Planning

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I wonder how many hours my parents spent on planning their garden when they built their house. They had made ample space all around the house for plants. They made sure they had a few coconut trees and a karibevu tree. There were a line of small round openings in the cement strip next to the house in each of which my mother planted a different kind of rose. They had a wire screen that supported a beautiful jasmine and blocked the washing area towards the back of the house that would otherwise have been visible from the gate. They built a cement tub for plants next to the landing before the front door with small posts that reached to the ceiling for climbers to attach themselves to. All this must have involved some thought. A couple of hours perhaps?

A garden in England is a different ball game altogether.

First think what you want to use the garden for, say the planning experts. Kids to play in/entertainment/sight for sore eyes? Now think, how much lawn, how much space for plants. Garden buildings? Shed or green house or both? Some place to sit and enjoy the garden - extend the patio or add some decking? Being in the northern hemisphere, and the sun never directly above us, one has to think about which parts of the plot gets how many hours of light. Then place your trees and plants acording to how much light they require. Then, what kind of soil do you have - Acidic soil/clay soil/chalky? How many trees can you accommodate? How many deciduous and how many evergreens? Do you want to be an organic gardener? Where will you place the compost bins and which kind? Water butts? Do you want to grow vegetables? Where will you place the veg patch? Do you want to be a wildlife friendly gardener? Which plants attract butterflies, which will attract bees and which plants do ladybirds like? What about some water features to attract more wild life? Do we have plants that will together offer you something of interest throughout the year instead of just some bright colours in spring and summer? And so on and so on and on.......

Luckily it was winter when we moved in. I spent months as an arm chair gardener. Executing everything I planned in those few months will take many many years.