Growing in a Very Small Garden

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I have written before about my small flat and uber tiny garden and this year I have attempted to grow more than a few flowers and a couple of lettuces around the edges of my outdoor space.  Let’s be very clear about this space I refer to as ‘my tiny courtyard garden’.  It is really just a glorified narrow walkway that has been fenced off between the two flats.  It measures 180 x 500 cm.  One end and one side has a built up narrow garden bed.  I say ‘garden bed’ but when I arrived the soil was hard, dry, worm-less and sour.  It sported a luxurious growth of oxalis [wood sorrel].  I spent the first year digging kitchen waste in and letting it rot down.  I planted a lavender and Boston Ivy and Jasmine to cover the ugly fence.

JasmineOct25

Everything is growing so nicely – by Autumn 2011 Outdoor Sid sat beneath a flaming canopy of Boston Ivy and was so beautiful

Buddha 3 cropped

Inspired by the endless tales and photos of abundance that come streaming in from so many of the dearly loved blogs* I follow and educated beyond belief in the arts of ‘water wicked containers’ [‘Wicked’ as in candle-wick not the ‘wicked witch’ as I originally thought – insert red face here!] thanks to the sterling efforts of one narf77, I hit the sales and got myself organised over a period of about three months.

I made lots of compost, purchased two really big self watering and be-wheeled troughs and many small plastic brightly coloured containers and buckets.  I made holes all around the sides of the plastic containers about 15 cm up from the bottom, filled the bottom spaces with gravel and filled the rest of the containers up with layers of dried lavender branches, compost and good organic potting soil.  I kept buying tubs and making them up until I had no more plants left and coincidentally, no more space left.

3 sept

I wanted to go up as much as possible, but preliminary investigation made it obvious I was not going to be able to hammer in some trellis to the house walls or to hang baskets from those same walls.  They are stucco and not very good stucco either.  The windows are aluminium and there is virtually no good wood available to use as an anchor.  Back to the drawing board.

A wander around Bunnings found me standing in front of a  random collection of green plastic stakes attractively wrapped in a single piece of cardboard proclaiming themselves tomato tripods.  I bought one and took it home to play with.  It was perfect – three stakes with one end sharply pointed, nine cross bars to attach the stakes together either as a triangle or in a straight line and fitting perfectly into my big troughs and around the outside of my larger plastic tubs.   I raced back and bought five more.

While my courtyard currently looks like a harbour full of sailing ships with sails furled it won’t be too long before all kinds of yummy things and pretty things are scrambling all over the place.  I hope.

10 sept

To join in with the things already flourishing in the garden – the lavender and Boston Ivy and gorgeous Jasmine that falls over Outdoor Sid’s head, I have planted three different tomatoes, two heirlooms and one not.  Strawberries and petunias are planted about them as companions.  Ten lettuces of different varieties, arugula, perpetual spinach, silver beet [chard], celery, broccoli and cauliflower.  There is also a bucket full of peas [bit worried about these, not a lot of room for them to go up or out really]

Herbs include parsley, oregano. thyme, mint and nepeta [catmint] joining the Bay tree in a pot.

8 sept

There are three hanging baskets on the fence holding sweet peas and strawberries and lobelia, petunias and alyssum for pretty colour.  There are buckets of pansies scattered about on the shadier side and getting ready to grace the front step when ready.

For good luck I threw a handful of nasturtium seeds into the garden as well – but Orlando rebelled and sat on top of most of them as they germinated.  He’s lost most of his sun bathing spots and is reduced to communing with Outdoor Sid’s companion cat

 

Tig and Cat1

Or sitting atop the fence and dreaming of days gone by when he had an outdoor space to call his own and there was no helpful little puppy bounding about.  Poor Orlando!

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Helpful puppy

5 sept

I seem to have made my own little eco-system in this tiny enclosed space and everything is growing like crazy.  I’ll post a follow up in a month just to see how it’s doing.

