YESTERDAY’S GARDENS……

Gardens have undoubtedly changed over the years, styles, fashions come and go. Societies change due to outside forces and with that requirements for their gardens alter. The biggest example, of course, during the wars when all gardens became vegetable patches minus their iron railings.

It wasn’t so long ago people worked their gardens and made the garden work for them. Their back garden provided food, vegetables and fruits, flowers for the house, a lawn for entertaining. Recycling and composting was a necessity, you re-used what you could.

I have lovely memories of my Grandfathers garden and him working in it, or sitting in his chair at the bottom of the garden when the day was finished. His 1930’s house was surrounded by what would be considered a large garden by today’s standards. The front garden was of good proportions screened by a hedge and full of roses. The long back garden was split into various areas, vegetable garden, fruit garden full of gooseberries, raspberries, plum trees, lawn area, compost area and shed. I would spend time picking fruits, digging potatoes, gathering sweet peas and eventually playing on the lawn when the work was done eating a fruit pie made from our pickings! Happy Days reflecting what a garden should be…..

With the importance of what we eat at the forefront of our thoughts lets go back to working our gardens, they can with commitment produce good organic food for us, flowers for the house. as well as looking good and providing us with that ‘outside room’ we crave. Growing vegetables and fruit, perhaps keeping a chicken or two can be a family hobby, children love ‘planting and picking’, learning as they go along becoming horticulturists of the future.

Whether you have a big or small garden you can grow vegetables and fruit, you don’t need a big vegetable patch remember you’re only trying to feed your family not the street. Fruit and vegetables can grow amongst shrubs and flowers in the border, in containers or customised vegetable boxes. Grow what you like to eat, and attracts youand start with small projects. Go on buy a packet of seeds and some good compost, grab the children and find an old container in the garden and give it a go.