A Mancunian Rented Garden

So.. it's the end of May: the bulk of the sowing, planting and pruning has been completed. Barring any disasters such as a late frost, or gale-force wind toppling the greenhouse, I seem to be free to sit back and quietly blog.

Over the past year we've been working within the constraints of a rented garden - this pretty much means 'mostly a container garden, but digging up a few sneaky bits of lawn where we can'. We've been lucky to inherit a decent structure: a raised bed with established sage, rosemary and oregano shrubs; a squishy moss-infested lawn, good for lounging; more hardy geraniums than you can shake a stick at, good for plant-swapping; and a decent surrounding hedge for a little privacy and wildlife habitat.

We're sited on a leafy estate in Chorlton, Manchester - winters tend to be moderately mild, though we still get the wind and rain that you'd expect up north. Growing some tender plants can be a pain, the victim last winter being a bargain Oleander bought for £2. It was possibly a little optimistic..

I'm a fan of organic gardening, wildlife gardening, bargain-hunting and plant-swapping. I enjoy growing obscure ornamentals, both cottage garden favourites and tropicals. More recently I've got into growing unusual fruit and veg. I like to forage for wild food, make home-brew wine, and cook good food. I'm also a big fan of rock music and regularly go to gigs. Some of this is outside the realm of this blog, however!