Time for our vision
The gardens around her new house in Urmston, Manchester, are a haven of discovery and are gradually revealing their glories as the months pass.
We’ve been in our ‘new’ house for just over a year. I’ve watched, with interest, as the garden has revealed its hidden treasures season by season. It’s now time, however, to properly take ownership and start to move from maintaining existing planting towards implementing our own vision of how the
garden should develop.
I’ve identified key priorities for planting – colour, scent, and insect or bird-friendly. I’m also hoping to continue to experiment with veg growing as the peas and potatoes in growing bags were great successes last year.
We’ve got three young grandsons and I’m keen to involve them in the garden wherever possible. Each child
will have their own small area to take care of and I’ll provide a variety of easygrowing seeds for them. When I was a girl, I remember the fun of popping open the ‘mouths’ of our snapdragons and pretending they were speaking! These vibrantly-coloured plants will certainly feature next year, along with a selection of alliums and wallflowers. I’m lucky the garden borders are already well-stocked with a variety of shrubs and bulbs, but it means I’ll have to be inventive with space. I plan to convert an existing pebbled area into a colourful oasis of blooms, planted in unusual containers placed at varying heights. I’ve already got friends and family keeping an eye out for any suitable pots. The garden now is snuggling down under a blanket of fallen leaves and I’m leaving the beds undisturbed to keep the warmth in. I know insects and even the odd hedgehog will appreciate the respite. The leaves are a glorious mix of autumnal colours. Even now it’s heartening to see signs of new life. The white heather is starting to flower and a solitary primula
bud is peeping through the undergrowth.