Having a garden is a great source of happiness to me. There is a constant reminder outside my kitchen window of the power and the delicacy of nature. Wind, rain and sun all take their toll from time to time. But in the right combination, they bring the garden back to life, year after year.
Every day the view is different. While often grim and dull in Winter, the garden treats me to beautiful, almost black and white scenes on mornings where the sun shines through the thick, dark branches of the walnut tree.
Summer and Autumn are the seasons on which I spend most time in the garden – gathering fruit, playing with the children, enjoying a coffee or a meal.
But Spring is my favourite garden season. With each leaf unfurling and each blossom bursting open in the sunshine, there is a feeling of hope and a promise of a good harvest later in the year.
It is no secret that the garden was a selling point of this house. The previous owners tended very well to the garden and planted several fruit trees as well as the massive walnut tree which provides shade for us in the Summer months.
But, good gardeners though they were, they admitted to us that they didn’t really use the fruit. To me, it is incredible that someone would plant pear, plum, apple and fig trees and not eat their fruit. The blossoms are beautiful though.Perhaps that was what inspired them to plant the fruit trees.
Just look at these buds, like scoops of raspberry ripple. With each day that passes between now and August, each of those will inch closer and closer to becoming a sweet, juicy pear. How could you then not eat it?
Further down the garden our herb rockery, planted by the previous owners, is bursting back into life. The rate of growth here at the moment is astounding. Mint, chives and marjoram, having disappeared over the Winter, have sprouted up again and are almost ready to use.
Old, gnarled sage and savory bushes are springing back to life, shooting out fresh green leaves, ready to flavour our next roast chicken or beef stew.
The very bottom of the garden is a love it or hate it area at the moment, spread as it is with a floor of wild garlic (allium ursinum). The flowers are coming out now and the garlicky scent is enough to make your mouth water. Or, in the case of the children, enough to make you hold your nose and go “Ugh”.
Soon the garden will be getting a few new mouths to feed, in the form of chickens. Luckily we seem to be quite well-equipped to deal with the hens. From the research I’ve done, the fig tree is suitable for providing shelter without being pecked to bits. Chickens like kiwis apparently, which is fantastic because we have a very productive kiwi tree.
We’ll run into problems when the berries come out. All my children, but chickens too, love to eat berries. Nastursiums and lavender are favoured by chickens too. I just hope they leave some for me to look at. The herb garden will take a bit of a battering too, with catmint, sage and rosemary being very good for chickens’ health.
On the other hand, swapping some of our abundance of herbs for fresh free range eggs is a good deal. I have a feeling my garden is about to become and ever greater source of happiness.
Who said planting a garden is to believe in tomorrow? Yours looks very promising!
I believe it was that beautiful lady Audrey Hepburn, and it was well put too.
Thanks for your comment Vanessa. I’m trusting that this year’s harvest will be at least as good as last year’s.
Such beautiful pictures. I’m a useless gardener but would love to be good at it!
Thanks. The sunshine and the blossoms make a good combination for photos. We’re not all that good at gardening, but we have managed to keep things alive and producung fruit, which I am pleased about.
Your garden sounds amazingly dreamy, can I come and live there? This may sound ignorant but I’ve never see a kiwi tree, I’m not entirely sure where I thought they came from but now I know. I’m sure your chickens will be delighted with their new home when they arrive and what a wonderful experience that will be. I’d really love chickens and although we’ve got the space I think we’re probably just slightly too urban. We shall see! X #HomeEtc
Thanks Lins. Yeah, sure, why not 😉 Until we bought this house I had never seen a kiwi tree before either. Or a fig tree for that matter. I’ll keep you posted on how we get along with the chickens.
Your garden sounds magnificent and the impending arrival of your chickens is very exciting! You’re so lucky to have fruit trees. Will you make jams and fruit crumbles with your produce?
Thanks Louisa. Yes, I make jams, apple and pear chutney, elderberry cordial, elderflower cordial as well as tarts, crumbles and stewed apple. We use the walnuts in bread, in baklava and for eating. The figs we eat fresh and we give away a lot of them. There are far too many figs for us. Same with the kiwis.
Oh I am so jeaous of your garden, it looks wonderful and all of those fruit trees too. How lovely. The chickens will be spoilt 🙂 #HomeEtc
Thanks! It is great that the previous owners planted such a nice garden. I doubt we would have made such a good job of it from scratch. I’m so excited about the chickens.
Aaah I LOVE the fact that you have a walnut tree — so jealous. We’ve just got rid of a very annoying lime tree that was growing too close to the house, so I’m going to move my fig. Poor thing gets no light at the mo and doesn’t do very well at all. I can’t wait to eat fresh figs again!! Thanks for linking up with us lovely xx #HomeEtc
It is great Caro. We get about 40 kilos of walnuts off it each year and that more than keeps us going till the following autumn.
Oh, I hope your fig improves. I’d post you some from our tree but I doubt they travel well by post 😉
Beautiful photos and so spring-like – I too love it when the garden starts coming to life 🙂 Ours needs a lot of love and attention this year and I am looking forward to it. Jess xx #HomeEtc
Thanks Jess. Spring is such a great time in the garden. Have fun working on yours. With a new build, you really have a blank canvas to work with. How great!
Love your photographs – there’s something so pretty about blossom, isn’t there? All the pastels and delicate petals. We don’t have any blossoming trees in our garden at all, so I’m quite jealous!
Thanks Katy! I adore blossoms. They are so beautiful and frail. I am so grateful to the previous owners of this house for establishing such a lovely garden.
What a garden!! My favourite trees have to be fruit ones, I love the blossoms and the productiveness (such a word?!) of them. A garden like that would have absolutely sold the house to me too. In fact, both houses we have bought in the past 13 years have been on the strength of their gardens… definitely says something about us 😛
I know exactly what you mean about the fruit trees Emily. They earn their place in the garden, don’t they?