My Tiny PlotAll Change Please!
Change is a-foot at mtp. First, the bad news – I’ve given up my allotment (I know! I spent a week in mourning). But the good news is that I’m pregnant and have decided that growing vegetables in my own back garden will be much easier – at least for the next few years. Fortunately, my garden is pretty big and I have asked a local garden designer (Katherine Roper) to redesign it so that I can get the most out of it vis-a-vis vegetables, fruit and cut flowers. This is the plan that Katherine has come up with. I’m very excited about seeing it come to life.
Down the left hand side of the garden is a 10 foot high garden wall – perfect for training Apple and Peach trees. I will also have two Blueberry bushes in pots at the top of the garden, a Cranberry bush (hopefully) some Pear cordons and a Tayberry bush. I’m planning to have a row of Autumn Raspberries, one Blackcurrant bush and two Redcurrant bushes. Plus the obligatory Strawberry patch. So I think I have the fruit covered.
In the beds will be salad crops, potatoes, onions, garlic, peas, beans, sweetcorn, and pumpkins. All the stuff we like to eat. That leaves some space for cut flowers. These will be Peonies, Asters, Gladioli, Cornflower, Calendula, Tulips and a Rose arch. I have to decide what I want to grow in front of the Apple and Peach trees. We have Iris on the plan but I’m not sure I like Iris enough to have a whole bank of them!
The brown block at the top of the design will become a coldframe and there will be various evergreen plants, box bushes and shrubs dotted around to ensure the garden doesn’t look like a battlefield in winter. And that’s it – all we need to survive a minor world crisis.
So the next step is to create the final plans and get in the landscapers. More pics coming soon!
Congratulations on the pregancy and the new garden, the plans look great! I managed my allotment when my older son was small enough to sleep in his pushchair while I was there but as soon as he got big enough to want to run around all the time and got bored with me being there I ended up giving it up, and there is no way I could have managed it now I have another baby! I am jealous of your gardening space, I so wish I had a garden that I could grow veg in right outside my back door, and I wish you the best of luck with yours and with the pregnancy, I look forward to reading more about both!
Congratulations from me too! When is the baby due?
The plans look marvellous. I took on my allotment when pregnant with number 2 – did loads there when she was tiny, used to take her along and sit her on a mat – then she learnt to crawl and it all went to pot a bit! A back garden sounds much more sensible. I have these vague ideas that next summer I’ll be all systems go again (because she’ll be walking not crawling, and my firstborn is actually getting old enough to be genuinely helpful). But we’ll see.
Aw. I love babies ;)
Gardening in your pyjamas is the best.
Congratulations – I hope we continue to hear your endevours on the new tiny plot (NTP)!
One of the things I love bout our allotments in Chippenham is when whole families come and get cracking on their plot. I encouraged a couple of families to sign up for one last year on the strength of the Autumn Bliss raspberries the children were enthusiastically sampling!
Congratulations on the news of ‘your tiny baby’ I love your plans,your so organised girl! when is your baby due?
take care,look after yourself
Congratulations x2 ;)
Love the garden plan … but I’m slightly worried about your cutting garden list … when they’re cut, that’s it … you need some cut and come again in there too – sweet peas, dahlias (please don’t groan, they don’t all look like great-grampa’s huge/pompons/horrible colours), which will give you more the more you cut them. Dozens of others, but those are the two biggest groups that should between them keep you cutting daily from April to early November.
Very envious of the peach tree, and looking forward to reading all about the garden and the baby!
Joanna
Congratulations. Nice garden plan too but where’s some grass for the little one to play on?
Wow – thanks everyone. Never have I had so many comments to one post so quickly. Thanks for the congratulations, we’re very excited about our new little under-gardener.
Joanna, thanks for the tip. I shall include sweetpeas into my planting scheme, just for you!
Stuart – we did think about some grass. Maybe that will come later. For now we will be making lots of trips to the park :)
Congrats on the pregnancy, how wonderful!
As tempting as i find the idea of an allotment, i reckon you can’t beat nipping out to the back garden to get fruit/veggies for dinner/lunch/breakfast!
The plans look great so far, look forward to watching it develop. Hope you have a wonderful pregnancy.
Congratulation for the pregnancy and the new garden.
However, be careful not to do too much right now.
Take good care.
I LOVE the garden plan! I am so jealous. Oklahoman’s have NO earthly idea (no pun intended) what a beautiful garden can look like! I can’t wait to see it all come together! I know you’ll take loads of the gorgeous pictures you do. :)
Ooooohhhh! Big congrats for you and OH on your news. I have also got to thinking about letting my lottie go. I worked it last year and now know what I DO want to grow down there which can manage with minimal attention and what I could possibly grow in the garden at home that needs ‘very’ regular attention (peas, beans, salad stuff, etc. So this year I am going to create a kitchen garden area at home (whilst letting the ‘heavy crops’ romp away at the the lottie) and take it from there for next winter!?
Take it easy!
Congratulations! It’s all downhill from here on in, seriously. But lots of fun!
I am a backgarden veggie grower, I love the ease of going outside for the odd onion or parsnip. I’m always tempted by allotments, but don’t think I could handle the travelling backwards and forwards.
Hi
Just two pints, you can grow gooseberries as cordons too, you know, and don’t forget to be meticulous in the glover-wearing dept due to your imminent new arrival.
Sorry to be gross but it’s cats and the nasties they leave in garden soil!
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the tip – I make sure that I am be-gloved every time I dig in the garden. My two cats may look like angels when it’s feeding time but they are nasty little creatures in the garden!
Congratulations on the pregnancy !
I’ve only just found your blog, and have read the archives avidly. I’ve been after honest, real blogs about veg and fruit for a while and yours is one of the best I’ve seen….and it’s British !
Thanks for all the advice I’ve gleaned so far – you’re permanently bookmarked on my pc now.
Clare xx
Congratulations on the new under gardener! The plan looks terrific and it really is great to have produce right by the back door. Take care and keep on posting those pictures.
Congratulations! Now that my baby is 7 months I can tell you it’s very hard to keep up with the allotment … in fact it’s hard to do just about anything else other than take care of the baby (no, I didn’t believe this either but it really is true, although partly dependent on whether you breastfeed or not …) my allotment is a wasteland at the moment. So the garden plan sounds like a great idea.
Will be reading avidly to see how you get on!
Congratulations on your wonderful news!
I came across your blog a while ago and have regularly visited since. It’s very informative and useful for novices such as myself! We’ve decided to have a go at growing our own though don’t have a clue where to start. No allotment for us, at the moment it’s pots and a raised bed in the garden. Perhaps we can swap notes on growing and babies?!
Good luck for the coming months!
Tania (mum of seven and very novice gardener!)
Wonderful news! We tried to keep our allotment going when we had Ben but it proved too much; you are being very wise in hunkering down to back garden production for a while. The plans look great! Here’s to the new undergardner!
Tania – I’m still in shock – seven children! Wow girlfriend, you deserve an award.
Mighty useful. Make no mistake, I aprpiectae it.