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How does your garden grow?

Sunday’s gardenwatch assistants (newly arrived and exploring Woodpigeon and Mum to be Great tit) want to ask you about how your garden grows. They will also tell tales on their resident gardener through a brief garden tour…

Do you own a national plant collection?

Nope… I can’t see one here. Mind you, there’s only just enough space to tiptoe through the borders especially after the resident gardener has been moving plants around again! She has no hope whatsoever in keeping a national collection. Have you ever thought about one – if so which plants would you choose?

Is your garden a pristine tranquil retreat?

Nope… I can’t say this one’s pristine. Although we still like the grass/moss paths edging the busy borders and the forest bark below the bird feeders. We don’t mind the old paving slabs or the crunch underfoot over gravel paths (okay maybe we do sometimes). Yep… to a tranquil retreat though – especially since the addition of that new wildlife pond 🙂

Is your garden a totally tropical paradise?

Nope… I can’t see the tropics here. Although those stunning yak hybrid rhododendrons bring the colours of the tropics into the garden very well. These plants are likely to have come from a faraway place through plant hunting trips by local rhododendron specialist Kenneth Cox. The resident gardener really should email him to ask the names of these beauties – yep those lost plant labels again  😉

Does your garden boast a prize winning veg patch?

Nope… absolutely no sign of a veg patch here. However, this garden patch looks like it will feed a growing nestbox family with enough insects (when the time comes) by the supply being brought in by OH Great tit since incubation began. Yay… we have eggs 🙂

We have heard that many moons ago, when there were two young girls growing up in this garden, there was a tiny Potager next to a wooden Wendy house. I bet previous OH Great tit’s would have found lots of food around the windows there.

We are to believe that this year, the resident gardener is attempting to grow salad veggies in her tiny greenhouse – no prizes expected there though. We have also heard, our resident gardener knows a few bloggers with a lot of serious experience in growing veggies like VP and Sue if you want inspiration or tips. Out of interest, do you know anyone with a prize winning veg patch?

Would you like the chance to show off your garden?

Through this garden blog, our resident gardener enjoys sharing garden views, creative ideas (to her eyes anyway) and thoughts on garden styles. She is always honest in opinions of garden visits too. However, despite her considerable blog chat we know her to be shy when it comes to showing off her garden.

Are you a passionate gardening enthusiast?

Is your garden your pride and joy? Yep… our resident gardener is both! Would you like the chance to prove you’ve got the best garden in town? Nope… our gardener isn’t competitive enough for that but this does sound like it could be fun and a bit of a challenge too. Perhaps you might be interested – yes? Please do read on…

“The makers of BBC2’s ‘The Great British Garden Revival’ are looking for green fingered fanatics to take part and compete in a brand new prime time TV series. They want to showcase some of the most stunning, imaginative and unique gardens in the country.”

The email from the assistant producer of the programme added that it would “celebrate Britain’s beautiful private gardens and the individuals tasked with creating them.” Now… that is a programme our resident gardener would love to watch so please do consider taking part – the more the merrier I’m quite sure the producers would say too 🙂

And finally… our resident gardener’s email included the flyer above listing information on the series alongside contact details and told she could pass it directly on to anyone she thinks might be interested. Consider this passed on to all regular gardenwatch followers here in the UK. Please share it in your blogs – the birds and wildlife appreciate all this garden publicity too 😀

This post was published by Shirley for shirls gardenwatch in May 2014.

5 thoughts on “How does your garden grow?

  1. The answer to most of your questions is like your answers no! Thanks for the mention by the way.

    Unfortunately still no nest can takers – they are building nests all over except in the boxes with cameras.

    Funnily I was watching our wood pigeon tip clawing through out hellebores just before I read this.

  2. Well gardenwatch assistants I can say my answers to your questions are mostly the same. No collections, no pristine garden areas, but lots of wildlife welcome, always room for more plants and aspiring to be a veg grower eventually.
    My latest garden assistants are two Herring Gulls who eat slugs and snails, but also due to their large webbed feet trample down a few of my plants but I don't mind at all.

  3. It will probably be no surprise that my answers are identical to yours Shirley.
    If I was to have a national collection, I think my choice would be Primula but being that there are literally thousands – I'd need a lottery win to see that dream through!
    Your garden is looking great and good luck with your salad crop.

  4. Enjoyed your post very much and I agree with your answers. I love my garden 35ft x 70ft but it's no prize winner its full of wild flowers that randomly grow in amongst my more established borders. This year I have a blue tit sitting on 10 eggs in my newly erected nest box (no camera) and my assistants they are my Mallards who arrived towards the end of February and stay for around 4 months to raise their family nearby in the meadows Yes they do make my pond muddy at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

  5. Hello everyone, thanks for all your comments and I should have guessed others might agree with me on this. Although, I do hope the production team get plenty of gardeners who are keen to put their gardens in the spotlight for us to see. Apologies for my delay in replies 🙂

    Sue, you are most welcome for the mention – I am very impressed with your charts with results in growing veggies at your plot which has to be valuable for others considering growing all the varieties you trial. I’ve just browsed through your posts that I’ve missed (these are very fine new cold frames you have there btw) to see if you mention nesting birds in your camera boxes and I’m guessing the answer is still no. We are delighted to be watching 4 Great tit chicks growing daily which is a first for our garden. Ha-ha on the wood pigeon although I see they have been behaving very badly in your garden since! I think your new pet tiger will do the trick nicely 😉

    Suzie, oh my… Herring gulls eating your slugs and snails… I didn’t expect they’d do that. Lol… I associate Herring gulls with sandwiches and my daughter (when a student in Aberdeen) on the end of the phone hiding in a shop centre form the gulls after one grabbed the sandwich from her hand whilst walking down a very busy Union Street! It nipped her in the process and as a student it didn’t go down well that she lost money on a stolen lunch! I’d say they should stick to being garden assistants and I’m sure there were plenty gardens to choose from in Aberdeen 😉

    Angie, oh a collection of primulas… nice. You’ve had me thinking about this since you left this comment. I would have difficulty in picking a plant but I might go for Fritillarias and Wikipedia suggests there are 100 to 130 species – I guess I could lift my lawn for them 😉 Thanks, I’m really enjoying my garden at the moment 🙂

    David, sounds like you have a good sized plot there and plenty room for all the orchids that have made their way into your garden. Mm… perhaps I’ve changed my mind on my plant choice for a collection mentioned above to Angie. I’d make my collection wild orchids. Great to hear you’ve had a Blue tit sitting on eggs – fingers crossed they all hatched and are growing well. I suspect you are seeing a lot of activity at your box as the parents bring regular food runs to the chicks inside – you are probably hearing them chatter and chirp loudly by now too. Wow… Mallard garden assistants – what fun although I’d be worried they’d dig up my borders. I’m guessing they are digging in your pond which is why they make it muddy. I guess I might allow that myself in my new pond but I can say that quite easily as it isn’t likely 😉

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