About My Tiny Welsh Garden

This is my gardening journal; a way of reminding myself of the pleasure and pain of raising (or not) plants and vegetables. Not imposing myself on nature but working with what’s available. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I’m attempting to grow vegetables in a small space. A very small space.

A patio garden two-thirds of the way up a (smallish) mountain in North East Wales

The growing area at home is only 52 square feet, plus any pots and tubs. One raised bed in full sun for most of the day; the other is in shade until mid afternoon. We are 208 metres above sea level, therefore anything I grow is usually two to three weeks behind anyone in “The South”. And it rains – a lot

2. A raised bed in a new (2019) Community Garden reclaiming land from a disused sand and gravel quarry.

The Community Garden bed is approximately 15 feet by 4 feet. See The Allotment Diaries menu tag.

And, from March 2020 a small lean-to greenhouse purpose built to my own design.

History

This story began in March 2018, when had our 107 year-old rear boundary wall rebuilt.

At the back of the house, we have a paved courtyard of patterned concrete resembling brick paving. With the demolition and rebuilding complete, I was left with a large empty space to fill, lots of bricks lying around . . . and a builder on hand!

“Ben . . . will you build me two raised flowerbeds please?”

So he did. All I had to do then was to plant a vegetable garden – starting in one of the coldest winter/spring since 1962/63 followed by a heatwave to rival 1976.

Fast Forward to July 2019 . . .

when I became the proud ‘owner’ (renter?) of a 16 feet x 4 feet raised bed in a Community Garden project, for which I had big plans.

More space to grow things/more things to go wrong! But I didn’t expect a global pandemic to scupper my first growing season.

This blog documents my successes and failures, triumphs and disasters. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. Come along for the ride.