Hello, you’ve somehow stumbled onto my blog! Well done, but don’t go, even if you were searching for something else. Stay awhile and have a little browse of what I’ve been up to.
First warning is this blog is about gardening and so if you are up for it and have a mild interest in gardens, then you may not die of boredom. Insomniacs, you have found Eldorado and I’ll have you off to sleep in a jiffy.

Obviously I’m an enthusiastic gardener and vegetable grower and I earn my living as a graphic designer and illustrator. I work on Garden Answers magazine in the UK which is officially the fastest growing magazine in the country. But this blog is my personal journey through the perils and triumphs, tantrums and miracles of gardening.

Visual treats
I also couldn’t resist showing you the illustrations that I do for Garden Answers. They are all about bringing to life Dawn Issac (Gold medal award-winning designer) magnificent garden ideas so that readers can get her idea in glorious technicolor.

Veggies
I have and allotment and a small town garden in Northamptonshire in the UK. I love my little garden because it is easy to adapt to whatever my current obsession is.  I don’t know about you, but gardening never stops. It’s not the up-keep so much but the design and desire for something new. The knowledge of plants grows too and this stimulates ideas for all seasons.

It’s not all about the plants
The space is small and private and place that I can express myself that’s different from my home interior. It’s obviously seasonal but not if you have a she-shed too.

The shed is part of the garden and a focal point. It’s a place of creativity that’s not only about gardening but other projects with stuff on-the-go and stuff in progress. It is the engine room for my creativity and brilliant place to go when its raining.

The garden
People think its easy-peasy having a small garden. It is in a way but its a much more intense as it really is all about the detail.
My deck area measures 8 square meters, the main area 33 square meters with a side bit of 15 square meters, where I have the green house. Its 56 square meters in all.
Just like your favorite room in your home, you want it to look gorgeous, maybe neat and tidy, possibly a little too ordered if you are like me.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing as you will see in the before photo here. But the builders could have done worse. I have ended up with a lot of walls. Other people walls. So its these that I am gradually making the most of with trellis that I have built myself, obviously in the she-shed! See below my herb rack that has been a delight outside the kitchen.

Growing my own
I have an allotment too and although demanding it is educational, but also a place of peace, it’s why I have loads of stories to share with you. From the promising baby seedlings in the green house to the grandeur of the summer spectacle to the ultimate harvest.

Gill Lockhart