I’m already eating lettuce, spinach and arugula.  The herbs are all in second or third year and still producing.  I would have liked to put in some cucumbers and capsicums, but ran out of space.  Maybe next year.

*For those of you who may be interested in my gardening inspirations I follow these bloggers closely and all have been most generous with their inspirations, advice and thoughtful comments.

Fran at The Road to Serendipity

Alys at Gardening Nirvana

Robbie at Palm Rae Urban Potager

Wendy at Quarter-Acre Lifestyle

Thanks for coming by today, I love that you did!

110 thoughts on “Growing in a Very Small Garden”

  1. It’s a cacophony of plants weaving together into a very fine garden Pauline. I don’t think you can hold a true gardener down. If there’s a space to put a pot, it soon will be filled. I think you’ve done a beautiful job of it. I also love that you’ve sacrificed a spot of earth to art, of course you would and your Budda looks pretty there too. Such a nice place for the three of you to hang out and enjoy the view and each other. O looks particularly blonde outdoors doesn’t he. I said it before but it’s worth adding, “Brad pit would be envious”, LOL. I’ve managed to bring two things inside due to the weather being below 0 C now, and since yesterday we have snow. A pick pot of yellow mums is in the dining room with my porch palm. The mums are smelling very nice in there, which for some reason surprised me. I never noticed it when they lived on the porch. The diva’s would lovely dearly to play in the dirt and pull the flowers off. Luckily a door closes there. so they can enjoy the view but not become indoor gardeners. Siddy seems happy to play with empty pots, so that’s nice. Your rambuncious parsley reminded me of this costume for little dogs:

    http://inhabitat.com/diy-how-to-make-an-adorable-chia-pet-dog-costume-for-halloween/chiadogcostume/

    Giggle! Happy Summer and Happy Garden Season my dear. It’s looking fab and before you know it, you’ll be wandering around a small jungle. xoxox k

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    • Dear god! A doggie plant 😀 Siddy would be lost in the ‘jungle’. O is getting blonder as he grows older Boomdee, we were commenting on that just the other day! He will be 8 in a couple of weeks time – he’s a ‘mature’ cat now. Doesn’t time race by for our pets.

      You have snow already? Wow!! Still, it is November and I remember being just as shocked last year when it came maybe a little earlier. I guess your thoughts begin to turn to Christmas now, while ours hover around in Summer holidays with a little bit of Christmas thrown in….. Carols in The Park, Santa on The Beach, Christmas Parades, watching for the blooming of the Pohutakawa trees – if they flower before Christmas it is the sign of a long hot summer. They haven’t flowered before Christmas for the past two years…..

      It is good that you rescued your mums – first from the porch then from the Divas 🙂 I picked jasmine yesterday and put a vase full in the bathroom – making washing time a treat! The parsley is seeding now, time to plant some more. I am eating salad greens from the garden every day – I am most happy!

      Thanks for coming by Boomdee and leaving such a lovely long comment – I’m looking forward to seeing you soon 🙂

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  3. PS I’ve used the same tomato stakes myself and I’m happy to report that they’ve held up well for at least two summers and will be going into a third. I like the flexibility they offer too.

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  4. So as you may have seen by now, I responded to this lovely post last week, but apparently didn’t hit post (I was commenting from my phone in the boys school parking lot).

    I had so much fun reading this and pouring over every single picture. Your garden is inspired, Pauline. You’ve put together a wonderful mix of edibles in such a tiny space. You would make Vertical Veg proud. Further, with the limitations of the stucco wall and the available sun, not to mention your poor soil, you’ve worked wonders.

    I’ve only been composting for two years now. I had lots of misconceptions about it (thought I needed a lot of room, full sun, etc.) but learned that none of that was true. Once my compost tumbler was full I turned to one of the garden beds during the winter months and did what you did: I buried food waste and let it break down into the soil. I credit my composting with my beautiful, self-planted tomato crop.

