The Herb Garden Overhaul
In June last year we moved out into the country and I am now blessed to have a really large garden in which I can finally exercise all my green finger dreams haha! The garden however, was really badly neglected when we moved in and it has taken about a year, just to get it to a point where the plants and trees no longer look like they are on their death bed.
I have loads of plans for this space, but it is a HUGE area, so it will no doubt forever be a work in progress. I am ok with that... considering that the intention is for it to be our forever home. I wish my mom was around to see it and enjoy it alongside me, but I suppose she is here in spirit. She was a huge green fingers - a much better one than me. My mom could take a completely dead space and turn it into an absolute wild and wonderful masterpiece.
One thing I always loved about the gardens my mom had over the years was they were always that... WILD! They were never perfectly manicured and that aesthetic preference has definitely rubbed off on me.
On the one side of the garden there is a particularly large garden bed which was completely overgrown and messy. The outline shape was already there, but no longer visible as everything had just been allowed to go completely crazy. It was filled mostly with fynbos and succulents - neither of which are favourites of mine.
Soooooo, I decided to have the area cleared and to start cultivating a wild herb / veggie garden. More herbs than veggies, because most veggies are runners... and that's not really the look I am wanting. I just want to be able to freshly pick all the things I like to use in the kitchen for cooking - and then probably some medicinal and fragrant additions too.
What an absolutely MAMMOTH job it was to clear the space - I did a small portion of it myself and I was dead beat after one day, lol!
Nonetheless, it got done and we managed to reclaim most of the original shaping of the space, which was awesome!! Whoever originally owned this house was clearly a very passionate gardener, because they put a lot of time, money and effort into not only the landscaping etc. but also the selection of trees and plants which are scattered around.
One of those many trees, which I was thrilled to discover was a large established olive tree, which just happens to be situated within the herb garden area - yay!!!
I knew that when I took on this project that it was not going to be an overnight success, not only because of the amount of labour involved, but also because of the limited time I have to spend in the garden in between everything else I am busy with on a daily basis. As it is, I have now had this area cleaned three times lol, because in between little progress stages here and there, the grass and weeds have re-grown and as any avid gardener knows... pulling grass out by the root is not a job for sissies, haha!
So, off I went to the nursery to get some stepping stones and started outlining the general shape of the space. Like I said, I want this space to be a wild herb garden - think English herb garden! I want to be able to meander through my herb garden :)
It is getting there slowly but surely now. I planted a whole lot of basil seeds which popped up really quickly and have now been placed in their permanent spot. That was my first choice (after rosemary and basil obviously) because I want to start making basil pesto - another kitchen adventure I will eventually share with you.
Now, I have also planted some Italian parsley and coriander seeds which have just begun to pop up! Originally I bought four lavender bushes and four rosemary - unfortunately only three of the lavenders made it and one of the rosemary... but then I know rosemary can be a little bit temperamental, lol. No matter, I will replace them eventually.
When planting the seedlings into their "forever spot" I cover them with clear plastic water bottles, with the bottle top removed and the base cut off. This REALLY works well for getting them settled root wise, and also stops the snails and other bugs / birds from annihilating them completely before they have even had a chance to succeed.
Speaking of the garden it is time for me to go water all my babies and to feed the birds! That is another post I have got to share with you some time soon! We have so many birds in this garden and they are like our pets now, lol. We even have a little bully bird, who quite frankly I would like to wring the neck of haha!
Enjoy the rest of your day beautiful people!
❤❤❤
Until next time...
Much Love from Country Bumpkinland, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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Congratulations, your post has been upvoted with a bonus by @o1eh,
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Thank you so much @wox-bonus-trail and @o1eh :) much appreciated!! <3
You have it beautifully! And the garden will be an oasis, I'm sure of it. It's less about having green fingers and more about having a sense of what feels at home in which spot and with whom. You're on the right track!
Thank you so much @weisser-rabe - I value your vote of confidence greatly... and I really do hope you are right!
I could not agree more!!!!! I have always been more of an "intuitive creative" - and this applies to my cooking, art AND gardening, lol!
Thank you for the lovely comment and for taking the time to read my post!
I hope you have a magnificent week ahead!