The House Diaries

#36 Tomato girl era or just a messy garden girl era? A full garden lowdown, flower-by-flower, sketch-by-sketch, with all the planting plans.

The sun is shining, and like every other person who has a garden, I’ve been gardening 🙃🙃

Now, if you’ve been following along, you’ll know I’ve mentioned my garden before. But for those just joining, here’s a quick recap: According to my neighbour (who recounts this like local folklore), my garden was once a botanical marvel. “People came from nearby villages to see it,” she tells me, eyes wide with nostalgia. It had wildflowers galore, rare rhododendrons, and the kind of whimsical structure that makes you believe in fairies wearing clogs.

Sadly, the story takes a turn. The green-fingered owner was burgled, lost heart, and from there, the garden fell into a state of charming disrepair. Since then, a few owners have passed through, but none with the energy—or insanity—to take it on. Enter: me. And no, this isn’t just a light tidy-up. This is a full-blown resurrection.

I wish I could tell you how many square metres we’re working with—it would really help convey the madness of my decision to buy a house with a garden this big, despite not liking gardening. And yet, here I am, leaning into my messy garden era, muddy trousers and all.

Speaking of which, shoutout to the man who DMed me to say, “When I garden, my clothes are never as messy as yours.” Thank you, tommy28479, for your contribution to the discourse. I’ll be sure to iron my jeans before my next composting session.

Back to the garden. There’s a large sloped area where we found two massive squares framed in boxwood. Naturally, I wanted to reuse it, should we decide to rip it out—nothing like a bit of sustainable stubbornness.