Green Fingers

I may have mentioned before my 'break' that I had big plans for the garden. I may also have mentioned that I've never actually done any gardening before. It all seemed so simple, a lovely English meadow of wild flowers in Belgium. What could be simpler? After all, how difficult can it be to grow wild flowers? I think you can see by the photo that we were not being too ambitious.
Two patches for flowers and a narrow pathway between them.
The patch of ground that is in shadow is like that from the break of dawn to the setting of the sun. It is a dead zone. Not even toadstools will grow there. It is in perpetual shadow. People go missing if they venture inside it. Now, the rest of the garden is a different story. It is bathed in sunlight, butterflies flutter around it, pixies frolic amongst the dandelions and long grass. Dandelions and long grass are the only things that will grow there. We sowed the seeds and scattered, just like the hymn says, and waited...and waited...and waited.
To be fair, a hundred or so dandelions do look quite pretty. But we didn't want dandelions and they don't stay pretty for long. After waiting all summer for a flower that wasn't a weed:
"Who are you calling a weed?"
"You!"
"I thought I was a plant like matey there with the yellow hat"
"Well, you've got thistles"
"And that makes me a weed?"
It does as far as I'm concerned, although it's true to say that it is a wild flower. Just not the wild flower I had in mind.
"I'll have you know that I can trace my family back to the Jurrasic period!"
So can crocodiles, doesn't mean to say I want one in my garden!
Ok, I'm having an imaginary conversation with an imaginary plant...and they say Prince Charles is a bit nutty....
A few weeks ago I mowed the grass that had grown where flowers should have. The garden looked exactly the same as when I took the above photo in April. The summer might have not happened!
On a happier note I did manage to grow a variety of herbs, Corriander, Basil, Lovage, Thyme, Parsley and of course Mint. It was nice to be able to use them in meals over the summer. Next year I shall have another go at growing stuff, more herbs and maybe some vegetables.