The Very Happy Garden Co.

Can’t imagine anyone is doing much gardening in Chicago right now...

Came across an old bird nest today. I forgot to take a picture but it looked a lot like this. It must have been 50% plastic. On the one hand, horrifying. On the other - I wonder if this instinctive bit of recycling actually makes for a more durable nest? . #wildlife #gardening #plasticalypse

Get planning those veg and cut flower patches folks! It’ll be spring before you know it.

Winter. . Frozen toes, wind that blows, runny nose, wooly clothes... designing gardens with perfect ratios. . #wintergarden #gardendesign #gardening #landscaping #gardenersofinstagram #spittingrhymes #driedflowers

Autumn is... cyclamen on misty mornings 🍂🌸 . . . #autumn #colour #plantingdesign #neveradullmoment

#worldmentalhealthday

Compost turning time! Turning your compost heap regularly helps get air and water to all of your composting critters, which in turn ensures the finished result has an open, crumbly texture that your plants will love. 🌱🐛❤️ . . .... #autumngarden #compostlikeapro #feedyoursoil
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Spring is here y’all.
If it’s wet & miserable where you are then BRING THE COLOUR INSIDE.
🌿💐🌿

Old chair + some pots = no longer a dull corner.

Today we’re mostly rearranging garden ornaments into dramatic poses.
#readyfortheweekend

‘When gorse is out of bloom, love is out of fashion’.
Gorse (Ulex europaeus) is a legume (pea family). It fixes its own nitrogen via a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in its root system. This means it can thrive in very poor soils, and this process gradually returns fertility to barren areas. And it flowers year round - even in the bleakest winter months.
If you were feeling romantic, you could say that gorse exists to make the ugly and forgotten beautiful again.
... GORSE IS AWESOME.
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Rosa ‘Iceberg’ living up to its name - still flowering away in the icy wind!

Messy garden? Put your mess to use! Piles of old logs (arranged so there’s lots of nice cavities that you can stuff with fallen leaves) make great shelters for hibernating beasties at this time of year. Lots of beneficial insects like spiders, beetles, wasps and centipedes all need somewhere dry and safe to snooze away the winter, so any decent pile of organic matter can help. And if you get creative they can make an interesting feature for the back of a border! ❄️🕷🐛🐞❄️

The big tidy begins #helloautumn

Rhubarb: ideal for under trampolines!

Gardens come alive in the rain. Toy poodles less so.

Purple toadflax + honey bee = ❤ #loveyourweeds