The Cottage Garden
Patsy has spent 42 years looking after this south facing garden, although it has received the most lavish attention since she and her husband retired. There are no fewer than 18 different rose varieties and it’s full of treasured plants given by friends and family.
Patsy says: The garden is about 90 feet by 30 feet. It is a joy to potter around in, reorganising, moving plants around and sharing. A lot of what is here I dug up from my parents’ and parents in law’s gardens or have been given by other plant lovers. I can spend a lot of time just looking at it and thinking about what I could do next. Over 42 years a lot has changed considerably and I now have a patio which pleases me enormously.
Both my husband and I look after the garden. He mows the lawn, helps with the bagging up of all the garden rubbish and looks after his veg patch. He grows all his vegetables from seed in the shed and shares with friends and plants them in his allotment as well as in our garden. We help each other out but I plan and plant the flower garden!
My favourite things are the 18 roses tucked away in and out of other plants, the ceanothus which has a deep blue flower and is out in April/May with the miniature lilac and the blue irises. I love the beautiful pink flowers of the weigelia and the sweet smelling philadelphus. The various different geraniums give colour throughour the summer and then the agapanthus and hollyhocks come later in the year.
