Second Hand Rose

At the moment I find myself struggling with a rather particular conundrum: designing my very first garden. Or, to be precise - making the most of a pre-existing design.

When I took over this tiny garden it was practically empty, apart from two roses, a overgrown lawn and a few weeds. Due to the brickwalls that surround the plot, there are very few sunny spots but they create a warmish microclimate and the soil is moist and crumbly (I found lots of blue-and-white china shards and few rust-encrusted wrought-iron nails while planting).

I have planted my winter and early spring vegetables (early peas, lettuces, purple sprouting broccoli and spinach), a few winter pansies, Japanese anemones and semi-evergreen low grasses. Yesterday I put in a lot of (inexpensive) bulbs - dwarf tulips and small daffodils.

vegetable patch and dandelion paradise

My Mom's garden (which is the background of all of my OOTD posts) is sort of a cottage garden, lots of different plants, perennials, shrubs, trees, fruit and vegetables intertwined and I have always loved this. But I have known for some time that given the chance I would like to try something more formal. Or at least have more formal elements. I will need some time to figure this one out, maybe by spring I have some more ideas on how to do it.

Japanese bed - just to the right is the neighbour's massive bamboo

One of my second-hand roses [yes, Funny Girl is one of my favourite films ...] has just now come into bloom and it turned out to be - orange. Usually not my favourite colour but somehow it works quite well with the brick-and-flint walls. It smells absolutely delicious, intense and fruity, almost like peaches or apricots.

Love, Qaroline

a tiny conundrum