How my garden grows...

....Molokoloko Garden blog, first post....

Recap on the last 3 years
3 years ago....

Molokoloko Garden June 2011 (you've seen this before, lots of times).

This was my project so armed with some of my plants I'd salvaged from my garden in Sturminster Marshall, a lot of good will wishes from friends along with lovely gifts of seeds, gardening book and so on, but no budget or finances, also armed with a determination not to live with this derelict space for any longer than absolutely necessary this is how it all began.

Garden in Sturminster Marshall, also in 2011

Another view of the Stur garden

Well, you can see why I was so determined not to live with my new garden space can't you?   You wouldn't be reading this if you had any interest in gardens at all and the top image can not, by any stretch of imagination be called a garden.

If I had to lose this Dorset Garden then I wanted to make another Wild-Life Garden.....(emphasis on wild)

So no time to lose and work began on the garden, mostly planning and dreaming for the first few months until spring 2012 when Gels and Dave went to spend a couple of weeks in South Africa.   I started to plant the mini-meadow ...and wrecked my shoulder but doing too much digging and weed pulling too quickly.

That put paid to garden plans for most of the year.   I was very limited what I could do without agonising pain.

Leah in my garden  July 2012

Oh, my goodness!  Isn't she tiny?   and in the far background the sheds are up but not yet painted in sugar colours.

But at least there is progress and green stuff not bare ground and concrete slabs.

I started work on The Mound Leah sitting on it
September 2012

The same Mound today

Marguerites and Sheds Midsummer 2014

Yes, certainly now there is much more garden but it all takes time.

May 2012

In 2012 Dave and Gels gave me a wonderful birthday present, the pergola.   Poor Dave put it up one weekend when he had 'flu.

The new Pergola

That made a big difference to the balance of the garden and to the wind flow.

Well, little by little the garden began to take shape.   2013 was a long warm summer, my shoulder was better things progressed.   It might have made it easier if I'f had a budget for the garden.   Well, I did - it was whatever could be squeezed from the housekeeping and whatever could be begged from friends as cuttings, seeds, plants they didn't want...and I have to admit even some garden escapees dug up from the verge of the road.  In retrospect this is the way to build a garden in my opinion.   It was slow but gave me chance to get to know the garden moods, the path of the sun and the ravages of the winds....

2013 also brought about another wonderful addition and another wonderful gift from D and G...the Greenhouse.

The Greenhouse and the worthy builders thereof, Chris and Dave

After a beautiful summer we had a dreadful winter, the gales and rain were non-stop.   We escaped with minimal damage but the greenhouse suffered a few panels completely blown out.  That was a set back but could have been much worse.

As soon as I was able to I invested in a fence, this year, again my trusted helpers came to help put it up...this time Sarah came too.

The shelter fence up (click on the photo, it will enlarge)

Once again this has altered the shape and dynamics of the garden, I have many more shady areas at last.   I love the sun, but sun without shade is not good.  I hope the fence protects the greenhouse in future winter storms until I can grow a living shelter belt to protect the garden from gusts of up to 80 mph.

Learning to garden with the wind has been, and is still, a big challenge.

So that is a little recap on what has taken place so far....here is a recent picture of the garden to compare with the top/first picture on this post

Taken in May 2014.

Same view from different aspect.

And this is where I decided the garden needed its on blog posts.   It is an ongoing living space that has so much going on in its boundaries ...much of it only of interest to other gardeners.

Finally, to finish off this post, here are a few individual pictures taken today.

The meadow and a newly created shady corner

Welcome to Molokoloko, the front door

A big part of the reason for the garden is to provide nice things to eat....

Sweetcorn ...hope it is ready in August or early September

Beans

Sugar snap peas and they are so sweet!

I think it is going to be a butternut when it grows up.

Tomato

Cucumber

Grapevine

Not forgetting the things that are pretty and attract pollinators...the new rose, Bridge of Sighs is lovely the fragrance sweet and fruity.

Bridge of Sighs Rose with bee or wasp if you look carefully.

Hydrangea

Lavender and Californian Poppies

We've come a long way from that first visit to see my new 'garden'.  It's been fun, hard work, frustrating, rewarding...all the things a garden is to all of us some of the time.   This evening the scents of a summer garden waft across the garden and, although it still has a long way to go, it has already made a very big step or two to becoming a wonderful garden.   I am one more step to understanding a bit more of how to make a garden grow.

Do come back and visit this blog often.  I am hoping to add tips and advice I have learned as I grow with this garden.   Links to other great gardens and places where you can buy seeds, find ideas, and so on...
It will be fun (I hope) to watch it develop and I would welcome any advice, criticism (constructive please) and feed back you feel you would like to give me.

Home made watering funnel in the cucumber bag.

Meet you here again soon.