Lillybatch Gardens and the Surrounding Area

7 comments

Today I joined GOY and have received a positive and warm welcome and plenty of feedback. Thank you.

I moved to Lillybatch Cottage just over two years ago – and I have been up to my eyes in admin for my son’s business and complex inter-relationships up until now. During that time, I just about kept the garden tidy and although I did begin a journal – it was only kept on my computer, and so when it crashed and I lost lots of information including that. Lessons learnt…and here I am :-)

Now, have much more room to finally get on top of things here. I have enlisted the help of another pair of hands and am beginning a hard-copy journal, documenting all the plant life around, its needs and effects on neighbouring plants, medicinal uses and culinary potentials.

The aim is to be able to both nurture and live off the land. I am excited to grow vegetables – although the first planting of a load of brassicas went to the rabbits they very next day – or probably that night :-) I am looking to cultivate the whole area into a home-kitchen by growing herbs, vegetables, fruits, flowers – anything edible that means fewer trips to the supermarket. In fact, there is room for animals here too – so maybe when I am organised enough, keeping chickens might be a good idea. I don’t drink animals milk or eat meat – so the pheasants are safe from me and no need to keep a cow.

The soil here is good – but there is so, so, so, so much bindweed. The last two years I have stuck bamboo posts in the ground for it to wind around, and cut it down so it can’t proliferate maybe as much as it might do otherwise.
I have read a lot a lot about it and come to the conclusion that there is no point poisoning the soil being as even that method doesn’t necessarily pay dividends and I would much rather avoid any harsh treatments – as I do also for my own body.

There is a Well and I need to understand about water testing. It is being restored, as part of the wall at the top has crumbled – and a piece of wood needs to be replaced before a bucket can be winched up and down. That’s an exciting project.

I have two greenhouses – and have salad veg, some root veg, fruit and herbs growing at the moment – but although I have a caged area of the garden, the walls need to be fixed before I can plant without knowing that it will all be eaten in two seconds for sure.

There are so many rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, grouse, deer and bats – and today a baby fox stole through the garden – made me think of Basil Brush – and I barely watch TV at all – but I guess I did watch more back in the day… :-)

So that’s my mission – to tidy up, weed (lots), nurture the lawn, fix and test the well, repair the cage walls and grow, grow, grow!

It’s lovely to be here – and thanks again for the warm welcome and feedback so far.

Over and out.
Love love love.
Sazzarooo.x

• 27 May, 2012
• 5 likes

More blog posts by sazzarooo