Happy Muslim Mama: Garden Project Begins

I recently said I was going to have a go at creating something pretty and useful out of my garden insh’Allah. Accordingly I have spent the last week digging, weeding and doing more digging. . We are still in April so they should get plenty of rain, I’m just worried we have another cold snap and everything I’ve planted dies.So far the garden is still a tip, and I will have to sweet-talk (or sulk at) better half to remove the rubbish sometime soon, but if I get the green stuff in the soil, at least its a start.

My front garden is bricked over (sacrificed to lack of parking on the road) but my pot plants out fronnt are starting to show some flair at last. I am just grateful the old silver banger out front has been shifted and the flowers are visible from the front of the house.

Tomato plants

Strawberries from last year. These took over more than half the growing space, so I pulled a lot of them out and threw them back in their corner.

I pulled the roots for this mint from my favourite uncles garden last year and it took in a pot, but only just. So I have pulled it out and put it into the main border. By the end of the year the strawberries and mint will be at war to take over the whole garden. I’ve lightly crushed some coriander seeds and scattered them in the other border so in about two months time we should have plenty insh’Allah. I did this two years ago and the fresh coriander from the garden made every meal so fragrant. I’ve also planted potatoes (maris piper and charlotte varieties from the 99p store which is a no-brainer, so I’ll see how they go). I have seeds for cayenne peppers, bell peppers, beans and sweetcorn, but have run out of place, so will have to be creative.

These are the anemones I planted last year, I left the pots outside and the few left popped up – I’m just stunned they survived the snow. When they die, I’ll put something else out.

These azaleas are also from last year and have grown back despite the snow this month. They are one of the most difficult plants to grow, so I was very surprised.

I got these chrysanthemums from the local 99p store, which was a bargain and an easy jump-start to brighten the place up.

These are my husbands kind contribution (he confiscated them off Little Lady, who took them from best friends house). I was a bit annoyed that they ended up in the garden, but my friend just visited and she thought they were real. His other kind involvement is calling me farmer’s girl (as both my grandparents are farmers – but so are his).So far my fuschia’s are having no luck and just look like sticks, so I might do some research and see how to bring them back to life. The same with last years chrysanthemums which just got left in the pot and are now growing but haven’t started to flower yet.

Gardening can be expensive, so the best things to do are to propogate from cuttings of friends plants, try planting from seeds and my big help has been the 99p store and Poundland which have plants (including roses), seeds, plant food, ornaments and compost for the above prices. This is also great for the kids to be involved in as they love getting their hands dirty and the idea that something they planted is growing. Plus it compliments Little Lady’s school lessons as they have been learning about sun, rain, plants etc.