Wednesday 5 May 2021

These Boots Are Made for...Gardening

I have never considered myself to be any good at gardening. Relations gave us a spade and fork as wedding gifts "But we have no garden, we live in a flat" I said- and was assured that one day I would need them. Over the years I have attempted to grow things - but with very little success. But in the past couple of years, two things have encouraged me to try again - firstly the triumph of the orchids [oh I do hope I can keep them going without Jenny my orchid-tutor on hand to advise] and the arrival of the compost bin.

Back in February I made a brief trip up to Cornerstones, to provide Grandparental Support. It was that week when it was very windy and snowy. When I looked out into the garden, I noticed a compost bin. I put on my wellies and went out to check - it was clearly brand new. I rang my brother. "You said you'd left our Christmas presents here - I found the giftwrapped parcels- but did you leave us a compost bin too?" He denied all knowledge - and agreed it would be an unlikely gift.

Perhaps it had blown over the fence? I checked with all the neighbours- nobody had lost one. The council had been selling them for £10  - perhaps this one was delivered to the wrong house? But nobody has come to claim it- so I have started filling it up.

At Cornerstones, we have lots of grass- but very little by way of flowerbeds. The fig and bay trees are in their pots, and there's a honeysuckle growing over the fence which hides the oil tank. Along the front of the property is a narrow bed, where I planted lavender, rosemary and sage. These were fairly easy going and coped with our prolonged absences. To the side we planted an apple and a pear tree- and now an almond tree.

I can tell you now, the spade and fork have had more use in the past week than in the previous forty years. I'm determined to get the hang of gardening. In the past there have always been lessons to prepare, youth activities to organise, committee meetings to attend. But I am retired now...

A hundred years ago the artist William Nicholson went to paint Gertrude Jekyll the garden designer. She was too busy to sit for her. So he painted her gardening boots. I saw this picture in the Tate years ago, and was fascinated by it. I have been doing my gardening in a pair of 'desert boots' which originally belonged to Steph [I think] and they must be nearly twenty years old now! I am not posting any pictures of my gardening progress yet, but here are the boots [hers and mine]






16 comments:

  1. It's lovely to hear you've started gardening - hope it's a good weather year and all your plants do well

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    1. It must be so frustrating for you, stuck between plots at the moment. I'm sure you are itching to get going again.

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  2. Oooh, an unexpected free compost bin is a super thing!!! I recently took out the compost from the bottom of mine and put it on my raised bed. I'm not the best at gardening as I'm always scared I'm going to damage something but I AM getting better after the last few years of trying to grow things. Its definitely trial and error and learning from those mistakes. For instance, I tried germinating tomato seeds last year and the seedlings just keeled over and died whilst staying small. This year, I germinated them with a cover on top (in an egg box in a takeaway tubs with a sausage tub on top and after they'd germinated, I cut up the egg segments and repotted them and they have been getting big and bonny. Last year, I pinched out the side shoots but missed the ones right at the bottom so they're massive branches appeared out of nowhere and made a right mess of the bed! I am determined to have neater tomatoes this year.

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    1. I love that your recycling principles extend into gardening tips!

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  3. Nice boots! I look forward to seeing the results of all your gardening in the months to come. :)

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    1. I hope I have some good photos to post.

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  4. I'm a huge fan of William Nicholson (father of Ben), and of gardening too. Keep going - you'll soon get addicted!

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    1. Now I am intrigued [Benw as married to Barbara Hepworth, wasn't he?] I shall have to do more digging into their family history - as well as more digging in my garden. Thanks for the encouragement

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  5. You can make raised beds with wooden pallets, which most folk are happy to give away for free. Maybe some on part of your grassed area for growing veggies? FB is a great source for local horticultural groups who give away seedlings and plants too. Good bloggy friends would be happy to share their advise too, I wager! Happy gardening. You won't regret it.ps I'd invest in a pair of gardening clogs or Crocs, getting those boots on and off, especially on a hot day will start to niggle!

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    1. Thank you for all these lovely ideas. I've considered raised beds, but think that would be a step too far for this year - I shall wait till Bobs garage/workshop is in place then I can work out the best location. Just trying a few things in tubs and pots this summer. The tip about clogs/crocs is brilliant though. And I'm sure my friends at church here will have seedlings and plants to share. Thank you so much for your suggestions.

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    2. I second that. My £2 Tescos Crocs have served me well for going into the garden for the past 12 years! So easy to slip on!

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  6. Well done Ang, keep going. You'll be so pleased when things start growing and even producing fruit etc!

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    1. I so wish you could pop round and give me tips!

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  7. My OH is the gardener in our house, I'm useless at it, although happy to plant a few geraniums where I'm told to! It is very satisfying though....as long as things grow and don't die!

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  8. So are you a plantswoman or a designer? One works to realise an overall plan/colour scheme and the other loves plants as individual specimens and just finds room for them.
    I’m sure you have hours of pleasure ahead of you. Jx

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    1. Oh dear, I haven't thought that out! I suspect I am in no sense a 'designer' - I see plants which I like, and consider acquiring them, but there isn't any proper planning yet.

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