    I love the image of you gradually amending your soil with food scraps, allowing the natural decay to make healthy, organic soil for your herbs and vegetables.

    Your garden, your art, your animal companions and your lovely daughters. You’re living a rich and interesting life, Pauline. Thanks for sharing part of your journey.

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    • What a lovely comment Alys – worth waiting for 🙂
      On the subject of composting, I would love a worm farm – you know one of those little ones or a Bokashi bin – do you know about them? I think that might be the bees knees here, [except I need to find out more about them]. I could then keep composting and rotating. At the moment I cannot compost any more food scraps as the garden is full and working and there is nowhere to put anything. Such a waste! I’m full of hope that I too might get some ‘volunteers’ in my garden next spring. I have one flower this year – I’ll show it in the next garden post.

      Thank you for taking the time to interact throughout this post – it is such a treat!

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      • Pauline, I have a primitive worm farm and it’s been doing well for a couple of years. My friend Liz brought me some of her red wigglers. I put them in a broken trug, added some straw during rainy season (rainy season!) so they could crawl up out of the mud, and that was that. I poked holes in the bottom for drainage, but a bucket under that and I was in business. My newest compost pile is filled with worms. They’ve moved up from the soil and are working hard to break down my yard and kitchen scraps. I wonder if you could even rig a hanging worm farm since space is at a premium. Or, is there a damp place in your car park to keep a bucket of worms?

        It’s a pleasure commenting throughout your posts. They are always rich with comments. I’m glad you enjoyed it as well.

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        • That sounds like a pretty nifty idea! Why did I not think of a DIY alternative myself I wonder? I have some worms, but not a huge amount as most of my ‘garden’ is in tubs and buckets 🙂

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          • When the boys were in grade school, a pair of moms started an outdoor classroom or school garden. After it was established, one of the teachers built massive worm bins, knee height off the ground and the length and width of a car. I was never sure why they were so large, but they did work fine off the ground. We would save and shred paper to add to it since it was so large. I wonder if you took one of those wicking pots and elevated it somewhere in your space. It would also give you another place to compost bits of vegetable scraps.

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  6. I was so absorbed by Siddy and Orlando, along with the Buddha image, that I forgot to look at the flowers and plants. I like the idea of lavender and enjoy its scent. I like herb and vegetable gardens for the most fresh and tasty treats.(The spinach and silver beets sound especially delicious!) I found your reddish plants, flaming Boston Ivy to be quite radiant and exciting draping over the shoulders of this zen filled ‘god.’ Smiles!

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    • Hi Robin, thanks for that lovely comment. It is such a tiny space that all the scents are quite strong – lavender mixed with jasmine especially at this time of the year- and then the Boston Ivy makes it very pretty in the autumn when there are less nice smells to enjoy.

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  7. Pingback: A Painting for Alys | The Contented Crafter

  9. Ah a lovely space you have created. Don’t plants just make the world right? I have added some Thai Basil to my little space… have a couple of recipes with it in so now I can go pick some 🙂 I use to have a cat that liked to sit at the base of my orange tree that was in a pot. She would curl around the trunk and sleep for hours 🙂
    Another lovely post that brought a smile to my dial x

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  10. I’m in love with your little garden, Pauline. I think it contains all that you need and It all looks very delicious. In fact I only need that nip..that’s the most impawtant lettuce we really need 😀 Orlando has a super duper space upon the fence..he can overlook the whole neighbourhood…and Siddy 😀 Pawkisses 🙂 ❤

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  11. That is one gorgeous garden, Pauline! Your lettuce and parsley are positively lush! I had to look up “capsicums” – they sounded quite exotic. Now that I know they are what we refer to in the U.S. generally as ‘bell peppers,’ I’m going to start calling them “capsicums” – just to mess with people!

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    • Don’t we learn a lot of unnecessary but interesting stuff through blogging! I have heard of bell peppers but didn’t know that they are capsicum – I thought they were a chilli or something similar. There’s another thing I can put in parenthesis when writing about my tiny garden 🙂 Love the thought of you messing with people!

