Size Matters!

Size matters! Well it does when it comes to how much one wants to plant in one’s garden. My plot of land is approximately 30foot deep by 45foot wide. Not overly large as gardens go but then better than not having a garden at all! Being so tiny it does control what I am able to do especially as it isn’t the most organised of gardens. In fact looking around at other people’s gardens there really isn’t anything special about it apart from the fact that it is mine; well mine and Martins! But being so small I run out of things to do (except weed) and space to plant stuff. Having said that when the weather is nice I'm quite happy to sit back in an easy chair and enjoy doing nothing, just watching things grow.

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But I have enough space to grow vegetables; namely spinach, beetroot, cucumber, tomatoes and various varieties of lettuce, using containers when I run out of soil space, and some fruit.(the picture above is of my first blueberry bush which is doing really well) I have a thriving herb garden and I have flowers which include roses, honeysuckle, camellia, clematis and Rose of Sharon.

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And I have a wild corner where the bird table is and a hanging feeder from the oak tree which attracts loads of birds. When we moved to this house the previous owner had planted two fir trees outside the back door. Fortunately we moved them as they are now well over 20ft tall! And in the beginning before I was able to comprehend that really I only had a tiny garden I asked my sister, who has acres of garden, to let me have an acanthus plant. Bad move! Do you know about these plants? They are the Triffids of the gardening world. Before I knew it they were everywhere and nothing, but nothing could kill them off. One had to be brutal and use the dreaded weed killer! I still have a few under the fir in the wild spot and I make Herculean efforts to make sure I cut off the flowering spike, pretty though it is, as soon as it shows. Why? Because these flowers go off like pistols at a firing range. I once picked some and had them in a vase in the kitchen. Then one night while on my own there were the sound of shots from the kitchen. I rushed in but saw nothing and then I was hit in the face by …..an acanthus seed, and boy did it sting! This is how they are able to populate an area at the speed of light! So I am very wary of them. They are all over Cornwall! No doubt they are taking over the world!

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So I mustn’t moan about my small plot but just enjoy getting as much out of it as I can and continue to count my blessings each morning while I have breakfast in the sun!