a small herb garden...

This isn't a before and after, this is a before and 'during'. There's quite a bit more work to do yet. I had a sudden flash of inspiration whilst out playing fetch with Harvey last week... and thought it would be a good idea to turn this patch of wild geranium into a herb bed. The geraniums are lovely but tend to get flattened or dug up by the dog, so instead of a carpet of flowers it just ends up being a flattened green carpet of half dead plants. It was pretty prolific in stinging nettles too and this year even dandelions.

We hauled the railway sleepers down from the top of the garden where they were just being used as a step up to the playhouse. I think I'll go one layer higher too, so that some new soil can be dug in. It still won't deter the dog so I will have to come up with something quite substantial but removable. Within seconds of finishing this elaborate cross cross of bamboo poles he trampled right through it to retrieve a bit of root he thought would make a good fetching stick. Stupid dog.

I'm not much of a gardener really but I enjoy small manageable bits, so far I have a gooseberry bush which is probably a bit of a space hogger for this project but will have to go in, as this little bed will be the only dog-proof area in the garden. I'll have to do a bit of reading up on herbs because I've not grown any since I had my first humble home and planted up one of those old tin baths with herbs. They grew like crazy but were a bit of a waste because I didn't really know how to use them in cooking. Thankfully the penny has dropped now!

All that stuff that looks like snow comes from a fantastic cherry tree which towers over my workshop and shed almost all of it's blossom a couple of days ago when the wind picked up...