MyVeggieHaven - Mellow Sunset at 4.30pm

There is still a little produce coming into the kitchen even now - mostly because of the mild weather.

The worst thing about this year was the very wet time we had in July which meant that some of the successional sowings for salad during those weeks didn't germinate outdoors and the slugs took their toll on the mature plants.
This meant that my surplus to friends, relatives and the local Veggie Store ground to a halt! But I did have enough left over for our own supply.

But Hey!! The garden produce rate and quality was exceptionally good - as anyone will testify who tasted it. If all areas of my life had flourished as successfully as my garden this year then I'd be cockahoop by now.

Garden Design Project Update

A Wildlife Garden to be built with sustainablity in mind. Currently going to planning as part of the over all development of two houses in Somerset.

The brief included low maintenance, a veggie plot and an outdoor entertainment area. All to blend seamlessly with the surrounding setting within a small wooded dell.

See more Garden Design Projects in Somerset on our website.

MyVeggieHaven - Update

Homegrown sweetcorn - really delicious and easy to grow plus they take up little space.

I grew only four corn plants this year, but next year I will be dotting them about as infill between other rows of plants as they really don't create much shade.

Greenspace Project Update - At a mystery location somewhere in Somerset...

There are plans afoot! Soon to be put before the planning department for full planning permission.

The house will be set into a wooded 'dell' and sit down into the land form with a lower than ground floor media room/studio. The garden will be designed to be wildlife friendly and is to have the atmosphere of 'peace-magic-warmth' as quoted from the owner's client brief that we worked on yesterday.

This setting will be magical, and in some ways it already is, and with the house it will be a make a really unique home.

Some free advice...

From 1.30pm onwards on the 31st August Kathryn will be at Oaklands Nursery as guest Garden Designer. Come along to meet her and chat about your garden.

MyVeggieHaven - Update

As the days shorten now, the rate of growth is slowing down in MyVeggieHaven. But I have had some great fresh produce from a small plot measuring only 4.5 by 11 metres.

The quality has been excellent and has been such that I have had extra to give away and to sell!

See this aubergine pictured here, ready soon for a tasty roast vegetable meal.

On a sunny evening (when we have one!) the garden is lit by slanting rays back lighting the structure and form of plants. So it really has fulfilled the brief that I gave myself, when I started planning the experiment which has become MyVeggieHaven, and quite simply it was to see how productive a small garden could be and at the same time it had to be an attractive space to spend time in.

Greenspace project updates...

This week's good news is that I shall be guest garden designer at Oaklands Garden Centre & Nursery near Street, on a regular basis. You can come and meet me there and get some free advice on planting and design.

It has been quieter on the design front this year as the effect of the economic downturn takes hold. With people staying longer in their existing property they are extending and converting much more as a result so here's hoping that gardens will be upgraded next.

These pics show a garden that I have been developing for a client on the edge of the Mendips. They take advantage of the aftercare service I offer to keep their beds and borders maturing beautifully.

Herbal teas

If you like herbal teas, you can drink them totally fresh from your garden, Chamomile, Mint, Fennel, or St John's Wort easy to grow and dry for later in the year.

I have one beautiful aubergine, grown outside, more fruits forming and so fingers crossed for a warm and sunny September!

Beautiful and Productive...

MyVeggieHaven started out this year as a small patch of grass... now look at it. The original challenge was to create a productive yet attractive if not beautiful garden in a small a space of 4.5 by 11.5 metres (main area).

We have been self sufficient almost, for the past 2 months or more and it has grown enough salad to supply the local and very excellent greengrocers called 'Fruition' on Glastonbury High Street.
Tim at 'Fruition' pictured above prefers to supply locally grown food.
This garden is about 0.5 miles away or less, and so I may be Tim's nearest supplier - super fresh salad with a total of zero food miles because I go there on foot.

MyVeggieHaven Update - Summer Harvest

Summer seems to have returned, but for how long? The good thing about a vegetable garden is that whatever the weather it is still working for you even when you're not spending much time out there.
Yes, growth of salad leaves has slowed a little with the grey rainy weather, but just look at these fine fellas!
The runner beans have been prolific and I shall be digging out the potatoes soon. I love to add the mixture of flowering plants for colour. Some are flowering culinary and medicinal herbs in this garden. A small productive plot can be attractive visually too.

MyVeggieHaven - Update

Late afternoon at myveggiehaven, salad lovers everywhere - feast your eyes :)

MyVeggieHaven - Update and pics

The challenge was to design and build an attractive yet productive garden in a small area. And so was created 'MyVeggieHaven' - a space to be enjoyed visually all summer with a succession of edible produce.





This is a sunny garden enjoyed by all including a growing tribe of frogs. (Does anyone know the collective noun for frogs?)




Soil preparation is so important and the results can be seen. I am using organic methods and any surplus from 'MyVeggieHaven' goes freshly picked with zero food miles to the High Street in Glastonbury to a delightful greengrocer's called 'Fruition'.

