I want a garden. It's mostly the thought of the garden that fuels my dreams of London. And yes, I know, houses with gardens in London are expensive, we actually thought to check prices when we first started thinking about moving, so really, thank you, but you don't need to tell me again.
It was Nye's birthday recently, I bought him this and this. He wonders aloud about landscaping and fruit yields and crop rotation and whether we will need to hire a skip, I wonder how long wisteria will take to grow around the front door, which fruit trees have the most flowers and whether I want mixed poppies or just red ones. Together we will make a garden and it will be our haven.
1. Terrace
Even a teeny amount of outside space can become something beautiful and make all the difference to your mental state. Just being able to get out in the air but still being at home, ya know? You'll find some for sure.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am now addicted to planting. I've started to buy gardening books/google plant ailments/watch Gardener's World. Slippery slope.
(love your garden pins, btw)
It's addictive, isn't it?
DeleteOohh! I love that tree in the middle picture. So serene. What a great idea. We are planning on working on our backyard and that would be a wonderful addition. Hope you make a garden of your dreams.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful!
DeleteA garden is lovely, and so good for you and your little family. Although I am, I admit, a fair-weather gardener. She was a bit mad and certainly over-privileged, but Gertrude Jekyll's writing about gardens is inspirational, chatty, and imaginative - like an Elizabeth David for the outdoors. 'Wood and Garden' is good. Good luck - I'm sure you'll find the perfect spot.
ReplyDeleteOh there's very little chance that I'll actually *do* any gardening, just give directions 'more pink. I want roses. Why are we growing so much cabbage?'
Deleteit's always wonderful having that second half balancing you out, isn't it? i hope you guys get a garden, and soon :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! And yes, we make a pretty good team. I tell him what I want and he tells me how to do it and I say 'you do it please'.
DeleteOh, if there was ever someone else's dream that I 100% relate to, it is this. I ache for a garden but we too are stymied by the cost of living and houses with gardens in Sydney are WAY too much.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wanted to say though is how lovely it is that you and Nye share the same amount of enthusiasm for this. My husband J is a city boy and just doesn't have the yearning for a bit of green like I do. What drives him is wanting to see me happy in a garden, and I know that is awesome, but oh how I would love to see him get excited about crop rotation.
he's *much* more enthusiastic than me, to be honest! As long as your partner respects that it means something to you, I think you're doing just fine!
DeleteOh I really get this. I pulled out all the stops to get our hands on the little old cottage we rent right in the middle of Melbourne, the fact that it had no bath only a shower (not ideal for washing babies), no form of heating (not ideal right now in the middle of winter) were of no consequence what so ever, the only thing that matted to me was that it was within our budget and had a tiny neglected backyard that we have made into our little garden. A herb patch, and some fruit trees (still in pots!), a teepee, some garden furniture later and it's still absolutely worth no bath or heating. You will make this happen if you want it enough.
ReplyDeleteI think I love you guys.
DeleteI'm sure you'll get it. We had to move area to get it but it was worth the compromise and we've loved making a garden, laying turf (which is dying, not sure why) and planting some flowers. It's satisfying and calming. And would be lovely with babies. There are places, you will get it, even a little courtyard space which you can grow a fruit tree against the wall and have a table and chairs. x
ReplyDeleteThe garden is non-negotiable. We don't really care about the area to be honest, or what state the house is in, as long as we have a decent sized garden with good light. No courtyards for us!
DeleteWe have a teeny tiny garden, but love it. It has old stone walls and there are jays (jays!) that nest in the trees out the back. And the year our boy was born we planted an espaliered apple tree - which now has one single apple growing on it. I think we may have to have an apple picking ceremony!
ReplyDeleteWe have a courtyard but no garden beds at the moment, but I have become the queen of container planting. There is much less weeding involved and still all the excitement. Tis very exciting, gardening :)
ReplyDeleteWe have a small garden, not perfectly formed, but it contains some (non-dead) runner beans, a sandpit and a windmill farm (of the toddler variety). Before we lived here we were in a gardenless flat and I SO missed having some outside space. Even if it's just a spot to sit in on a sunny evening.
ReplyDeleteholy crap. i was just working on a post about how bad i want an outdoor space. oh, and today joe said that if you guys will consider moving your flat to oakland, we will buy it.
ReplyDeleteIf you do happen to find a perfect home without a garden and still hanker after a garden you can borrow ours!
ReplyDeleteI'm rubbish, but we have a rose, a peony and a lilac tree.
want to come help me with ours?
ReplyDelete