Well neither of my parents were really into gardening. But I remember my grandad having a very large rose garden and veg plot when I was 6 or 7. He passed away when I was 8. All through my teenage years had no interest in gardening what so ever. Through my early twenties I used to joke that when I get a house I will gravel or concrete the lot cause gardening is boring! The first few years of owing my own house I just used mow the lawn that was it. Then about 5 or 6 years ago I really got the bug, first it was just buying bedding plants for the garden then it was starting to grow my own plants in a mini greenhouse. Then 3 years ago brought a 8x6 greenhouse. Now at the age of 33 I can't get enough of it. Just love being outdoors and relaxing. Buying seeds and plants when I clearly have no space for them! :WINK1: Pete and bilbo have started me on to the tropical side of gardening now with the cannas
Mum & Dad separated when I was still a toddler and so I was bought up by Grandparents. Granddad is from a generation where you scrimped and saved and wasted as little as possible and if you could grow it you did. We didn't have a lawn at the back of the house until the mid 80s, it was just all veggie plot - Granddad would lay several planks so that I could have a paddling pool on the veggie patch in the summer. I remember picking and shelling (and eating as I went) broad beans and peas, slicing the runner beans and digging up new potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, cutting cabbages, caulis, brussels sprouts, etc, etc And of course all the tomatoes in the green house. So, I think the desire to garden has long been with me but for the past 10 years I've lived in a flat without a garden and an allotment has been out of the question due to medical issues. Hubby and I are now living back with Granddad and it's so sad to see how his garden is now. he still tries but he doesn't put in the care that he once lavished on his veggies. When he moved in here the land was yellow clay and he dug in manure, compost, old papers and really improved the soil but over the years he hasn't put back the nutrients that the veggies have taken out and add that to this year's kooky weather and he's got some pretty sad crops. I'd love to take over his veggie plots, dig some nutrients back in and start some fresh crops. The lawn's been very neglected and of course Grandma's flower beds haven't had much attention either (despite her having a gardener (hmmm less said the better). I've started trying to get the lawn in shape, I've weeded one flower bed of what I know to be weeds, although I'm sure I've probably weeded around other weeds (and then there were the mystery bulbs I came across (no idea what they are and whether I should leave them in situ or get them up later in the year). I've no idea what half the "flowers" are, but I do know that some of them seem to be plotting to take over and so I'll have to attempt to thin them out somewhat. I just wish that Grandma had left some clues as to what she had growing. Still I guess part of the fun is going to be trying to figure out what each plant really is. I'm afraid if I can't find it in Grandma's ancient reader's digest garden book and can't google it I'll be back in the id section asking for help =)
Thank you so much for sharing these memories with us Justkia. I'm sure your fondness will transform this lovely old garden into something new and special in time. We are all here to help you in any way that we can, hope you enjoy Gardeners Corner, Jenny namaste
As a nine year old,finding a bag of tatties in an advanced state of sprouting.Mum said stick them in the ground and digging them up later that year made a big impact on me. Still feels magical digging potatoes out of the ground,like natural buried treasure.
My Grandad, then my Dad, every weekend we lived with Dad (at nan-nan and Grandads) I would help Gramp's by picking his toms and broad beans and goose gogs (gooseberry's). Grandad grew really big chrysanthemums, and every Sunday we would take a few bunches for the ladies at church, I always had the job of throwing the potato peelings and such onto the compost heap . Then after a few years me and Dad got back into it, Dad's mission was to get every version of fuchsia , mine was just to be able to keep things growing . Now Grandad and Dad are no longer here to help me, I just bumble my way through and hope for the best, Thanks to the lovely people here on GC, I totally love being in the garden and I feel close to the ones I love and miss very much
I used to potter about as a kid, but then I grew up and got distracted. My interest was re-awakened by my other half, and has in the meantime been fuelled by google, Flickr and forums.
My interest in gardening is relatively new (hence my knowledge being pretty poor!), and began with a house move just over three years ago. Until then, we had been living in a flat with nothing more than a bit of wasteland for a driveway, and that was it. I had zero interest in anything garden wise, not even house plants. The shop below the flat we were living in caught fire (our landlords shop) and it transpired that they were uninsured - having been pretty poor landlords for years anyway (they used to turn to me to help maintain their shop and I looked after the flat in its entirety), they disappeared for weeks after the fire leaving us with all the mess and smells; it was the final straw for me, so we moved as quickly as we could into a two bedroom house with a garden. The first year I spent a lot of time purely chasing weeds and not really seeing anything of any interest, and it was a pretty tired looking garden - so, the next year I decided I wanted to make it look better and despite not having a clue what I was doing, I got tore in. The rest is pretty much history. Last year, I really found my stride, and had a back garden that looked like this: Sadly, very soon after this was taken, we had to move. However, on the bright side we got a better house with a much bigger garden: Bit of a blank canvas, that I am slowly working on, although this year hasn't been kind as you know:
I love it FC. You have put a lot of hard work into all that you have done and discovered the joy of Gardening en route. After a naff day on the treadmill, it must be so welcoming to come home to. A bit of deadheading, watering and seeing what's "growed". All your own work - magic, Jenny
I must admit, its my wee haven of peace sometimes, and its become a daily habit to have a wee wander around the 'estate' of an evening nipping the odd head off and generally pottering. I've got a lot to do yet, but don't think that this year will be the year really - however, I'm getting more of an idea what I want to do next, so hopefully next year will be better. I couldn't do it without the help and advice I've had from here though.
