Long time, no post

Hello I’m back!  And what’s more, I’m going to write under my given name, Carole, from now on.
Over the past couple of years I’ve undertaken a complete redesign of my garden and I’ve reclaimed the area which was the hard standing for my car. My aim was to disguise a long, thin, garden and create more space for growing crops.
I have divided the garden into three distinct ‘rooms’. The first is an L-shaped patio area, covered by a veranda. It has a mini greenhouse, bistro table and two chairs, storage bench, potting table and about 30 container plants.
Stepping down from the veranda you enter the cottage garden packed with a variety of plants for year round interest. You can take either the sunny path or the shady path skirting a standard Cotoneaster, but both lead to an archway covered in climbers and flanked by a Silver Birch and Mountain Ash.
The archway leads to square courtyard with six raised beds, composting area, patio and small shed. This is where I will grow the majority of my edible plants. So far there is a bed for perennial herbs and one for soft fruit. The rest will alternate according to my growing plans for the year, for example one bed is planted up with onions, garlic and globe artichokes at the moment.
It has been so satisfying seeing my design take shape. When the work is finished, most of my plants will be in the ground which will mean less maintenance and more time to sit and stare (I hope)!  I will post before and after photos in future posts.