Some Information about me and this site.

Hello and welcome to gardenmend.com.

My name is Eleanor and over the years I have been lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it, to have moved house a lot of times and thus ending up having a variety of different type of gardens of various sizes.

Years ago in my very early teens I wondered why anyone would want to be in a garden, grow anything and to me talking about a garden was then one of the most boring things to talk about. Gardens where just that gardens!!! Nothing more to be said. I did try to have a little flowerbed and try to grow things but then soon lost interest and it was hard work.

Now if I could talk to my younger self, knowing that times have changed with the pace of life getting busier and towns and cities getting bigger, I would say to nurture the time a garden area gives you whether it is one at home, in a local park, at a country house, at the seaside or while away on holiday or camping. 

Just enjoy listening to the sounds of nature, watching nature's pace of life and breathing in the beautiful aromas that flowers give. Birds call out when you are in the garden as they are always looking for an easy meal when the grubs are disturbed while digging. In the garden I have now there is a very brave robin that likes to make itself known to me and will come unbelievably close to where I am kneeling, once I go away from that area it is down from its branch to see what it can find to eat.

Nature needs help as well. Creatures need habitats and places to hibernate, bees need flowering plants to get from one area to another. Birds need feeding in winter and some place to raise their young in the spring. Garden areas can help this to happen and in return gardens will give you peace, tranquility and a place to rest.

Any space that can be provided for nature is worth doing and what type of space depends on how busy you are in your work life.  A garden area could be the size of a postage stamp, a courtyard with pots, an acre or more or a green roof on top of a shed.

When watching wildlife you just switch off and chill out and concentrate on the here and now instead of what is going to happen in the future which is great for relaxation.

About me and my gardens

Starting out, when I lived in a flat, I used to grow houseplants  then herbs on the window sill and then advanced onto containers of tomatoes and peppers in a bay window.

When I got a small garden I didn't do much to it apart from plant a few flowers and keep it tidy. Working full time and having a family took up quite a few years of doing this whatever the size of garden I had. 

I have had to redesign some to suit the needs of children, like taking out part of a hedge so I could watch them playing outside and removing trip hazards when they were young.

A few years ago my partner and I remodelled his garden and since then I have got bolder and bolder with what I have tried to do. Our last garden looked like a field when we bought the house and so we had to start all over again.

The house we are in now is our biggest project yet and with the ages we are now wonder if it is the right time to do these things but it is definitely keeping us fit and giving us some aches and pains.

I am more of a make do and mend gardener. I like the rustic look and will reuse materials if I think it will work. For some projects I have called in the professionals as I have tried to build a wall in the past and failed in that task.

I wanted to make this website just to give anyone who is interested a different way of doing things and talk about the plants I really enjoy growing.

I hope you will join me on this journey.....

Thank you for visiting.