Willow Garden Introduction

Posted byThe Autistic ComposterPosted inWillow GardenTags:, , , , , ,

Willow Garden Today in June 2022
Doin’ The Dirt was a gardening series that ran in my first blog, ‘ A Guy Called Bloke, from 2018 to 2022, when the blog closed. Willow Garden is a series exclusive to the Earthly Comforts blog only.
I have been gardening in the Willow Garden since June 2020. I moved to Sandwich [Kent, UK] just as the first Covid pandemic lockdown was easing. As I rent the house here, l am partially restricted in what l can introduce new to the courtyard garden itself in so far as ‘established plant layouts go’. I must work with what l have, and l do. However, l can ‘add’ to the layout should l wish to.

These days, unlike in previous gardens l have maintained, l am limited in what l can grow vegetable wise due to my diet, which is somewhat sparse in variety due to a digestive issue l have had since 1994.

Willow garden is around twelve feet wide and forty-five feet in overall length, so a pretty slim garden. Still, it has no lawn, so there is no grass to mow, and ornamental beds are on both sides of the gravel path, which runs through the courtyard’s centre for 75% of the Garden. I have ‘inherited’ much of the layout here in so far as shrubbery and bush-like trees.

In the two years since l have been attending the Garden, it has undergone some changes to the overall layout, but nothing controversial. I am a keen worm farmer and a devout composter, so composting and vermiculture farm units are now in situ in places which were once filled with broken and cracked earthenware pots and dead ornamental flowers before my arrival.

Yesterday’s courtyard under the previous tenants was more fitting with a Victorian-style garden layout with twee but damaged wrought iron seats, a wooden and iron bench [solid obstacle], wonderfully large and oversized terracotta crockpots and broken and fraying wicker hanging baskets overflowing with gigantic but sadly dying and poorly maintained geraniums, begonias and failing rhododendrons.

Thankfully, not everything was shambolic, but l did know that the courtyard could be made good again and brought to shine once more. The previous tenants had not been active or keen gardeners and allowed plants to get on under their own steam. Thankfully, the Garden’s growth was green and vibrant, and there was also some colour, so there was hope. And it had some cracking pink and yellow roses on the walls, and all it truly needed was love and TLC.

I may not be the best gardener, and I’ll not win any awards soon for the year’s Garden, but l do know how to clean up and tidy and improve the soil. So that has occupied my creative talents and my little green-fingered gardening skills.

Whilst, this is to be more of a lazy man’s gardening series instead of something you might see from true gardening wizards, hopefully you’ll enjoy the episodes.

Thanks for reading. I will see you next time.

Rory
Willow Garden – Episode 1# – Willow Garden Introduction
See Directory for More Episodes
Willow Garden – June 2020 – Front looking towards back of the garden, Mid Garden looking back towards house, Mid Garden empty space, Back Garden space

Willow Garden Series Directory
The Country Life Style Diary

Published by The Autistic Composter

Earthly Comforts is a wildlife journaling scrapbook focusing on the countryside, wildlife biodiversity and environmental conservation, flora and fauna volunteering projects, gardening, composting and vermiculture, inspiration, poetry and photography.

26 thoughts on “Willow Garden Introduction”

      2. Good to know – l have been working on navigation today also a sort of navigation for dummies mode has been applied, not meant to be read as derrogatory merely trying to take all considerations into play for all reader types.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I realize some readers don’t understand the inner workings of a blog and many don’t care to so you’re correct to consider all reader types. I’ve noticed many blogs don’t even have categories, especially if they are using the FSE themes.

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      4. Yes l have noticed a lack of categories also. I find them very useful especially for quick ‘find’ references for me.

        I think a lot of bloggers are only focused on the social element of blogging, so having to worry about a menu is not high on their list of must haves and do.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Also, if you have issues with your blog like I have categories are very helpful with putting it back together. When I moved to Blue Host and also, when I moved back to WP.com, I had either missing, misplaced or duplicate images. When I replaced the images, I did it by category because it didn’t seem to be as overwhelming.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. The featured photo is just gorgeous (and I’m having a heckava time navigating around the site – I’m gonna assume all be be clear by the time you finish putting it together.)

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    Reply

    2. If you are reading direct from the blog it should be relatively straight forwards. There are 7 tabs at the top like how Guy used to be.

      With menues within 3 main tabs – Vermiculture has its own menu and then sub menues lead off it and the same is applicable to composting and Earthen Tales.

      The theme is different to the Guy blog in so far as it makes use of the block system externally as much as we do internally. That can take a bit of getting used to.

      Many readers these days don’t tend to venture into a blog, but if they do they don’t tend to always use internal menu formats instead they read one post to the next.

      Mostly for those that do explore, they will simply explore. I tend to explore a blog l am interested in.

      However tweaking of the navigation system can only come about properly when others communicate any glitches they may be experiencing with it. I will raise an admin question about it tomorrow.

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    3. If you are having problems with the way the posts are, this might be to do with the fact that there are very few posts being created for the live publishing side at present aside from admins which are hidden after a week in the archives as they are not relevant to the main blog but are there for the construction side.

      Some content is being added for archived content for those that do explore like the galleries – wild walks and natural encounters. I might have to try and tweak the bottom font colour in the widget area.

      There is a lot of unpublished albeit completed content sitting in either draft folders or post dated status awaiting the blog to go live.

      I think the main issue may well be that there is a lot to this blog and it can be hard when so many series are being created and the content is to be added over the first 12 months.

      The first 6 months of the blog being live it will mostly be read internally by WP traffic and the majority of those will use the Reader. By the end of that initial period and as more external WP traffic is marketed atwith the likes of IG and Pinterest more content will be filling the shelves so to speak and the navigation will probably make more sense.

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  4. Yeah I am getting fever to maybe try? But I am not very good. I need that hearty plant like cacti 🌵 lol

    You make look easy…

    My dad had green thumb… not me or my mom lol

    You have skills… maybe I learn from you? We see

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Yeah – they just prickly and I am accident prone with things like that lol

        We are very similar to Australia during summer – our heat is similar to them? We have fires like them.

        They send their people to help us, and we help them ❤️✌️

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