We’re peeking over the fence into gardens around the world to explore their places in our lives today. This week, Christina's Devon garden.
I love being outside, and creating this garden over the last two and a half years has become a huge part of my life. I wanted it to feel abundant and relaxed, somewhere full of flowers, food and wildlife rather than anything too neat or formal. It’s a long garden so I’ve gradually shaped it into different areas with soft perennial borders, raised beds, a greenhouse and a little pond that’s now constantly visited by birds, amphibians and insects.
One of the things I love most is mixing perennials and ornamental grasses with annual flowers grown from seed each year. The structure stays the same, but there’s always something new appearing and weaving its way through the borders. I try to garden in a way that supports wildlife, so there are log piles, wild areas and no chemicals used anywhere. It’s incredibly rewarding seeing the garden become busier every year with bees, hoverflies, ladybirds and visiting hedgehogs. I really love that feeling of sharing the space with nature.
I also grow flowers with seasonal creative projects in mind. In autumn I plant bulbs to brighten up the colder months, and I love using flowers and foliage from the garden to make little displays and decorations throughout the year.
I’ve made Japanese inspired ‘kokedamas’ wrapped in moss and hung from tree branches, planted up salvaged vintage teacups with tiny flowering bulbs and used dried flowers and grasses from the summer garden to turn into jam jar lanterns in winter. I think that’s one of my favourite things about gardening, finding ways for it to spill into everyday life beyond just the growing itself.
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Follow Christina: @lady_green_fingers
