My Ever Changing Garden

My garden has changed a lot through the years but then I guess that is what happens when you live somewhere for 20 years. When we first moved in it was 150ft long with clumpy meadow grass and fields and allotments beyond. Then when it became too hard to manage on my own, and I needed some money, I agreed to sell off a huge chunk of it to a developer and I ended up with some money in my pocket, a smaller garden a house looking into mine. No more naked hair-drying sessions then, although Mr Comb-over did catch me once, but that's another story.

This is what I ended up with, although this was in fact the 2nd version of the new garden. My boyfriend of the time put the pond in, which I never actually wanted and promptly ignored. I did like my cute little shed though. I covered over the old fashioned paving slabs with a HUGE deck and painted the fence blue. Sorry about the snowy pictures, they are the only ones I've got.

Then 2 years ago I decided to get rid of the bloody pond and have more flowers. So we drained the pond, filled it with topsoil and planted it with a lot of the plants that had been in pots. The shallow bed in the foreground is filled with Butterfly Lavender which replaced the tall Cornus hedge. The tall Stachys Ianata in the front of the bed was an end of season buy for a £1, it reminds me of my Mum's rockery in the garden where I grew up (I didn't grow up in the garden, they let me in the house). The bay tree behind and the penstemon were presents from friends and the Verbena Boniarensis I bought new. You can just see the Agapanthus starting to bloom.

I moved my shed over to the other side, where is used to be, and then the current boyfriend built a lovely new bed in its place. I did have a builders bum shot of him breaking up the concrete but I can't find it and it wouldn't really be fair would it? I put Euphorbias in this bed because I love their structural shape. I also put a Viburnum Bodantense Dawn in which has grown but never flowered and more Verbena Boniarensis. I also put the huge Aliums in, again because I love their shape. This year I am trying to train a Clematis Montana Grandifloris over the obelisk because I like their spidery seed heads, I don't like spiders though, that's a whole different thing.

I bought this huge 'A' in Homesense (if you haven't been, you are in for a treat) and a Hydrangea Petiolaris to climb up the fence. I put a Skimmia in a pot for some winter colour when everything else has died back and the Fatsia Japonica on the left has moved around with me and was in the old garden. There is a sedum underneath it that I bought on a visit to Selborne, Hants. I can't remember what that plant is in front, but they pop up everywhere and scatter their seeds all over the place. I quite like them when they first grow, but they get straggly and ugly once they have finished flowering.

When I put the shed back over the other side, I decided to train the evergreen Jasmine and the Passion Flower over the top. Its taking a while to get going, but I think it will look fantastic when its established. I bought the antique bits and bobs over the years. I love Alchemilla Mollis which is in the bed in the foreground, I like the shape of the leaves and the bright lime coloured flowers, and it has now started growing out of the bed at the front which I think looks really sweet. Oh no, the bird has escaped again! Jokes. Really must put something lovely in there.

This is the new shed, painted black by yours truly using Protek Royal Exterior in Black, in homage to Derek Jarman, with the netting over the top. I bought the big no. 4 in Deal earlier in the year, I think its French.

I had to teak oil my table for a recent shoot and it looks rather nice now. The chairs are from Made.com

I have a thing about vintage metal signs, they are hard to find and expensive now but I still keep a look out for them. I have had this fig for years but it never really does very much. I bought the wire basket from the Kings Rd with some birthday money from my Mum. The concrete balls came from a shoot a million years ago when I was on Living magazine (exaggerate? me?)

I add to the garden and bought this Acer last year, I like it against the blue fence. The lavender is a recent addition too.

And this year I finally got around to buying some garden furniture you can actually sit on, in fact you can see where I have been sitting on it. It wasn't my first choice, but it was something I could afford. The cushions are from Matalan, Amazon and M&S. The throw is also from Amazon. And the jolly rug is from Wayfair