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  12. Jasmine is probably my favourite ‘climber’, sadly not much of it growing here in the north west but every time I see one I am reminded of sweet-scented tropics 🙂 Wonderful creative use of such a tiny space Pauline. Very inspiring!

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  13. What a beautiful garden, and not a bug on a single leaf! How??! It must be Orlando’s work. He is SUCH a gorgeous cat, Pauline. I love him. I’d love to sit with you in that little secret garden with you and Orlando and Siddy and sip and chat and laugh. Oh, I guess I just did that. Love you! Aloha.xo

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    • Wouldn’t that be so nice, pull up a chair, a glass of wine perhaps? The regal and very beautiful Orlando will gaze upon you from the top of the fence and Siddy will bounce around and lick you to death. I shall be very well behaved 🙂

      There are some buggy things around, I saw white fly this morning! Not sure what to do about them 😦

      I do have a secret ingredient though, apart from Orlando, it’s DE [diatamaceous earth] sprinkled on the soil it deters slugs and snails and being a natural product does no harm to beneficials and kitties and puppies. I also mix a half teaspoon every day into my pets food which keeps them free of internal parasites, keeps healthy coats [it contains silica] and bright eyes 🙂 I also use it externally now and again to keep them flea free. Great stuff!

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  14. As your little card says ” A Gardener grows tomorrow’s joys.” And just look at all the joy your little garden is producing for yourself and for others.

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  15. An inspiration for small gardens! No wonder you lose a few plants here and there, poor Orlando was used to placing his fluffy butt wherever he like before 😉 Perhaps you should find a space for some catnip?

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  16. I am carving pumpkins tonight and took a break after I finished + spotted your post in my reader-YAHOO!!!! I have been stopping by wondering where you have been + now, I know you have been in the garden. That is A LOT of stuff you put in that small space + it is just beautiful:-) There is something about small spaces-they don’t look so small when they are filled head to toe with flowers, herbs, veggies, + two “welcome” resident critters!
    I loved reading this post, it got me excited about new spaces, but mine is going to sleep soon. I have some veggies out there for cool weather. It will be dipping in the 30’s for Halloween. I can hardly believe the summer is over BUT I get to sit inside while the snow flies and read all about what Ms. Pauline is doing in her space….you did not just buy a few plants, you designed an entire new garden:-) It makes sense now why you have not been posting as much. That is a lot of work you have been doing this past month.
    Which heirloom tomatoes did you plant? I am excited to see what you get to eat out of your space. Do you have space to paint? I see some Garden Fairies coming soon!OHhhh….and you have to keep us posted to your visitors of the flying kind. How many bees, butterflies or interesting bugs will visit this former dead space.
    Your parsley is pretty in the pots in front of the other containers:-) ( long sigh) green is starting to turn brown here and it won’t be long before white will be on the ground.
    Happy Gardening + my what a lovely garden you have grown, my dear:-) I can’t wait to hear all about it + see what comes to visit!

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    • Well, have also spent a lot of time prevaricating as you will discover in my next post 🙂 And really I just did what I said – I had some tubs and some plants and then some more and then some more and so on…. a bit like Topsy. I keep looking about and thinking I can fit another pot there – but I also have to think of poor Orlando who loves his courtyard, but is losing all his favourite places. My tomatoes have started to flower and my salad this evening is coming from there. I will endeavour to remember to keep track of the insect and bird life that shows up – I hope something does.

      Hard to believe you will soon be snowed in again – but then I saw Christmas items in a store I was in today ……… time marches on.

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      • Christmas! It does march on + it seems to get quicker ever year I get older-lol. Why is that!
        I have to watch what I plant near the dogs for if they decide to munch on a plant, I don’t want them to get hurt. Sometimes they eat grass if their stomach was upset, but I don’t have any grass anymore!
        Well, off to bed for we were up late decorating for the trick or treaters that will be out from 5-8 tomorrow night. My husband and I still decorate the front yard for the kids. We don’t have as many trick/treaters as years past-still fun time of year! Happy Halloween-BOO!

