturing my 'patch' it's time to say goodbye and thanks for all the hours of pleasure you've given me.

I must have spent literally thousands of hours in this garden over the years, watching the seasons change, watching it develop and grow, watching nature perform her many wonders with a little help from me.

Over the years, this garden has been more than just a hobby. It's been my joy and pleasure. Sometimes it has been my escape, my comfort and my solace. It has fascinated, surprised and occasionally frustrated me. It has fed me and my family and helped keep us healthy and fit.

This is the garden where my children grew up, where they spent many happy hours developing a love of the natural world which has stayed with them into adulthood.

On the final evening before moving day, I will probably have one last amble around this garden, for 'old times sake' as it were. I'm not sure how I will feel, there will be mixed emotions I'm sure.

It sounds a bit daft, getting all sentimental over a garden doesn't it?

However, I'm sure if anyone can understand, it is you, my many friends here on GC.

 

Aww Trunk, we've grown up with your garden along with you.

Of course we understand

 

My heart goes out to you. I don't have nearly the time invested as you do and I would miss all of my little green friends and reminders of challenges overcome. Now, though, you get to start again and not make any previous errors in judgement. Winters with seed catalogues and a canvas to cover. Now I'm envious

What a fantastic opportunity

 

Indeed it will JWK, the buyers are keen gardeners and a large garden was high on their list of requirements. When they first came to view the place, they actually spent more time looking round the garden than they did in the house, so I am sure they will get as much pleasure from this garden as I have done over the years.

I'm already making plans in my head for the new garden, it's not quite as big as the one we have here, but it's big enough to keep me occupied and it's definitely got potential.

In a way, I'm taking some of it with me Lori. For the past few months I've been dividing, potting up and taking cuttings of favourite plants. As we head into mid summer I've now started collecting seeds too.
And I'm sure the next garden will provide me with plenty of opportunities for new errors of judgement.

 

I love your garden @Trunky and hope you have many happy hours developing your next one