Hi, I’m Natalie – Nats for short. 

I love my garden.  It’s my happy place.  It’s the place where I can just be.

It is where I grow my veggies.  It’s where I am curious about the bugs and birds that visit my garden – not to mention the squirrels and spiders too.  It’s where I am intrigued by the small details of a delicate flower or how the dew drops glisten on the leaves of a plant.

Seeing all this beauty and keeping it to myself seems to be a bit selfish. So I created this blog to share my gardening experience with you.

Finding balance

I am a qualified accountant and my make up generally likes everything sorted into its own little box.  Nice and tidy.  That probably explains why I enjoy doing cross stitch so much. Each little stitch is the same size as the next and each is very ordered in a design.  Well, I also believe one should have balance in life. To me that means I needed something where it is doesn’t matter if the colouring goes outside the lines a bit and I am not in control.  My garden gives me just that. 

Amateur but keen

As an amateur but very keen grower of veggies I always get such a thrill when there is something ready to harvest. These little guys have been carefully tended and talked to so it is a most rewarding feeling. As a result I like to try planting different crops each season. Partly because I like variety, partly because of available space and partly because I am still working out what grows best.

Of course when things turn out right I often end up with extra which can’t be eaten quickly enough.  Pickling, making pesto, or freezing are great ways of preserving the excess.  So keep an eye out as I’ll be sharing my recipes for these with you too.

Famous gardens

I also love to travel and have been fortunate to visit some famous gardens abroad.  Some of my favourites are the Villandry Kitchen Gardens in the Loire Valley, Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg and the Boboli and Bardini Gardens in Florence.    

My garden is a constant work in progress and nothing like those world famous gardens. But a girl can dream, right?  Every once in a while I get a bee in my bonnet and a new garden project is set in motion.  This may take the form of redesigning a garden bed or the addition of homemade garden art. Some with more success than others. However, with each one there is something new to learn and something new to discover.  And that is what makes gardening so great.

So I hope you will join me on my journey in exploring the wonder that is a garden.