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        • I missed this bit of our conversation Robbie – luckily I popped back to catch up on some late comments. ‘BOO’ made me smile!

          You could grow some grass in a pot for your doggies if they need it. [But you probably know that already] Orlando has a small tray of grass that he chews on from time to time – then he usually coughs up a hairball 🙂

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          • Those hairballs really get me when I am walking around in the dark-lol. I did not grow up with cats so that was something to get use to:-) Oh, they don’t miss grass too much when they have all my weeds-tee hee

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  17. thank you for showing us your garden and how much it is possible to grow in a small space. he photos, particularly of dear Orlando are wonderful! I am inspired to do some research into edible plants myself. 😀

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  18. Wow. Just wow. If you just showed those pictures of what you’ve got growing, I’d assume you had some enormous garden. Enjoy eating your wonderful produce. Poor Orlando will just gave to cope. You clearly have extremely green fingers, in addition to all your other creative talents.

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  19. Double sour soil if it contained oxalis ;). I can’t lay claim to the wicking beds. That would be Bev the magnificent. I just found them (they were shiny…I can’t resist shiny things! 😉 ). I am SO excited by your garden Pauline! See…we CAN have our garden and eat it too! It’s just a matter of learning how we can take the space that we have and adapt it to our needs. I LOVE your tiny garden and how amazingly well you have managed to use all of the space available to get growing your food possibilities :). Poor Orlando. Nose to pot. No doubt praying for a drought so that he can go back to basking in the soil ;). I am pleased as punch to be in that awesome line up of excellent gardeners :). I am trying my hardest to live up to your including me by putting into practice, all of that information that I have bursting out of my head. I have been AWOL from mainstream life for a week now and have been throwing myself into the garden. It is paying off. I am feeling closer to nature than I have in years and coincidentally, I am feeling happier :). Your garden is inspirational. I haven’t felt so inspired since I read Maurice’s story Pauline. I was going to languish inside today and read but bollocks to a bit of rain, I am off back outside planting grapes. Gardeners AHOY! 🙂

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    • I can tell how well I’m doing by how much oxalis grows back. I’m slowly winning 🙂 It is so true that hands in the dirt brings contentment – I completely zone out when working even in my tiny space. I think weeding is the best therapy there is and if everyone did it there would be no need for sedatives or psychiatrists! It has come together quite well despite any forward planning on my part – I just keep seeing places where tubs can go, filling them up, heaving them in there and waiting and seeing for what may come. I’ll be ecstatic if I can have one meal that comes entirely from this garden 🙂

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      • Stevie-boy is laughing about weeds. He was standing looking out the back door when I read that comment about the psychiatrists and he says that if you were foolhardy enough to try to rid this place of all weeds you would be completely doo-lally ;). I am inclined to agree with him but that’s the silver lining to a small space, less weeds! We even have weeds growing in our gutter. You could MOW our house guttering! (Oh the SHAME! 😉 )

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      • Got the boat in place (wicked water bed) and put a fridge that half is going to be a worm farm and the other half a pond into Sanctuary today. SO many plans and so many holes to dig 😉

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          • Very well and we are dashing in and out in between rain showers planting maniacally. We just planted out 7 muscat grape vines along the inside of the “walls” of Sanctuary in the top right hand corner. We will be using thick weld mesh and old bed bases for them to climb up. We want to get at least “1” plant in the ground a day. One a day isn’t too hard and Steve doesn’t twitch when we talk in single digits as each time he has to dig a “hole” he has to first extract about 10 rocks from the hole zone involving a shovel and some serious digging work. Here’s to lots of plantings in the next few weeks 🙂

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  21. I will have to go back to this post when our spring comes to stay inspired. You have done so much with so little, I’m overwhelmingly impressed. I love your Buddha garden statue. I want to get one for mine. Soon. I put my cardboard boxes down flattened to kill out the weeds this winter and most of the grass. More to do but the association watches things like a hawk and wants everything to look nice all the time. I could only do it where no one could see. I”m delighted you are enjoying your harvest already. Plants know when they are loved and do better. Yours will surely thrive. I’m keeping your cottage in my immediate vision to help you bring it about. I finally got my perfect place. You’ll surely get yours.

