Gardening with friends!

Posted:10 February 2011

One of the great things about gardening is the sense of community it can foster.  Whether sharing an allotment, getting the kids to help out on weekends, inviting others to use part of your larger garden that you simply have no time to develop, or simply asking friends to help out in exchange for lunch or a cuppa.

Well at The Garden House we did exactly that last week.  Nanette and family moved into their new home and massively overgrown garden about three years ago.  However as we all know, a day here and a day there for a busy working mother inevitably means that getting the garden into shape is low on the priority list and such a slow process!

So to accelerate things Nanette gathered a few enthusiastic gardening friends round for the day and we all got stuck in.  In a matter of hours the vegetable beds had moved to the sunnier side of the garden (and raised beds built!), one of two small ponds was filled in and made ready for planting, and a couple of old and overgrown shrubs dug out.  Leaves and weeds were cleared, last years perennials cut down, and manure and compost spread.

At this time of year what can seem like fairly brutal cutting back, clearing and sorting, can leave the garden looking a little bare.  The great thing is that everything is just waiting to burst forth – in no time at all it’ll all be green and looking vibrant again.

As you can see from the pictures, it was hard work, but also loads of fun!