Why super speedy?

CP getting her hands dirty

Why so speedy? Surely gardening is a relaxing past time to savour and enjoy?


The answer is: two small children aged 3 and 9 months, a freelance business, and a busy social life. I don't have any 'spare' time, but I'm desperate to create an edible, wildlife and playful garden for my family.

Sometimes I may only have five minutes with my secateurs, or perhaps half an hour planting seeds with my three year old while baby sleeps. Occassionally I get a whole glorious afternoon gardening when the children are happily playing with the grandparents.

Whatever I can get - I take, but I have to be super organised as well as super speedy.

The garden

The garden is average size, with space at the front, back and down the side. The back garden faces north west, so not ideal, and one half of its 'kidney bean' shape slopes downhill. We're surrounded by trees on all sides. We're on the sunny south coast of England, but we still have some snow in the winter.

Our overgrown cottage, the summer before we moved in

We moved here three years ago, just before our first daughter, Cecily, was born. It was completely overgrown and we had very little time, so we got some help to clear most of it. Since then I've experimented with a few fruit and veg but it needs lots of work, including some landscaping.

My philosophy

There's so much I want to get from the garden! I want fresh fruit and veg that tastes far better than anything in the shops. I want to be resourceful and not spend a lot at the garden centre, by saving seeds, propagating, recycling. I want to teach the children where their food comes from, and show them the joy of nature. I want to see flowers, butterflies, bees, slow worms, stag beetles, hedgehogs, woodpeckers, nuthatches, bullfinches as I sit and relax in the sun, but not too many slugs thank you.

This blog is all about recording our achievements, no matter how small, and sharing my excitement, disappointments, frustrations and dreams. I'm learning about gardening constantly so please share your comments and advice, I'd love to hear from you.