Edible But Beautiful

The garden is really beginning to fill up with colour and flowers. This plant is the arctic raspberry that I grow in a container at the top of the steps entering the garden. It is delightful at the moment.  When I bought the plant last year I did not know what pleasure it would give me. It was cheap at The Range and sounded interesting so I took a bet on it. Having been restrained by a small pot, it was only a little thing when I bought it and looked overwhelmed by the container I put it in. But its growth took off and even gave a harvest of sweet deep red berries in its first year. It laughed at this year's cold winter, which was no surprise given it does indeed grow in arctic conditions, and now is in full bloom. The Russians call it the Prince of Berries and I agree. 

When the weather allows I am out in the garden digging up old shrubs and turning their beds into new vegetable and fruit beds ready for the new year and the start of the season. So far I have created three new beds this season. The first I dug is planted with strawberries grown from this summer's runners. The second is for raspberries and the last will be partly given to french beans. I love digging. There is scientific evidence that chemical compounds released by micro-organisms in the soil is a natural anti-depressant. For more see:  https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/antidepressant-microbes-soil.htm   No wonder I feel so happy in the garden. Another reason for I feel so happy when digging is that I have very good soil. I live in a terraced house in an old Cotswold town. There have been houses and gardens on this site for hundreds of years - back to the middle ages in fact. In the newer parts of town the soil is lias clay. But here it is a...

About a year ago I had a heart attack. Not a bad one, but enough to act as a warning. As is common the attack was followed by depression, partly as a side effect of one of the drugs and partly as a result of realising that my life had to change. But change how? My answer has been to start growing my own vegetables. My garden is hardly large, as I have a terraced house. The garden had flower beds filled with overgrown flowering shrubs. If I was to grow vegetables the shrubs would have to go, but I didn't have the money or the inclination to remove the flowerbeds, which curved around a central paved circle. I decided I would act within the existing garden layout. Most importantly I wanted the garden to still raise the spirit by being beautiful as well as edible. So I have been on the lookout for vegetables and planting layouts which please the eye. I was (and still am) a complete newbie to vegetable growing, but hey what the heck!  I said to my husband I would give it a go, see...