The Gallery My Backyard

What really excites me about our backyard, is the way my dad passes on his love of gardening to my two, just like my Grandad did with me and my brother.

I never paid enough attention, but now my 4yo is teaching me that it's fine to just give it a whirl and see what happens.  I think her fingers are a lot greener than mine.  Or maybe she's just less afraid of getting it wrong. Our garden is still patchy, as we learn what to do with it, but I am very grateful to have a Head Gardener like my Dad.

The children have their own little patch of garden, which they call the Gran garden, in memory of my mum.  They can do what they like with it, but there have been some nice surprises:

A minature garden

Minature worlds have always fascinated me, when I was six or seven I won a cup for a minature garden I made at the Knypersley Village Show.  I think I should have been a Borrower (from the book by Mary Norton).  I wanted to name my children after them, but Mr A wasn't as keen on Arrietty and Pod.  

The effort of looking after lifesize things is just too overwhelming sometimes.  Since we left London and gained a garden I find myself looking out sadly in March, wishing I had planted more bulbs.  However many we plant, it's never quite enough. 

My dad spotted some muscari and daffodil bulbs pre grown in pots, at our local florist, at a bargain price.  I planted them with my 2 and 4yo in this empty pot, the last resting place of a poor plant I neglected last Summer. We added some fir cones that were hanging round after christmas, a fairy and some plastic pigs  A few days later we added a yogurt pot pond and some plasticine fish. 

 

Fairy garden

Then we went to see Gnomeo and Juliet (which was brilliant fun) and Miss L decided we needed gnomes to stop any birds from eating the fish.  So we added a pair of smurf figures.

It's by our front door which means it's a lovely welcome home.  It's an ongoing challenge as we try to add to the scene each day or so.  And it's a minature garden, so well within my comfort zone.

For more ideas for things to do this weekend visit Thinly Spread, click on the suitcase and off you go.

Goodnight bulbs, sleep tight

     Since we traded our first floor flat in London, for a house with a garden in Nottingham, I have been on a steep learning curve.  Fortunately my Dad took on the role of Head Gardener.  I cannot be trusted with a houseplant, never mind a whole garden full of specimens.  It's no secret in our family that the greenfingered gene, like the map reading gene, bypassed me.  Dad is also encouraging a whole new generation of gardeners, Miss L and Mr G are fascinated.  They loved their veg patch this summer, especially the peas and strawberries.  Digging for potatoes was a huge hit.  We thanked Dad with a Jamie Oliver 'Digging for potatoes is always an adventure' tea towel.  Mr G loves digging.  Even with a bouncy castle in the garden on Miss L's birthday, all he wanted to do was dig.  Unfortunately he also likes to transplant the soil across the lawn, so I am trying to encourage him back into the sandpit.

I hate the garden at this time of year, suddenly the place we lived in for the summer is cold, wet, decaying and uninviting.  So it was really good to be out there doing something positive today.  We rescued the last of the tomatoes, planted some winter lettuce to deter Mr G from digging in the empty raised bed and had a bit of a tidy up.  Dad, star that he is, attacked the hedge and the lawn.  Then we did my favourite bit, planted some bulbs, a bit of spring promise.  Miss L and Dad said goodnight to them, which I thought was very sweet.  We drank lots of tea and chatted.  The perfect way to spend a day.

Granddad you missed a bit. Supervising the lawn mowing. 

After a hard day's work, Mr G just chillin wiv his Gran.