Seems like ages since my last addition here , but here goes, this morning I ventured out and took photos. There are also some photos here from earlier in the summer with my little helpers.
Today is wet and windy here at the moment so lots of tidying up to be done over the next month or so.
To the back of the house a lot of bright flowers flourished throughout the summer and gave much pleasure, the area is quite large however most has now been tamed and my next challenge is the wilderness to the side of the house ,already some alder in, but very overgrown. We have had plenty salad, herbs , beetroot and potatoes however the strawberries and blackcurrants have not been too plentiful this year and need organising for next year.Tomatoes are possible as we did eat a few from the plants but really need to look at a tunnel or green house for these. Apples and carrots yet to be harvested .
Masses of calendula and lemon balm which makes a lovely tea, a few experiments with pumpkins so will see how these go. Plenty of herbs scattered here, there and everywhere so this will need to be more organised for next year , I must say the work on this has given much pleasure throughout the whole journey and now I hope to organise the whole project into a weekly update with before and after photos of the work .
Still need to get more evergreen trees planted for shelter ,it is so windy here that I am reluctant to get rid of some leylandi but will keep them in check would much prefer a more environment friendly wind shelter as the one to the side of house with oak, poplar, hazel and hawthorn planted at the start of the garden project and coming along nicely also a good few roses here and there. The leylandi rob the earth of valuable nutrients but the wind is so strong here as we are on an elevated site that it is a bit scary to be left completely open to the elements. I have planted lots of willow but these are not evergreen and so do not provide much shelter from the elements, some have been coppiced now and do provide some wood for the fires.
Have comfrey , nettles , sea weed and manure to nourish the soil and try to make as much compost as possible again it is all a learning process and we try as best we can to adopt permaculture ideas when possible .
