Newly retired - be inspired! Have your own English Cottage Garden Lessons.

Hi there.

I've recently started giving gardening lessons. I'm really enjoying them and have lots of positive feedback from clients. You'll find these on my website carolinescottagegardens  on the testimonials page>

They would suit anyone who wants to enjoy their garden more but particularly the newly retired who suddenly find they have more time and miss the stimulation of work. .

Gardening gives a reason to learn new things for the rest of your life.

If you or someone you know would like to learn about having their own English Cottage Garden please do get in touch.

I can teach people anywhere in the world who has a telephone and email access. Time Zones permitting of course. Written notes are provided for all lessons and what is learned is embedded with practical exercises.


To read more about the health benefits of gardening please click on the link below.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a22109/health-benefits-gardening/

I was worried about being a professional gardener at first because I had back problems and bursitis in my knees and hips. But I needn't have - the gardening has solved these problems rather than exacerbating them to my amazement.

Take Care
Caroline




To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

My Experience of Giving Gardening Lessons To My Baby Sister!

Hi there

I have a sister 16 years younger than me - she was a bit of a surprise for my parents! She has been saying she wants to learn to garden but for ages has not been able to get what she needs from books.

In the past I used to write and deliver courses on computer skills so I asked her what she needed to learn and I set about writing half an hour  lessons for her.

There is some key knowledge she needs and also she needs to gain confidence by doing. So I wrote a list of things to cover and some ideas of how to learn them by doing short easy projects.

For example growing a geranium she can learn about feeding, watering, planting, choosing a plant for a particular situation, deadheading and also taking cuttings and some basic design principles such as grouping identical plants for maximum effect.

So far we've had lessons on parts of a plant and what they do, needs of a plant and how they have adapted for various situations, the general principles of pruning and how to find out how to prune specific plants.

Each week there is a short task to do and we chat about how it went.

Each lesson is written on a template - in the first column is the topic title. In the second is the points to cover - for each I try to involve her by getting her to brainstorm the answers rather than me just telling her things. The third column is for more advanced useful information relating to each point to add interest.

We are both really enjoying the experience. I find she is thinking of many ideas for herself and is now able to cope with reading up and using key gardening books such as Geoff Hamilton's practical gardening course and also RHS pocket guide to pruning.

She is saying that I am filling in essential gaps in her knowledge.

I already have 10 lessons written up and could easily do many at higher levels.

There is so much to learn with gardening, it never stops, but it is such a pleasure to give someone the confidence to learn for themselves!

Take care
Caroline

xxx

The picture above is by Karen Mathison Schmidt and is called Garden of Grace. Prints are available in her ebay store.

http://karenmathisonschmidtgallery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/garden-of-grace-impressionist-painting.html











To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

A garden romance inspite of my mistake

HI there.

As you know I've cut back a lot of Ivy from the fences around my garden in the past few days to make way for other climbers. I have left patches of Ivy as I know birds like to nest there and also possibly roost over the winter.

While I was doing this a couple of days ago out fell a little nest - it was very soft and the moss woven into still green so I felt guilty. Although this is the middle of January and birds shouldn't be nesting one of my garden birds hadn't looked at their calendar!

Shortly after this I was sitting inside with a well earned cup of earl grey redbush (my favourite) when I saw Mr and Mrs Robin scavenging for nesting material and carrying it off to a patch of Ivy I had left.  I felt a little more cheery. Their beaks were stuffed with stuff on each trip - they obviously meant business and were feeling in the mood!

Today Mr Robin was plainly building up his stamina as he was only a couple of feet from me when I I was working in the garden and he was gobbling up wriggly creatures I'd disturbed my moving a rotten log.

Our swing seat is near the Ivy where they are nesting - I will be looking out for the little ones later in the year.

If you like the photo above it came from the website of a charity called Little Foxes Wildlife Rescue. Please do drop by and perhaps make a donation. Link is below.

http://www.littlefoxes.org.uk/

Happy gardening

Caroline






To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

Pots of geraniums for your windowsill - very cheap or free and very easy to grow.

Painting by Susan Savad of Three Pots of Geranium on a Windowsill. Prints available see below.

Hi.

In a previous blog about bringing the garden into my home I showed a picture of an abstract painting of a garden by Rachel Vollerthun which I've just bought and love. Inspired by this I've been searching on the internet for other flower or garden paintings I might also love. I did find this one today.

I found this lovely painting on Fine Art America where they have many sized prints available for as little as £21. Link below.

Fine art america - link to painting of geraniums

One of the reasons I love it is that I've always had geraniums (aka Pelargoniums) on my windowsills in rows of terracotta pots.

They suit my frugal nature  - they an be bought for next to nothing, they are very difficult to kill and survive neglect. They flower most of the year. You will need to take off blooms that are dying by gently pulling off the plant.

You can also make loads more for free. In late summer (or most times of year to be honest) use a sharp knife to cut off the top 8 inches of a new stem. Gently pull off all the leaves apart from two or three small ones at the top. Then bury the stem in a pot of John Innes no 2 compost to about half its depth. No need to use rooting hormone.

I usually use a larger terracotta pot (very cheap) about 8 to 10 inches in diameter and put 3 or 4 such cuttings spaced out in the one pot. I then put in a well lit place but out of direct sunlight which is above 10 degrees C. Water one a week, there is no need to overwater as they store water in their stems.  Within a month or so they will start growing as they will have rooted. 

As they start growing every time a stem gets to about 10 inches tall - cut off the top 2 inches of each stem. This encourages branches to be made and a more well rounded plant with more flowers.

As well as filling your windowsill they make great gifts. They are also a great way to begin to learn gardening - skills learned will be watering, taking cuttings, pinching off tips to encourage branching.

There are loads and loads of varieties to buy. I like allwoods.com where I've bought some before for as little as £3.50 each. They sell traditional geraniums with all colours, ones with variegated leaves and beautifully scented geraniums. Below is a link to their website.

Allwoods Geraniums/Pelargoniums website

To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/