Tagweebc's Profile

After 30 years in Asia, 3 years ago we moved into our house here. And I've been enjoying learning what gardening is like in the UK. Our property is on a fairly steep slope with a long back garden running East/West. I have landscaped the front to include a winding path that gives disabled access to the house. The previous owners were into conifers and heathers. I've got rid of some conifers and severely pruned back the heather. I've created a rockery beside the path mainly with things people have given me. I've also introduced daffodils, gladiolae, delphinium and red-hot pokers (yet to flower) along the border for colour. I also plant seasonal things, like tulips, in planters and move them to the front when they are flowering. I've tried introducing snow-drops, but with limited success.

When we moved in the long back garden was divided into two. Immediately behind the house is a roughly square area that was put to lawn and surrounded by Clematis. It is fantastic in spring as the Clematis begins flowering at one end and progresses round. I've reintroduced what was obviously once a border and stocked it with all sorts of things that people have given me, of that have caught my fancy. It is a bit busy at the moment and needs adjustment. We've put a small pond in in one corner. I've also had a go at dry-stone walling to create a retaining wall behind the house.

At the very back is an area given over to vegetables grown in raised beds. The soil is mainly clay with lots of stones, so it has taken a lot of work to improve it. I've done some experimenting with growing different vegetables together, but this year have stuck to keeping everything separate--sprouts, leeks, spring onions, onions, garlic, sweet-pod peas, dwarf French beans, lettuce, spinach, courgette, radishes, beetroot. I've tried tomatoes, but they always seem to get a blight just as they are fruiting, so we get very little from them. We also have blackberries, raspberries, a gooseberry, a black current, a pear and an apple in.