The garden is getting itself ready for Spring.

There are quite a few jobs that need doing in the garden. Starting with the removal of this shed. It's been two and a half years since we got the new shed, 2 years since the new kitchen and 1 year since the extension was built and 9 months since I emptied the shed so it could be taken down. Hopefully with a week of dry weather, it's something that can be done sooner rather than later. I need to remind the neighbour to get their fence fixed. 

I can then get the table and chairs out on the old shed base and put the umbrella frame up and get a small chair to go with the pod and table under the canopy so we can use this area for its intended purpose better.

The walls are going to be clad and I will be putting up some old pub, road and car signs that I inherited from my father and clear some more space in the attic rooms. 

Scaffolding planks to go up on the wall under the canopy.

Then we can start clearing these mounds of earth and build some raised beds and a compost bin and start to use and enjoy the garden more.

Then sort out a couple of areas that are still flooding since building the new patio.

I've purchased a couple of gardening magazines and dug out my garden plans and have started to make some designs.

In the meantime, lots has been happening in the garden all by itself

A visit from a bumble bee.

Hollyhocks, and herbs.

Cyclamen and Primrose.

Hyacinths.

I planted chard and parsley once and it just keeps on growing, such a cheap and tasty crop.

How's your garden faired over the winter? Is it showing signs of spring?

My Spring garden, summer plans and goodbye to my Dubai garden.

I left the UK in the middle of April. I prepared the garden, mowed the lawns and planted out seeds that I thought may stand a chance of survival without my input.

I arrived back in the UK the middle of June. The garden had faired well with the added bonus of the neighbours mowing the lawns, however some of the grass turned yellow, but it is slowly recovery. 

Everything was out in full bloom, the potatoes and onions had grown and the peas, beans and tomatoes were doing OK.

Onions, potatoes and rhubarb now harvested, very few peas and beans, but I've sown more seeds for a later crop and bought a couple of established tomato plants, reduced at the supermarket.

I thought the garden was ready for my absence, seeds planted, lawn mowed, plants uncovered. April 11th.

April 12th

We returned to the sun. June 14th.

We're planning to build a new shed and seating area in the opposite corner and creating raised beds and gravel paths as well as introducing a green house. The conservatory will also be replaced with a full one being built along the back of the house.

We also had to say goodbye to our Garden in Dubai this summer. It was interesting Creating a garden in the desert and surprising what we were able to grow over the years.

After getting back to the UK, we mowed the lawns, repaired the borders, repotted the olive and bay tree and harvested the potatoes, onions, peas and rhubarb.

Sweet peas and wild flowers.

Compost bins, potatoes and herbs.

Part time Gardening in the UK and Dubai

I'm a bit behind with tidying up the garden after winter, ready to start the spring planting. I was back in Dubai over the winter and will be returning during Spring, until the start of summer.

So this was how I left the garden back in November.

It's just ongoing maintenance until we decide if we're staying here or going to move. If we stay, we have plans to build a summer house, with a lean to green house and storage for gardening tools and a veranda in the top right hand corner as that boundary is South facing and a combination of raised beds, gravel paths, herb gardens and vegetable rows, basically no lawn, a combined relaxing garden and allotment in one. The existing shed will be removed and rebuilt out of shot along the length of the house and we plan on extending the conservatory. Out the front we'll build a wall, put in gates, create room for additional parking and level the garden off.

I can't wait for our outdoor furniture to arrive as it can be left outdoors 24/7, at the moment this is the only day this year I've set the chair and table up, otherwise all I've done is work in the garden and not just sat down to enjoy it.

The dog however is enjoying the warmer weather and making the most of his time outside.

Flowers for Mother's Day and new gloves and secateurs from Gardeners World arrived and kick started garden prep with mowing the lawns and weeding the front garden. Once it looked like I'd achieved something, it made getting started on the rest much easier.

10 years ago there was a simple border in the back garden, however it was badly overgrown and had trees growing in it from one neighbours garden, whilst the other neighbours replaced their fence and added back boards, the soil dug up was dumped on our side of the fence, which is totally unacceptable, but it's now my job, like the tree saps to sort out.

The bricks I placed to create an edge were consumed by the additional soil over the year, so this year I'm levelling it off and using the excess soil to fill plant pots that came over last year.

I've planted out the peas and beans grown in the green house over the winter, moved the herbs and strawberry plants into the pots and also planted onions and garlic. I'll unwrap the Bay and Olive tree in the next week or so.

There are seedlings germinating on the window sill and the same seeds being grown in the green house also. I'm hoping to be able to plant out from the kitchen before I leave for Dubai and it'll be interesting to see what grows in the greenhouse that I can plant out in the summer.

In the meantime the laminator has been put back to use for labelling, once I've finished weeding the borders, I'll scatter some wild flower seed and plant some sunflowers, front and back.

I've been spending a lot of time in the conservatory as the sun shine sin here in the afternoon, I need to swop the curtains for something lighter now the warmer weather is coming. I've taken out a subscription for Gardeners World so I can learn more about gardening and have download a plant app to suss out weeds from seedlings.

The garden in Dubai is very different to here, when I return I doubt I'll be able to sit outside in it and enjoy it as it'll be too hot, will organise the sale of the fence and removal of plants and trees and the garden furniture will be shipped back to the UK.

Check out Augusts Gardening post that covers the differences between Gardening in the UK and Dubai in summer.