Small Space Gardening: the beginnings

This Winter I have embarked on a new gardening project. We’ve lived in this house for just over four years and having spent those years observing the existing growth in the beds as well as the way the light falls throughout the day I feel I now know this teeny space of mine like the back of my hand. And that coupled with a shift in what I want and need from this space (rather than just what I love), has driven me to make a few changes to this precious space of mine.

Late summer, with most of the flowers over and lush greenery remaining

It won’t surprise you if I tell you that one of the main drivers for me shifting the focus of my plant selection is that I want to incorporate more space for growing dried flowers and seeds. I’ve spent most of my gardening life, trying to grow a garden that resembles those that my mother and before her my Oma so gracefully grew. Blousy English country gardens full of soft pink peonies in the spring and geraniums in the summer with a smattering of annuals planted to fill in gaps. The problem when growing such a garden in a small space is that for most of the months of the year you are left with bare beds with little interest as the plants die back for their winter restoring phase. With no big shrubs or fruit trees and hedges to compensate for the bare soil, a small garden can quickly become dull to look at during the dark months of Winter. I have realised that whilst I love those gardens, they are not right for me and my space.

Echinacea in bloom at Piet Oudolf Millennium gardens

So what to do? Well, it was a trip to Piet Oudolf Millennium Garden at Pensthorpe Park in Norfolk in the summer that got me thinking differently. We visited the gardens in middle August and the place was awash with beautiful blooms such as echinacea, verbena and plenty of swaying, swishy grasses. The leaflet I picked up suggested that the best time to visit the gardens was in Autumn, which fascinated me and inspired me to work out if I could replicate something similar in my wee urban garden. I have dreams of statuesque seedheads, interspersed between clumps of bergamot, salvia and Rudbeckia - all within the confines of my metre deep boarders. And the added benefit of all these pairie style flowers is that they dry beautifully and will provide plenty of hiding spots for biodiversity amongst the seedheads that I leave in place, a win win all round!

It’s a funny old thing gardening, I don’t believe us gardeners ever stop learning and certainly never stand still. Up until now I haven’t had the headspace or understanding of what I wanted out of this space, moving in to the house on the cusp of giving birth to my second babe and then embarking on some building works has meant this is the first year where I have entered a new growing season with a clear head. Last year I was all of a muddle after leaving my corporate role and was a little bit lost out there. The garden i have in my mind ticks all the boxes for me, my business and my family.

Progress so far

Towards the end of last year I stripped the boarders of all the plants that weren’t serving a purpose (for me) anymore (harder than you may think!) and shifted the greenhouse around so it faces the house. We also replaced the boys rotting playhouse with a thin shed to store tools and bikes in. After covering the beds with a thick layer of mulch, I replaced the plants I wished to keep back in the bare soil. I managed to get this done just before Winter arrived and so I’m hopeful most of the plants will make it through. The greenhouse is now in a position that is so much more practical, I’ve created an area out the front of it that will allow me a space to sow seeds and pot on when the time comes. This corner of the garden gets sun for most of the day even in Winter so i am now hunting down a suitable chair on Facebook market place in which to sit and drink my tea!

Seeds to be sown

I adore growing plants from seed and this year I have made a promise to myself to only grow from seed 9in part to save money but also to avoid bringing plastic into my garden). My absolute favourite seed seller is Chiltern Seeds and below is a list of the varieties of blooms i will be nurturing over the coming months:

Verbena Hastata (pink and blue spires)

Salvia Horminum

Clarkia Amoena Memoria

Salvia Schlarea

Agastache mexicana “sangria”

Helenium Red and Gold hybrids

Echinacea pupurea

Rudbeckia Prairie Glow & Sahara

Rewind four years

Below is an image of the garden when we moved in, clearly well loved and used by the previous owners but in a bit of a neglected state. A large walnut tree with a TPO on it had recently fallen over in high winds and so the garden which was once shrouded in dappled shade is now in full sun pretty much all day. The garden was home to foxgloves, lily of the valley, endless bluebells and mounds of pendulous sedge and herb bennet. Of which the later two went on to overtake once the tree disappeared and the light flooded in, I’m still battling with the seeds of these invaders now.

The garden when we moved in