My love hate relationship with my garden!

 Gardening, the hobby that’s equal parts therapeutic and infuriating. When we moved here almost 6 years ago I was so happy to have a garden, a proper garden with grass, room to plant things and a patio area. It made such a change from the concreate back yards that I'd had over the 15 years before.

The Love!

There’s something calming about stepping into the garden early in the morning, with a cup of tea in my hand when the world still quiet. It’s a moment of peace that makes me feel like I’m one with nature. On an evening too when I can hear children playing, the sun going down and spending time watering my plants makes me feel so relaxed.

One of the best things that I ever received through blogging was the bird feeder and coming up 4 years later it's still going strong. I do love feeding and watching the birds.

In the spring I love being out in the garden clearing the debris from the winter months, weeding and starting to plant things. I love getting my little greenhouses out of the shed and filling them up with pots which I did last week. Watching seeds sprout and grow into plants is incredibly rewarding and then when a plant blooms or produces fruit or veg it’s a victory dance moment. I always feel so proud of myself!

Gardening is my sneaky way of getting exercise without stepping foot in a gym. Digging, planting, weeding who knew that breaking a sweat could feel so good. I feel like all the work is worth it. Then there’s the added bonus of homegrown fruit and veggies. Is there anything better than biting into a tomato that’s still warm from the sun or putting things on your plate for dinner that you have grown yourself. Usually I am not a fan of peas but from the garden, I will eat them with every meal!

In the warmer months I can happily sit outside in the shade of course, with an ice lolly and/or a cool drink. It's nice just to sit, feel the warmth on my skin and watch nature happening. The bee's, butterflies and birds which visit my garden make me so happy. I try to ignore the wasps. Grr! I hate wasps! I am sure I have PTSD from when we had the wasps nest in the bathroom ceiling a couple of years ago.

The Hate!

Gardening isn’t all sunshine and roses, it can be downright maddening. For every moment of peace, there’s a war waged against pests, weeds and the ever unpredictable weather.

The bugs. Ugh! Just when you think your garden is thriving, a swarm of bugs or a gang of slugs shows up to feast on your hard work. It’s like throwing a party, only to have uninvited guests trash the place. Slugs seem to torture me and love eating my plants. I hope they don't come back this year and don’t get me started on the endless battle with weeds. No matter how much I pull, dig or spray they always seem to come back. I covered the flowerbed in black bags last the summer because I was sick of the weeds. It worked, the bags have been off for a couple of months now and there are a lot less weeds appearing and those that are there are more manageable!

Then there’s the weather. Gardening requires patience but sometimes Mother Nature just doesn’t cooperate. A sudden frost in spring, a scorching heatwave in summer or an unexpected downpour can wipe out your whole garden. I held off planting my seeds because of the frost that was still happening on a morning, hopefully we have no more frost. Last year we had a weekend away and obviously it was one of the hottest weekends of the year and the poor plants had no water and not many survived! I found myself outside in a big downpour last year moving my tomato plants into the little shed as the rain was battering them.

What do you love and hate about your garden?