Gardens

The paddock has areas designated to particular plant type, use or just because they work together. They all have one thing in common though and that is plants in the wrong place, my garden will never be a weedfree one. However, if I peep past the weeds and see a perfect little flower I am reminded why I love nature! The beauty of any picture depends on how you look at it I suppose...

Wandering through the garden and being amazed by the growth of the trees is always delightful. Finally being able to walk beneath some of them is brilliant. Sometimes while I am on my happy meander I come across a mound of grass and weeds. I start clearing away the debris to reveal a lost treasure growing happily. Oh the joys! Of course sometimes it is just a pile of grass and weeds!

Potager Nothing beats home-grown vegetables, its true. Everything has a freshness about it that you can taste, sweetness of peas, crisp potatoes, juicy garlic but to name a few. Of course you do have to do the garden time to reap the goodies and sometimes the gardener can be a bit slack. Fortunately there is nothing like a dose of store bought tastelessness to inspire!

Fruit Who doesn't like munching on an apple or fejoa straight from the tree. No chemicals just sunshine and hen poo, mmmm sounds delish....

Maple Maple trees are a fabulous addition to the paddock with their big leaves and brilliant autumn colours. They provide the name of this garden area along with mulch and shade for the plants growing beneath.

Herb The idea of the separate herb garden was a good one. The positioning of it... not so sure. I think it may need more sunshine hours so may well turn into a flower garden to be re-sited elsewhere, we shall see...

Oak Walk Oak trees grow well here, they handle the winter damp without too much of a problem. From small acorns large trees really do grow and they are pretty fast too!

Olives I've always wanted an olive grove surrounded with lavender and graceful cypress with maybe an urn or two. I have ended up with some wiggly growing trees whos' fruit get pinched by the birds before I get it and some leggy lavender which have been scragged by hens and some cracked pots. Oh well they say perseverance pays so I will persevere ...

Pond I love the pond with its fabulous willows and abundance of life. Always something to see here from playful ducklings learning to expand their wings or the croaky song of little green frogs in the still evenings to the whitecaps racing over the surface during storms. Ponds rock!

Cherry Dip I had high hopes for this area but I may have to admit defeat and go back to the drawing board. The trees here do struggle with the wet and so far I have not made the gardens that were plannned. I don't even know if it is worth saying 'watch this space'!