Before launching into my blog… I thought I should explain where I live and why I garden.

Where I live is easy. I live in a small village in the county of Lancashire in North West England. It’s an area known as the Fylde, a flood plain for two rivers, the Wyre and the Ribble. Luckily for us, the house sits on top of a hill so we have good views across Morecambe Bay to the mountains on the southern edge of the Lake District and to the east we have the rolling hills of the Forest of Bowland.

Although we are exposed to the prevailing south westerly wind, in places we have chosen to retain the views across the fields bordering our garden rather than planting a wind break. It’s an ever changing view depending on the weather. In winter there are early morning mists and flocks of wild birds feeding. In summer the lush grass provides grazing for livestock and juicy insects for our resident bats and visiting house martins.

Why I garden is more difficult to answer.

My parents are keen gardeners and obviously some of their enthusiasm has rubbed off on me. In fact I feel compelled to garden. I love it. But our style of gardening couldn’t be more different. My Dad in particular likes order with neat rows of red, white and blue bedding plants marching around an immaculate lawn. Over the years I’ve become a relaxed gardener. I like to see daisies and clover in the grass and a riot of colour in generous borders. So I’ve created a garden that looks beautiful and also suits wild birds and small mammals.

My garden is divided into sections that can quickly and easily be maintained. There’s a gravel garden, a spring garden, a bluebell wood, a meadow, a pond and a wide border for summer colour. I like the physical side of gardening… all the pruning, hoeing and weeding, the digging, raking and planting. Yes it’s hard work but satisfying knowing that good progress has been made. I enjoy planning the next season, raising plants from seed or cuttings and working out which plants will grow well together.

Whatever the weather, I make a point of having my coffee outside. I love to sit for a few minutes each day to watch the wildlife. Today there’s a wren building a tiny perfect moss nest just a few feet above my head, a cheeky squirrel searching for the acorns she buried in my patio pots and a robin singling loudly to claim his territory.

Thanks very much for visiting Country Garden UK. I hope you enjoy seeing some of the plants and wildlife here.
You are most welcome to pop in again soon.
Until next time…   Happy Gardening 🙂

What sort of gardener are you?