Join me in my almost out-of-control garden where I try to grow as much food, fruit and flowers as I can – whilst tiptoeing around the wildlife. This summer we’ve had five hedgehogs born in a nest in the corner of the orchard, under an old duck hut. Our mini-wood has been home to a pair of tawny owl fledglings all summer. No doubt they are here because of a thriving colony of short-tailed voles. We garden lightly, with many bramble-filled corners, always aware that we share this special place. Although it is my garden- it is their home too. And so this wild and somewhat weedy place, is rightly called Bramble Garden.
Here’s one of the fledgling tawny owls amongst our wild cherry, beech and ash trees.
We planted the trees as saplings 28 years ago when we bought an acre of land and a tumbledown house from a farmer.
Wild roses have scrambled to the top of the trees. Their bright red hips provide food for birds in the winter.
Cow parsley and wild flowers grow under the trees in spring. This is our view from the summerhouse.
Stitchwort and violets grow in abundance in the semi-shade.
Honeysuckle scents the air in the summer. Much loved by bees, butterflies and moths.
Scented climbing roses scramble along the boundary fences and mingle with froths of cow parsley. A heart-sing combination!
Seed heads are left standing. They provide a habitat for the smallest of creatures. Can you spot the tiny spider, bottom right of the photo.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of my garden. If you come to visit, don’t expect perfection. There’s probably something living in that messy log pile and untidy bramble patch. And as far as I’m concerned, everyone’s welcome here!
A favourite poem that makes me think of where we live. We are a mile from the nearest village, on the top of a windswept ridge, in the middle of farming country.
It faces west, and round the back and sides
High beeches, bending, hang a veil of boughs,
And sweep against the roof. Wild honeysucks
Climb on the walls, and seem to sprout a wish
(If we may fancy wish of trees and plants)
To overtop the apple-trees hard by.
Red roses, lilacs, variegated box
Are there in plenty, and such hardy flowers
As flourish best untrained. Adjoining these
Are herbs and esculents; and farther still
A field; then cottages with trees, and last
The distant hills and sky.
Thomas Hardy
Please leave a comment below or say hello, and kindly share this on any social media platform you like. Thank you
Hi Karen
Many thanks for your presentation on Thursday – very informative – and great to be supporting Rainbows.
You were going to send me the list of plants mentioned so I can forward to Members.
Kind regards
Vernon
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Thank you for the very kind welcome you gave me at the garden club. I’m away at the moment, but will send the list tomorrow evening. Best wishes – karen
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Hi Karen – not got it – wonder if I gave you my email incorrectly, it is:
vernon.george2@talk21.com
regards
Veron
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Sorry I missed the dot.
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Thank you for the gloves review, I’m forever trying to find the perfect pair and these sound like it! Thank you for sharing your wildlife friendly garden…..always the best kind.
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Thank you Josie. All the best. Karen 😊
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Such a gorgeous landscape, Karen. Thank you also for visiting my site. It’s great to be able to follow such a lovely garden. All the best with future blogs 🙂
Flavia
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Thank you for your kind comments Flavia. Keep in touch. All the best. Karen 🙂
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It’s all absolutely wonderful. And having just moved from Dorset to West Yorkshire, wonderfully familiar. They link me to home. (Even though I feel perfectly at home in my urban home too.)
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That’s good to hear. Thank you x
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Your garden looks and sounds so inviting.
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Thank you Diana. Thanks for reading and getting in touch.
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How wonderful to have a family of hedgehogs! I do like the sound of your garden! We don’t have quite that much space here in our garden in South Staffordshire, but do like to ‘garden lightly’ as well, & keep space for the wildlife.
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Thank you. Thanks for reading and for getting in touch. I enjoyed reading your blog too. It’s a great community for gardeners isn’t it. All the best. Karen
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I’d love a garden like yours. How lucky to have young owls.
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Thank you Sue. They are still in the garden tonight. I hope they stay with us for the winter. Plenty of protection from the weather here. And many many mice! Thanks for reading and for getting in touch. Sorry for the delay replying. I’ve only just spotted your comment.
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Paradise indeed, love your blog. It brings a sense of tranquility. Elisabet
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Thank you Elisabet. So glad you think so 🙂 x
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well said, Cloud Walker – love this post, Karen 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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Karen, Thank you for visiting my blog and liking several posts. I really enjoy your photography, it is a medium that I am always trying to improve. Hopefully, some day, I will be as good as you.
Keep posting,
Susan
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Ah, thank you Susan. That’s so kind of you to say so. I just use a camera phone to be honest. I’ve always got it in my pocket in case the children ring and need me- so I’ve always got it to hand when I see something of interest in the gardening world. If I had a fancy camera, I am sure it would always be at home when I needed it. All the best- Karen 🙂
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Hi there. thank you for stopping by and for the follow. love your wordless Wednesday posts. The flowers are beautiful!
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thank you. that’s so kind of you to say so. All the best.
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Hi Karen, I really love visiting your blog and nominated you for a Liebster Award. Best wishes.
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I’m delighted to have discovered your blog through your having visited a page of mine – wonderful photos. I may have missed something, but is it possible to be notified of new posts via email? I can’t see to find that option, and I’m hopeless at keeping up via the WP reader
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thank you for your lovely comments Margaret. I’m very inexpert at this. I wonder how to add an e mail follow button. Will find out and try to add one. All the very best. Karen .
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Gosh! I think I can help! Go into the dashboard, then ‘appearance’. You will then get several options, of which one is ‘widgets’. Open this, and there you will find lots of things you may or may not wish to include on your site, including ‘follow by email’. Drag this to the right hand side – and it will appear on the side bar of your blog. I’ve never been a techie before! This may be the first and last time.
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Will have a go at dragging it from the bottom to the side bar, which would be better, thanks again for taking the time to help me. Much appreciated
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Good luck!
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Karen,
You should be able to find a email follow widget through you dashboard. I think it’s in settings. I found you through a like you gave my garden page. Love your garden pictures. Let me know if you get the email follow set up. I’d love to add you.
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Have managed to add a follow by e mail box. It’s not quite where I want it ( it’s at the bottom of comments). But it’s a start. Thanks for your interest. Much appreciated.
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Ha! I’ve just replied but I see you’ve worked it out for yourself. Hooray!
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Any more tips? All advice welcome 🙂
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Gosh no. At the moment I’m really struggling to work out how to post via smartphone, for when I go travelling. I need a resident geek 😉
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At the moment, I’m just posting to Twitter and it seems to automatically post to word press at the same time. I don;t know how it did that 🙂
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Ah. I’m not on Twitter.
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Karen —
My thanks to you for visiting my blog and for giving me the opportunity to see yours. I have walked around in it a bit and found myself the better for it. The photographs are wonderful, and those lines from Thomas Hardy are exactly what I needed this morning.
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Thank you. You are very welcome to walk around my garden any time. Thanks for the kind encouragement. Love Karen X
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