Project Updates - This week in Somerset...

In some garden spaces it really is a challenge to visualise potential. To see beyond 'what is' currently and to enhance what's intrinsic to the place itself. I always start by noting the elements of a space which cannot be changed both positive and negative. Heaps of debris, rubble and soil after a house-build thankfully are moveable. And views here can only get better!

MyVeggieHaven - more pics update...

I always try to re-use plants and materials where ever possible. Plants are thriving having been successfully up-rooted and re-established to be appreciated in their new setting.



















This is the small tree planted in late April, there's a few apples maturing. There were many that 'set' but fell after a week or so. Because a tree can only grow what its developing root system can support.

MyVeggieHaven - Growing success...

Mixed salad from veggie patch to kitchen table in less than 5 minutes! That means salad so full of flavours that you just won't get to taste any other way. I am growing more than enough of 12 different salad ingredients and soon will be supplying a local shop with any surplus. I reckon at a rate of just a few bags per week.
Later I will have Pak Choi, courgettes, tomatoes, carrots, aubergines, cucumbers, beans, onions and potatoes. Sweet corn will be a bit of an experiment.

MyVeggieHaven - Apple blossom in Avalon

I have just planted a 'minarette' trained apple, expensive but the formative training work has been done for me and I should get a crop later this year. The other apple will be 'espaliered' against the fence and I will be training this from scratch and it will take about 4 years to establish.




The frogs I presume are taking a dip in the pond but it will take a while for the whole garden to become truely frog friendly! And by next spring we may hear the patter of tiny webbed feet. I hope so! Infact I am hoping that rampant amorous encounters will be a regular occurence from now on - well what do you think flowers are really doing? ;)

MyVeggieHaven - That uneasy feeling...

... is what you'll get on a path surfaced with a shingle gravel on a weed supressing membrane.
To set your feet firmly on the right path :) use a product called path gravel or hoggin which is a self consolidating material. It has a high clay content and compacts down so firmly that weeds will have a hard time growing through. It was dug in Dorset and is a rich ochre yellow.

MyVeggieHaven - Update...Frogs and Footings

During April the small veggie patch has been taking form. Old wall footings hidden below soil level had to come out to make room for fences. And oh yes another snag was frogs! I knew there was one or two but six large adults were found during works and so had to be re-homed in a wildlife area including a mini pond.

Putting grids and angles to work...

A plan of the new layout.
But colours shown here are nothing like the original.


I decided to place some paths and beds at an angle to boundaries. This does two things - firstly it will help to widen the look of the plot and secondly it adds interest to a grid design that is very geometric. The grid is the most efficient way to enclose the raised beds.

Women may be temperamental but...

... computers are much worse! Technology is a wonderful thing until it won't do what you want. An example plan will follow soon...

MyVeggieHaven - "Veggie patch to kitchen in less than 20 paces"

Infact I can get from kitchen door to the farthest reaches of my garden in about 20 paces! Yes it is fairly small! So the challenge I have set myself is to design a productive and attractive garden with some fruit and veggie growing space. I will be finding out just how productive the kitchen-garden beds can be, only totalling about 12 square metres! I have tried to fit in more growing space, but one runs into problems like restricted access and a sharp downturn in aesthetics and suchlike. To use space as effectively as possible I will be including fruit cordons and hanging baskets for strawberries and will use other container growing ideas. I will also use rainwater collection from the greenhouse and garage roof for watering in dry weather.

Natural granite setts in a circular design will form a major feature on the ground and this area will be used for additional seating. It is some years since I grew veggies and so I am really looking forward to getting started and have been re-reading my old RHS course notes and various books. I'll be using organic methods and will be including a wide range of plants to encourage a mini eco-system and biodiversity. I may even include a bee-hive if there is space.

Bugs have rights too!

Someone's recent question "Are you an organic designer?"was followed by a rather long list of further horticultural questions about organic practice.
Organic practice is to do with sustainable gardening. It's to do with being part of a larger ecosystem and finding ways to contribute not just to take. For a naturally inclined garden owner there are so many ways to be a benefactor. Try to incorporate into a garden scheme some plants that attract bees and butterflies. And then there's the principles of 'Permaculture' for those interested. Like most of life it is a process of continual learning, so more about 'the natural garden' no doubt will follow this posting.

Happy New Year

I am following my own garden design advice this year by planning my own garden in winter! This really is the ideal time to start - to enjoy the results by summer. I have owned a number of gardens of various proportions - but the current one is modest, well let's say its small at about 72 sq m.

So now its decision time. What to do with this recently acquired rather run down space? I want to see just how productive a small garden can be, without sacrificing aesthetics entirely - although there will be compromises. Oh, and another thing - it is currently a theme park for the local insect population. And thats about the only 'feature' I want to retain. So it will be a balance - can it be done? Fresh veg/salad from garden to kitchen in less than twenty paces, sounds good doesn't it? But alongside all those very hungry caterpillers for real? We'll see!