Outside of hiring a team of professionals and spending a small fortune, you simply can’t take an average garden and turn it into a mini paradise in a few weeks – or even a few months. In the real world, where you’re chipping away at things around a full-time job, it takes years (and, thankfully, only a modest rather than enormous fortune).
The garden I inherited is essentially a “wildflower garden”, and I’m actually quite happy to stick with that format. It has two main cycles.
The first is early summer, when all the wildflowers come through. At this point, it’s chaotic, colourful and seemingly has a life of its own. It’s not particularly tidy, but that’s rather the point.
The second cycle is late summer, when the wildflowers have gone to seed. The garden then enters a slightly neater sub-season with trees, planters and hanging baskets taking centre stage while the wild zones quietly retreat into dormancy.
Both phases have their own charm. One is gloriously chaotic; the other a little more restrained. And, slowly but surely, I’m learning to enjoy the garden for what it is — while gradually nudging it towards what I’d like it to become.
Here’s a few pics from the day I arrived (December 2024):
BEFORE
AFTER (late summer – so second cycle)
By day
By night
Dr Martin James 