'You got some s'plainin' to do wiseguy, you thought you could get away with that weak ass apology"?? ...that's just how I imagine you all talk and what you were probably thinking after my last post. Yes, it has been 8 months since the Kew garden post and I wish there was a really good reason, but truth be told I think I just lost inspiration. We are starting to catch up to present day in our story and I had a fairly unproductive summer. Plus, my internet connection was shocking the whole of 2018 and trying to get these posts out was a nightmare, and as soon as the gardening season ended I just felt like I had nothing left to give. However, I have moved apartment (again...yes, I know) and have a fairly decent connection meaning were back b!*@#es!! The weather is slowly getting better, people are beginning to smile again, so let's talk gardening.
Now that the formalities are out of the way let me welcome you to the greenhouse. A lovely place, where all things are possible and the plants will grow aplenty. With the rockery now finally looking like a rockery, I wanted somewhere I can grow my cuttings and young plants without being a slug's all you can eat buffet. A theoretical brilliant idea, but in reality, when you are not home to play poppa to your plant babies, it's solid grounds to call childline.
[Gardening Tip] If, like myself, you only have space for a mini greenhouse, make sure you don't place it in a wind trap, but against a flat wall. I say this because, particularly with the increase of strong winds and storms in the UK, your greenhouse will be blown apart in the winter (speaking from experience). Tie it down to something if you can, while also leaving the greenhouse door open in the summer to give your plants air to circulate and not just scorch in the sun.
Along with the greenhouse I forgot to mention the addition of a couple solar lights above the rockery. I also added 10 solar light posts along the flowerbed and veg plot. Lighting is perhaps an underestimated aspect of the landscaping process. It's easy for your garden to bask in all its glory on a beautiful sunny day, but letting your garden shine at night is only done with clever light planning. So my aim with the 10 solar lights is to guide you to the illuminated centrepiece that is the rockery.
With the aim of making the garden more beautiful and cosy I planted up a few more plants in the flowerbed and bought some cushions for my benches. At this point I don't think my garden had seen this many flowers in over 20 years, if ever... It was a good feeling. Somehow it still felt like something was missing, I still wanted much more. More plants, more height, more hard landscaping and more character. I think this was a time in my gardening journey when I was the most excited about my progress. I officially no longer had a blank canvas, but instead a solid line drawing that needed colouring in... I couldn't wait to get my crayons out.
