Sping time = garden time!

The sunshine is bringing a whole new dimension to our little abode. This is our first summer here and the change in the weather has finally meant I can get outside and get the garden in shape. We also happen to have an excellent plant nursery in between our house and college where I stopped by today on my way home and picked up a few new additions.

When it comes to plants they have to work pretty hard for me to spend the time looking after them. This usually means they have to be really, really pretty or edible. My absolute fav plants are my Blueberries who fruit every year without fail and need basically no care (or at least haven't suffered too much from having me completely ignore them for the last two years!)

Oregano, yum!

I'm really not green fingered at all. We've never had much outside space. Just windowsills, then a little bit of space outside out front door and now a little patio garden. But in some ways this has been a good way to learn. Everything has been in pots, so I can move them around trying to figure out the best conditions for them, and they can move with me when I move essential if like me you're pretty mobile.

Sugar snap peas, so yummy they hardly ever make it to the kitchen!

My first attempt at growing from seed has been a few batches of lettuces which, I swear to you, is no more tricky than that cress growing experiment you did in Primary School! And then 'Voila!', fresh lettuce every day! Whatever space you have there really is some great stuff to grow (and eat!). It's so fun to experiment and see what plants suit you. I loved growing carrots and potatoes one year and I probably will again one day but now I really focus on fruit - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants - as it's so low maintenance and on herbs for cooking and looking pretty on the patio.

My ticket to fresh strawberries this summer!

I also grow Lavender which is very low maintenance (anything from the Mediterranean is a total winner for me as it likes arid conditions, i.e. people like me who forget to water!) and chop it for making dried lavender bags. Don't you just love it when two crafts collide?!

Lavender, smells good, looks great!

If you're thinking of starting growing and have no idea where to start I'd really recommend 'The Virgin Gardener' by Laetitia Maklouf. She presents a whole host of projects a bit like recipes in a cook book and it is absolutely jargon free. I often have a browse through it and pick an easy weekend project for inside or out and she totally understands working on a small scale.

So that's my garden this summer, how about yours?