Listening to podcasts and remembering our old garden.

I went to collect my pictures from the Garden Museum today.  My show is over now.  It's been a really positive experience. I sold 2 pictures, which is grand.  One of the buyers sent me a lovely email to thank me for my lovely picture. She seemed really pleased with the purchase.  I have had lots of lovely comments, which is always encouraging.

I then went to the studio (which is getting colder and colder!) to continue working on my next project.

Just recently, I have found instagram to be a good source of information!  Through various trails via Gardener's Illustrated, I think,  I have found a blog called "Gardens, Weeds and Words", by Andrew Timothy O'Brien.  There is also a podcast, which is rather nice to listen to when I am in my studio.  Poetry and thoughts about nature and gardening, with guests; writers, artists, gardeners and other interesting people.

http://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/podcast

I notice that he asks all the guests about their early gardening memories.  It made me think about mine. I'd forgotten I had any!  I wasn't a gardener as a child or anything like that, but when I was little I loved to be in the garden. Like most children do. We had a sandpit under the apple tree and my mum and dad grew vegetables just next to it.  There were always runner beans and I love them to this day.  In the end they stopped growing their own vegetables because we always went on holiday when everything was coming to fruition and we missed it!  Those were the days when everybody went on holiday for two weeks at the end of July into the beginning of August.  Well you did if you worked in a factory.  It was called the Industrial Fortnight.

My dad built a pond to replace the vegetable patch.  It was lovely, with a little waterfall at the back.

Here is a picture of my dad's garden in the 90s. Two of these boys have kids of their own now and the tiniest one is at Manchester studying Physics!

This was mostly my dad's work, he shaped it and planted the shrubs.  My mum planted flowers.  At least, this is my memory. My brother might have another story!!  Pinks were the ones I mostly remember. I have mentioned pinks before.   When I next visit my brother's, I will find some older pics, some in black and white and maybe of me in the sandpit!