Mediterranean Hot Spot or Cottage Garden Oasis?

I am just loving my garden!  Over the last few weeks we've had fantastic weather in Wales., and anyone who has been here or knows the area will tell you that it's quite unusual. Wales by the very nature of its mountains and valleys is prone to lots of rainfall. Yes, we get the occasional scorcher, but usually our summers are overcast at best and wet and wild at worst. This year it's great! But is it too early for us...? After all, we're still in school until 18th July! By then will this fabulous weather have left us..?

All this got me thinking about last year. I seem to recall I felt the same way then too. So I checked back on my blog and, sure enough, it was gorgeous then too. Back last year I posted about my little Mediterranean garden - you can read it again by clicking on either of the pictures below.

 

This year my garden is somewhat different.. We've been in the "new" house for 6 months now, and the garden was always the last on the to-do list. Now that everything is more or less straight, we recently turned our thoughts to creating a little oasis where we could sit on summer evenings.

 

The word garden is a bit misleading - it's more of a postage stamp! It really is very small, but brimming with character. The house itself is an old cottage typical of those found around here. It's built of limestone and slate - even the garden walls! To say it's quirky is an understatement, but that's one of the reasons we were drawn to the house. We worked hard to shift lots of earth to create flatter borders, and used lots of bark chips to fill them out. Some of the huge slate paving slabs were wobbly so we moved these around and infilled with Cotswold stone chippings. Finally, I salvaged my old metal table and chairs from the previous house and gave them a fresh new look with spray paint in a pale willow green. I'm really happy with the overall result, especially when all my lanterns are lit in the evening.

 

 

Two very different gardens - which do you prefer?