Two London housemates transformed a tiny back yard and impressed their restaurant neighbours
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'Our yard was shared by both a pizza delivery outlet and a Lebanese restaurant and there was no wall or fence to divide the space up.'
Relaxing urban retreat
Before we moved out of our rented house in London last September, the one aspect that my flatmate and I said we would miss the most was our tiny back-yard garden. When we moved in, three years earlier, we were very excited about having an outside space where we could escape the hustle and bustle of city life. When we found the house, it was in a great location and it came within our post-student rental budget because it was so dilapidated. We knew that, to make it habitable, we had to decorate the whole house from laying carpets to putting up shelves.
Once the house was in a reasonable condition to live in (it was like a squat when we moved in), we set about clearing our weed-infested back yard. Our yard was shared by both a pizza delivery outlet and a Lebanese restaurant and there was no wall or fence to divide the space up. When we first saw the garden, it was filled with weeds almost 1.2m (4ft) high, old fridges, old bikes, tables and broken chairs from the restaurants and an old bath! However, we were so excited about our blank canvas that we started making plans to transform the space. Over the first few months, we arranged for the council to collect all the large items of rubbish. Once cleared, we scoured local skips for bricks to pave an area of soil and prevent future weeds taking over the middle of our space. Once the space was empty, we set about planting.
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Again, our finances were limited, and both of our mums and my good friend Paul donated cuttings and plants. We were so proud of our new plants that we would spend hours rearranging the pots in our virtually empty space! Over time, we learnt what grows best in the shady spot and how to maximise the 3.5 x 6m (12 x 20ft) space. Then, we only bought plants that we truly love (my favourites are hellebores, while Katy prefers herbs for cooking). The garden became well established and filled with greenery throughout the year.
We spent many hours in our garden and found it incredibly relaxing and rewarding. We loved having friends over for dinner and eating outside on a warm summer evening. There was lots of wildlife too, and last summer we were amazed to find a wren nesting in a hollow in the restaurant wall. Our restaurant neighbours also enjoyed the garden and were pleased with our efforts.
In the future, I know that we will each continue to garden and that we now both have a lifelong love of gardening! We created our garden together, as friends, and enjoyed every minute of it. We have both learnt many skills and our future homes are destined to be filled with plants and pots of cuttings. Although we were sad to be leaving our first garden, we hope that the new residents of our rented house will cherish our backyard as much as we have.
Joanne Campion
London, W6
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denotes Subscriber-only content | Wednesday 23 July 2008 | Help | Glossary 
