the garden

Reading this I was longing for a farm, and a serious vegetable garden (and proper summers!). 

We're not serious gardeners and put very little work in, but our tiny 30x30ft garden grows lavender, rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives, parsley, sage and bay; damsons, cherries (about 10 cherries on the tree this year, 9 eaten by birds, one shared excitedly!) gooseberries (green and red), elderberries, blackberries, redcurrants, some alpine strawberries and rhubarb. There's also a small vegetable patch with potatoes, pak choi, garlic, swiss chards, radishes and a few different kinds of beans. Only enough for a little taste, but fun, nonetheless. We have flowers, too, lilac, marigolds, nasturtiums, mexican orange blossom, giant daisies. On this little patch of garden we also have a two ducks, a small duckhouse, a shed, a lawn, two clothes lines, a pebbled path and a wood chipped patio, a few chairs, a bench, a small table, a swing seat and a little slide for Emm. 

Sometimes I crave the serene tidiness of other peoples landscaped gardens, but then, I love being out in ours! Pulling the odd weed, feeding the ducks, hanging out the laundry, looking for a little contribution to dinner... And while some of our friends have lots of brightly coloured toys in their little outdoor space, Emm seems to always find something to do in ours! Looking for eggs, and berries, examining pebbles and plants, drawing with chalk, having picnics, sliding, driving her little car and loading up the trailer, playing with a bowl of water and some cups... 

It's our connection to nature, unusual and a little messy, but fun, and relaxing, and ours!