My place in West Sussex

Its small and a work in progress, but here you are...

First...how it looked three years ago when I moved in with my partner, who has zero interest in gardening (although loves the way it looks now!)



And now. The borders aren't quite in full bloom yet...







A "raised" bed I cobbled together for herbs that is being taken over by other things now...





And while I was out there, took a few more pix....

 

Excellent pics, and well done, looks good.

What's that deep pink flower with the yellow middle, third pic from bottom?

 

The one with the bee on it Geum "Mrs Bradshaw". Its covered in buds so I expect a lot more blooms. The red daisy like flowers are Tanacetum.

I was going to add, my gardening style is shove things in cottage garden style and take it from there!

 

brilliant sussexgardener, some lovely flowers it just shows you what you can achieve in 3 years, well done thanks for sharing

 

I like the cottage garden style, and I too go by the principle of shoving stuff in and seeing what happens. The trouble is in my case many plants don't always do too well, I think the soil is not so good in my garden.

I might look out for some of those Geums and the Tanacetum. The look I am going for this year and next is a kind of 'hot' colours (reds, oranges, strong pinks etc).

 

I've just looked at the pics again and the garden looked smaller when it was empty. I do think dividing it up gives a good illusion of it being longer...

Clueless, we're on rubbish clay soil here, but the chickens had full rein on it for the 1st year we had them so it got well fertilised, then gradually their area got more and more restricted until they now have just a quarter of the garden at the back...

 

Wow, Aaron, lovely pics .... I do so like that Tanacetum ... must look that up!

And the chucks are so, so cute ... I particularly like the black one ... I'd be carting them around in my arms like I do Kate & Gerry ( guess why? ) who belong to our friend Preacher Man. I got some fresh eggs off my neighbour two days ago from their chucks and was horrified to be told that only four out of the ten will be kept for eggs and the rest are for dinner .... s00k I did say don't invite us for the BBQ ....

Thanks for letting us into your little world ... xx

 

They are all different breeds yes. The white and grey are Silkies, the buff are Pekin Bantams and the black girl is a Frizzle, so called because of the back curled feathers.

I'd recommend anyone to keep a few chickens in their garden - very therapeutic and the fresh eggs, tasting the way eggs are meant to are a bonus.

 

Love your style Aaron. Much like mine.
Its a sort of ...
"Im sure I can sqeeze this in here somewhere"
You would not believe where I have runner beans and peas growing..
robert

 

what you have achieved is fantastic
so packed with colour -well done

 

Lovely garden and chickens. Now I put Tanacetum to my must have list!!!!!!!!!!. well done.

 

How much space do you need to keep a few chickens? is it complicated to keep them? thx

 

A lovely cottage garden Sussex Gardener!! I know what you're up against as I've gardened on Wealden clay for over 30 years, kept hens too. Scaling things back now though; I just don't have the strength to keep at it anymore....nice mature garden though:wink:

 

Anyone can keep a few chickens in their garden, but check your deeds as some new developments/housing estates forbid it.

Chickens just need somewhere secure to sleep, a nestbox to lay in and a secure run to prevent predators getting in and the chickens escaping into the garden and raising havoc. As for space, the more you can give them, the better, but we have 5 bantams (smaller than your average "brown hen") in a space 15 foot x 15 foot. They destroyed the grass they had in there within months, so they have woodchip instead, the prevent a quagmire developing and it gives them something to scratch in.

There's a Livestock section here for more advice, or message me - happy to advise.

And they're a lot easier to look after than a cat or dog - no walkies required!:thumb: