My journey with the garden......

When we moved here nearly eight years ago, I did not have any grand plan for the garden. The only thing I knew for sure, was that I wanted a sanctuary for wildlife. I read books, watched gardening programmes, and thought a lot. In the end I became so confused I decided to garden 'Cheryl's way.' If a plant, tree or shrub had something to offer wildlife, I would buy it. And so my journey began........ I would come home with a car boot full of plants and bareroot trees and then wonder where I would put them.

I love beech and knew I could never let it grow to it's full size. So one of my first plantings was the beech hedge, to guide you into the little copse.

There were a few small trees left, so I planted them in a corner of the garden and clipped them each year. What I never realised is how I would love their changes. From the pale green of Spring.....to the deeper green of summer......and then when autumn came, they would catch me out and stir my emotions with their wonderful hues. In winter, the leaves turn brown, and stay with the tree, reluctant to leave......giving cover and shelter to wildlife.

Rosa rugosa was my next buy and another hedge planted. You must be ruthless with this plant initially cutting it almost to the ground....if you do not you will end up with a weak and spindly shrub. The blooms satisfy the bees and birds feed on the hips during the colder months.

In summer it's sweet perfume would catch me and I could not walk by without taking a deep breath to inhale the heady fragrance. In autumn the leaves turn a beautiful buttery yellow. Each gift offered by nature, teaching me the wonders of each plant.

Thr first time I saw Mahonia Charity I was hooked. The pretty flowers with their sweet lily-of-the-valley fragrance....I could not resist. I bought six plants, and did not feel guilty. During the cold months the blooms would feed the bees that had woken up on a warm winter day.

I did not realise it at the time, I was creating the 'bones of the garden.'

Giving it structure and form.

Grasses feature heavily here. Birds gather in them during autumn and use the feathery heads to line their nests in spring.

I love them when they are frosted......
Ivy climbs fences, trees, obelisks.....you can never have 'too much' , if you love wildlife......

As each year passes I learn a little more........I am growing with the garden.
Mistakes are made, I live with them and learn to love them........

Winter is nearly upon us.........but there is always a little something to surprise and lift the spirit.........a garden is a journey and it never ends....plans wait in the wings, exciting ideas, giving pleasure during winter evenings....... I am planning, ideas fill my mind and excite me. I am happy, my garden makes me happy........

How about you?????