Hello from Morecambe

Hello everyone,

It's great to be signed up to the website that I have been browsing for a year or so and gathering so many answers to so many questions ...

Here's my story so far (this may be a long one but I hope after a cringe or two you'll enjoy my gardening journey so-far ...)

Where to start ... About a year ago, this was my garden - Morecambe, North West!! (cringe 1)


No, it doesn't look like this because I had just moved in, it looks like this because I USED TO HATE GARDENING (past tense used, so keep reading ... I promise it's a nice ending) This is a garden I had neglected for years (cringe 2) and I did not care to be honest ... Actually, it was worse than this ... The pictures above don't include the masses of nettles that i'd removed ... looking back, I know, it's shameful!!

After visiting my parents (my dad is an avid gardner) & brother over on the right side of the Pennines in Wakefield, West Yorkshire (yes, I'm a Yorkshire man!) I had an epiphany that I wanted to be able to enjoy a glass of red in my garden on a summers evening, like I do when I visit them ...

So I returned home and got started ... Hacking down nettles bigger than me, pulling up roots over 6 ft long, loaded 3 skips of rubble back fill that the builders had left me when they built the house (bless em!), got rid of what was left of the lawn, manually turned over the 'soil', re-paved, created raised beds, weed covering put down, decorative bark mulch, nurtured and conditioned the soil with composted manure & chicken pellet manure etc etc etc ... I thought it would never end and at times there wasn't much light at the end of the tunnel

BUT ... Gardening is now a passion of mine and I do love it ...

Here's what i've got now ... Turfing in two weeks ... Right side prepped, left of path ground still to be prepared for turfing ...



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I'm really enjoying everything out there and due to a lot of research and preparation (a lot from the forums of this website) I'm having more successes than failures ... Still lots of jobs to do but the garlic is growing well, onions coming on, bulbs have been great, shrubs, flowers etc doing incredibly well and i'm running out of room on windowsills for my potted seedlings (my better half isn't terribly impressed by this bit! lol) Anyway, I hope this serves as an introduction to your new member ...

I'm looking forward to reading, learning & sharing!!

Chris

 

Hello and welcome. That's quite a transformation.

 

Welcome Chris! It looks like you've done a grand job so far and with loads of potential now that you've been bitten by the bug! There are loads of very knowledgeable (and hilarious) people on here. (I'm not one of them ).

 

Hi Chris - what a transformation and great to hear that you actually enjoyed it. It's such a wonderful feeling isn't it when you look at before and after and think 'I did that'.

Also to GC - enjoy!

 

Welcome to GC Chris. It looks like all the hard work's done, so now you can enjoy the best bit, tweaking the garden to how you want it. Good luck!

 

Welcome to GC Chris....what a cracking job you've done thereonce that turfs laid you can crack open that bottle of Red Enjoy.....

 

Hello there and Welcome.

 

Hi again everyone!

Long overdue however, I thought I'd post some pictures of the garden and its development from the start of the thread ... THE LAWN IS LAID!!! Enjoyed lots of relaxation time (including red wine and BBQ's!)






Plants in the garden: Fuchsia (I love them! - 5 varieties - 'Dieing Embers' my favourite), Viburnum Tinus, Hydrangea, Salvia Nemorosa 'Caradonna', Lobelia Russian Princess, Alstroemeria, Digitalis Purpurea, Cordyline Red Star, Weigla, Oleander, Asiatic Lily, Sweet William ...

Grown from seed: Ricinus Communis, Salvia Blaze of Fire (FANTASTIC PLANT!), Marigolds, Cosmos ...

Although it's 'done', obviously it's not! Lots still to do including finishing off the painting the fences, which I find to be the most boring job ever!

Chris