The garden is a tiered nook at the end of a curved and crowded residential street in central Brighton. It’s the most unlikely place to find souch a wonderful and varied plot. The owners Bridgette and Deborah have only been at the property for 5 years but have made the most amazing use of the space and are really able to grown any type of plant as they have created areas that create the own climates and conditions.

Here’s just a few shots, but it’s well worth the visit. They are open for free until the end of May but access can also be arranged for a small fee afterwards via their website: gardenhousebrighton.co.uk

Here’s a close up with an upturned piece of slate marble (that Lucy calls a tombstone) to get some idea of scale…

My question to you is: should I have a larger water feature (such as an up-turned railway sleeper) or something smaller (like a ceramic ball) and plant an ornamental tree (like the beautiful Acer Palmatum Sango Kaku below) behind it right into the back corner.

My thoughts haven’t changed – I want to create (over a number of years) an outdoor living space that the whole family love enjoying. As in the rest of my life I’m looking for a balance of technical precision and creative beauty.

Today I tick a box in both areas, from an ever lengthening list of boxes, over several pieces of paper. I have just ordered ordered a whole load of wood for my slatted fencing over the back wall, and have received a whole bunch of seeds and planted some chitted potatoes.

The fencing will end up looking like this photo from my previous post Garden Planning for 2012:

Seeds-wise I have decided again to concentrate on veg in the right hand bed (the south facing wall), but will be trying a few new seeds: radish ‘trench breakfast‘, sweetcorn ‘early extra sweet‘, courgette ‘zucchini‘ and carrot ‘flyaway‘.

Having moved the crocosmia in the left hand bed (the north facing one) I am happy that, along with the the kniphofia at the back and the lysimachia ephemerum¹, hakonechloa, phlox and plantain lilly at the front, that I have a good balance here.

So it’s just the East facing bed that the new double kitchen doors face out onto that I have been considering carefully. Here I have chosen to grow a mix of delphiniums and verbena at the back, white foxgloves in front of them, and then a mix of morning glory and Chinese forget-me-not at the front. What do you think?!

I’ve also propagated some dogwood cornus from cuttings to plan for some winter colour, and my Iris Orientalis are looking good although I imagine that they are still too small to flower this season.

I’ve also ordered a custom-made planter from the wood recycling centre in Brighton. It’ll be a 5 foot long trough made from old scaffolding boards, and looks like this:

Seed planting starts in earnest this week – indoors of course as it seems that frost and winter weather is on it’s way.

Here’s a few shots from our recent trip. It was a glorious 20 – 25 degrees the whole week we were there.

You’re best bet is to head for Chuck Hatch which is on the B2026 between Hartfield and Uckfield and to look out for a signpost to Marsh Green and Newbridge.

Once you’re on this road you’ll see the first and only sign post to Pooh Car Park and Pooh Sticks Bridge.

Once you’re parked it’s a good downhill stroll on a good path (don’t forget you’ll be coming back up here!). The path is sign posted and there’s a wonderful selection of wildlife even at this time of year. Plenty of ferns and moss growing and even a woodpecker in action.

There are plenty of Pooh Sticks around as you might hope, but don’t forget to check below the bridge as several of our Pooh Sticks never reappeared!

SPOILER ALERT: Be sure and stroll further up the lane as your done as there’s a special treat if you look closely!

Very cute isn’t it! There was even an empty pot of honey nearby! Beware though as it’s not in as good nick when we visited as it is in this photo!

Lots of lovely moss on the way back… and some fun for Archie.

And here are the specimens:

Lysimachia ephemerum

Hakonechloa macra

Trachelospermum jasminoides

All arrived very promptly, well packed and in good condition as is to be expected as usual from Crocus. Big thanks to CrocusCoUk. Go visit them, and no – Im not an affiliate! crocus.co.uk

Why is it that it’s the coldest bleakest time of year that my thoughts turn to being out in the garden. I guess it’s the promise of the evenings so-to-be getting longer, of the remnants of memories of what actually turned out to be a good summer down here in Brighton last year, or maybe it’s just a desire to plan what one will be sitting and admiring in the warmth of ate spring and summer. It’s evolution.

Last year was the first year for my new garden. It was the 9th March when I first published my plans for the garden, I built some new raised benches, had some help from my boy, opened up the kitchen to the garden, and then did the big reveal on the 7th June. It seems like an age ago. All that physical labour that got rid of my love handles! They’re back!

This year they’ll be nothing anywhere near the amount of hard graft as last (phew!) but will allow me to put some finishing touches, but mainly to focus on planting and schemes, and to consider a pond in the corner.

First thing to consider though is to block out some of that view to the light industrial mews behind us. This is what I want to do:

Or if I can’t find or afford the right wood, like this:

Luckily it looks like James Chambers has the right wood at the right dimensions for an OK price, so now all I need to do is get out there and measure up…. brrrr! Maybe tomorrow!

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