Can you believe it’s been a whole year since we moved to the Welsh border?! The year has completely flown by in one big manic haze. We’ve settled in nicely now to country life, the dogs are loving all the local walks and we’ve come to terms with the fact that the nearest ‘big town’ is over 45 minutes drive away!
First on the list was to get the workshop set up so we could continue selling online. Which was infact quite a huge job, and an ongoing one at that! We had to get the entire floor concreted, paint the interior and install shelving for all the vintage stock. Next on the list is to build an office building at the back and then we can open to the public later this year. But there’s also workbenches to make, a photography room to deck out and a wall to erect to seperate the workshop from the showroom…
Whilst we’ve been working on the business side we’ve also been busy in the garden and I’m so happy with the progress we’ve made. As a very impatient person it’s easy to forget how far it’s come so it’s been good fun looking back at these before and after photos!
We didn’t officially start work on the garden until October last year when we hired a man and a digger to come and level off the new vegetable patch.Then it was just a matter of marking out the 4 main beds, putting down the grass seed for the paths, planting over 200 bareroot hedging, putting up the fence and gates to stop the dogs running riot, digging and planting a 15 metre long flower border, planting 16 asparagus crowns and 6 rhubarb, starting work on erecting the poly tunnel and planting up the fruit bed with blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries…
All that blood, sweat and tears was definitely worth it though, we’ve managed to grow a variety of crops by filling up all 4 vegetables beds this past year. We’ve been harvesting peas, courgettes, runner beans, broad beans, carrots, beetroot, swiss chard and potatoes. Then there’s all the other crops waiting to harvest which include parsnips, borlotti beans, pumpkins, squash, sweetcorn, cabbages, broccoli, swede, kale, sprouts, cauliflower and leeks!
As soon as we moved we knew that we wanted to get the vegetable garden up and running as soon as possible. Not only did we miss getting our hands dirty but we missed growing our own food, you really can’t beat it.
Of course the garden is still a work in progress and I think it will be for a good few years yet. We’re still saving up money for a beautiful greenhouse which will sit in a paved courtyard alongside the potting shed (which we hope to start building later this year!) I’m also hoping to order the 3 raised beds for this area too within the next few months ready for planting up in the Autumn/Spring.
However, we do have a polytunnel… Well so far we have the frame up! Work has just been crazy lately with all the garden shows so we haven’t really had the time to focus on long periods on the garden. Although the polytunnel actually has some tomatoes, cucumbers, gherkins and lettuces growing beautifully inside and we hope to plant some Christmas potatoes along the other side very soon. All that’s left to do is put in the wood around the two beds and then we can put the sheeting on. So we should have a working polytunnel by October!
The orchard has also had a bit of a transformation, although this is very much a huge work in progress… We planted 5 new fruit trees in this area making 8 in total, the edible hedging we planted around our border edge is also growing well despite the sheep nibbling it through the fence! Our biggest project in this area was introducing a traditional wild meadow which we only sowed back in April after removing the previous turf. So far we aren’t too sure if the seed is growing or if it’s just full of weeds… so only time will tell! But there has been some rogue sunflowers growing, and I’ve spotted some poppies and wild flowers so I’m feeling positive.
The chicken coop has also been moved into position, I’ve been erecting the run this past weekend and all the supplies have been purchased. So expect some chicken news later this month!
I still have to remind myself that we have only been here a year, that everything takes time and that we’ll get there in the end. Even though the garden is a work in progress I’m still incredibly happy with what we’ve achieved so far as well as all the delicious homegrown food we’ve already grown.
It sure feels great to be gardening again and I’m excited about the future of this new little haven. But most of all I’m excited to finally get a potting shed again so I can retreat and drink tea!
