The making of a herb garden from nothing, bargain bin throwaways and little time is an ongoing project that keeps me busy from early May until mid-November when the winter starts to take over and sends me scuttling indoors.

 

It began as a fight against the clover and long grasses that had lived quite happily side by side until I moved in that day in early December in 2012. Armed with no more than a single two-pronged garden fork, I started optimistically the following summer to clear what had become an overgrown mess, giving it a year or two to try to make it respectable. 

 

And now after the snow melts in March, the stony ground starts to dazzle with herbs that are a haven for bees from May onwards. The thyme carpet is my showpiece no less, especially during the short time when the purple flowers appear. Strawberries followed by raspberries keep me supplied with enough fruit in June and July though the rainy season does claim some of the berries. The hot summer days, often unbearable to spend outdoors, lead to weeds that fight for space with the perennials that bring a splash of colour to the lush green lasting to the autumn. 

 

I call it my garden of eloquence, where the half an hour of weeding easily turns into the entire afternoon and ends with enjoying a glass of something with a kick.