Isabella's Profile

My grandmother introduced me to the pleasures of gardening. I was "allowed" to pick snails and slugs from the beds and collect stones - later graduating to weeds….
Then my love belonged to strawberries, rhubarb and cherries as well as carrots with a pinch of dirt on them, sugar "lemonade" and "quer durch den Garten" soups. I loved and saved all the calendulas from the communal compost heap of the allotment and was allowed to plant them in "my" bed. I remember her talking about leave mulches and carrying always a plastic bag with her - ---- "incase" we would find some beautiful cow paddies or horse apples..
Over 40 years later, I finally got my own garden. Only 350sqm of free space, terraced and walled, new house, initial planting. Clay soil, no top soil. The planting was done by a garden center, but they opted more for an instant sale and volume , rather than permanent customers. As we are on the outskirts of Mount Parnitha and even get our yearly snow here in Greece I opted for a woodland garden with a cottage flair????? Over anxious to fit in all !!!! my favorite plants ..!!! My favorite and beloved wild animals….
I see myself giving a lot of them away over the years - lucky neighbors. As you guessed I would need 350 acres.
To top it all I am an anxious gardener, watching like a new parent every gooo and daaaa my plants make. Here a brown spot there a bug …. and no "English" garden center close by, but for that a hubby even worse than me - always worrying. So my garden bears a lot of joy for me / us but even more so worries. Nevermind that all consider our garden as a paradise - I see, no feel its needs and scars - it needs help and so do I.
Please help!?

Btw we also have a dog, 4 cats and fish as well as plenty of indoor plants and live in Athens, Greece. I am currently looking to adopt a hedgehog pair (once native here), feed the wild birds, am an active animal rights activist and active with strays as well as sensitive to environmental issues.