My 'secret' vegetable patch

I've shared lots of photos of my vegetable patch over the years, but I'm not sure that I've every included a photo that gives a proper look at the space. Because I think it's a special space, and with planned building work in our garden this summer I'm working hard to make it a little sanctuary hidden away when I want to spend time in the garden without builders watching my every move!

Our garden extends out from the back of the house like most gardens, but we also have a separate double garage next to the house. The vegetable patch is behind the garage, so it's joined to the garden but off to one side and it can't really be seen from the house. The previous owners put up the trellis sides. Originally there were some flimsy gates but they have broken so I've been training some ivy over the top to make an archway. It's quite low, but luckily I'm short so I can easily fit underneath!

To the left of the entrance you can find Beowulf. I found him hidden behind overgrown vegetation in the garden of our old house and I brought him along with us. I named him after the Old English poem that I studied at university and I call him the guardian of the garden that makes sure everything grows well. If I accidently cut some flowers, I'll leave them by his feet as an offering! 

Also around the entrance I have a couple of decorations that I've made using stones with holes in from the beach - they are really common on our local beaches. Some people call them hag stones and think that they have magical properties. The lovely birdhouse was made by my husband at a team building event, although we've not actually had any birds in it yet!

My vegetable patch was a little delayed this year as we don't have a set start date for our building works. So last week I made a trip to the garden centre and picked up some bedding plants to put out into my planters - hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll have some more colour to enjoy.

At the back of the vegetable patch I just have a few pots and some plants which are probably technically weeds but have some pretty orange flowers and nicely cover a bare patch of ground. This is where I'll be putting my chair when I want to hide away and enjoy my plants and listen to the bees buzzing around the lavender bush.

The rest of our garden is really boring and is in a bit of a state as the summer house is falling down and the old wooden swing set is looking a little dicey. We are hoping to be able to do some work in the garden next summer, until then this is definitely my favourite part of the garden!