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    • Thank you Marlene – I am really grateful you will hold that picture for me – I know how powerfully these things can work! Do you dig your garden waste straight into the soil – I know it isn’t considered the best thing to do – but when space is tight and the soil needs enriching it is a helpful thing to do. It can rot down over the winter months and will be ready to plant up come spring.

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      • Yes, I do dig it right in even though we are not supposed to compost where I live. They worry about rats but when you bury the waste rather than have it above ground. no rat will dig for it under the dirt. I’ve done it for years and it works quite well. I have mostly heavy clay that needs to be broken down so roots can be nourished. I did it at my sons house as well. Things are growing wonderfully here now. 🙂
        I am a world class manifestor according to my daughter. There is very little on my list left. I have received everything I asked for oddly enough. Even having my son move closer was on the list. Poor thing had to lose a job he hated to get there but it’s coming about. Now he’s getting rid of a house and neighbors that turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. Wish I could open his mind to see how it works. He thinks it’s all random. Haha. 🙂

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        • Ha-ha-ha!! Bless him!! I have a cottage by the sea I am in love with at the moment – manifest away!
          Isn’t it odd how people make rules without thinking things through – perhaps you will help change the minds of the committee!

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          • Manifestation is tricky business. I was looking for a site built home but the neighborhood was more important than the house. So I got a prefabricated home with great neighbors. The universe looked at all my needs and spit the perfect for me home out just in the nick of time.
            I unfortunately learned a long time (5years) ago, that the only mind I can change is mine. I’ll lead by example and those that ask, I will share. But you know all that. The student (my son) isn’t ready.:(

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        • Ah…two of my favorite people, chatting away about cottages and compost and a happier, fuller life. I’m smiling and enjoying myself. Halloween month is done. I’m luxuriating in the time to read, comment, comment on comments, and then read some more. Love to you both.

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          • You have been prolific – I am about to work my way up the comments and catch up with everything 🙂 So glad you have chosen to spend some time here now that October is done – what a great month that was on your blog! xoxo

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            • Thank you for saying so, Pauline. It was a lot of fun, but at times a bit of a challenge to get it all done. I’m enjoying a bit of a rest, which is to say, the day to day without all the sewing, decorating and party extras. xoxo

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  22. When I see how much you’ve done with your incredibly tiny space, I feel embarrassed with how little I’ve done with my (comparatively) huge space! Oh, well–too late for this year anyway! But I’ll be excited to watch your progress and maybe, when spring comes here again, I’ll have lots of ideas about things I can add. BTW, when I plant catnip, I protect it with a small metal basket, upended over the plant and secured into the ground with bamboo stakes. The cats can eat anything that grows out through the basket but the main plant is safe.

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    • You had already passed that tip on to me Kerry and I forgot to mention that I had utilised it and the upturned basket protects the growth already. Though it is not pegged down as the nepeta is in pots which are inside a large watering dish [an old pyrex bowl] I have it hidden at the moment in the conservatory, as there is another cat who being slightly more agile than poor Orlando, managed to scale the wall and eat most of it despite the basket….. it is in recovery mode and will be a portable enjoyment for my boy very soon.

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  23. You, my lady, are a master gardener! Since you’re now enjoying the life of leisure being retired, you should become certified and help others create this magnificent beauty in their yards. You’ve done a wonderful job, Pauline, such a relaxing environment. Hugs and kisses to my buddy Siddy! His cut is growing out fast. 🙂

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    • Jill, that is a pre-haircut photo, so don’t despair. While it is growing out it isn’t quite that rampant! My daughter swears if she could sit still long enough she would see both Siddy and his coat growing! He is getting quite a big small dog now and already needs another trim but cannot see his very popular groomer until the end of February. We are going to try and do it ourselves. Luckily Robin from witlessdating is a master at keeping her mum’s Shih-Tzu clipped and has passed on some helpful tips.

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  24. What a beautiful garden you are growing, Pauline! Your hard work shows in the beauty you’ve created from a small space. 🙂

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    • It’s a very small space Robin – quite the opposite to your wondrous spread! I’m enjoying the challenge of finding out what will grow and how it will all come together – though I sometimes wonder if I may be overtaken by a forest of twisted vines and never heard from again …….

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  25. Pauline, your space is gorgeous!!! So green, lush, and varied. I am so incredibly impressed; even more, I am inspired. Wow, wow, wow!!
    Love the picture of Orlando with outdoor Sid and the one looking up at him.
    You’ve brought a huge smile to my face.

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    • Oh, thank you Laurie 🙂 I was initially most inspired by those perfect shots of your perfect basil…… I haven’t planted any basil as, being wheat free pizza is now sadly off my menu and I forgot to think about the perfect summer salad of tomatoes and basil drizzled with a little fresh olive oil and liberally sprinkled with himalayan salt and fresh black pepper – groan……… If I find a bare spot I’ll see if I can pop a plant or two in.

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  26. Wow, Pauline, you have fitted in a huge variety of plants. Your outdoor space looks lush and inviting. I love outdoor Sid’s cat companion and would love to know what he and gorgeous Orlando are talking about. Also love any trip to Bunnings where I go in to get one thing and without fail walk out with ten things! Can’t wait to see the update in a month. Enjoy your home grown greens! xoxoxox

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    • Thanks Dani! I got a couple of quick shots of O with Sid’s companion and they did look like they were deep in conversation until the annoying camera person intruded. Isn’t Bunnings a dangerous place to enter! Hours can go by while I happily wander about! Last visit I saw a most gorgeous white distressed cut metal table and chair set which happily I couldn’t afford else I would have bought it and then had to toss out half my plants 🙂

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  27. I love this post Pauline, so full of life, goodness and the joy of gardening no matter the space allowed. I love gardening but due to renting and moving for many years in California I was restricted to pots. Until one house that is where I ripped out the chili pepper plants and put in roses instead – I do love my roses and they reminded me of home 😉 Now I have my own garden at long last but during that time, I soon discovered as you have that so much beauty can be grown in small spaces and your garden looks and sounds absolutely delightful. Orlando reminds me so much of my Eddie, my black moggie. He loves to ‘help’ mummy with the gardening by sleeping on my lavendar 🙂

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    • I love roses too Sherri – I was looking at some on my last visit to the nursery and was so tempted…. but where would they go? I live with a dream of having a bigger garden one day – and am happy to think I can pack up all these tubs and troughs and transport them elsewhere relatively easily….. til then, I am here!

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      • You can get patio roses that grow in pots I believe. Maybe that would work for one or two. That’s the beauty of pots and containers, you will be able to take them all with you. Again, I just love the way you’ve transformed the area that you have, you are very creative Pauline 🙂

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  28. Aw, this is great Pauline 🙂 You have actually fitted alot into that wee space, I am impressed! And it all looks like it’s thriving, healthy and pretty. I have never grown in wicker beds but have read a little, sounds good practice. Good on you, I look forward to watching your garden grow!

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  30. What an inspiring post! I love the way you have crammed so much life into what was essentially a dead space – it just shows what can be done with a little imagination and lots of hard work. You ought to be featured on one of those small garden programmes on TV – we have several of those in the UK. I shall follow your progress with interest and be envious of your harvest!

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