My Lottie/Garden

26 Apr '06 11:49 am

Well,as I understand it this forum is for showing one's garden and discussing it''s progress. If I'm wrong on that, please let me know so I can put the pics on the correct forum.
Our lottie is 265²m and is in the general shape of a triangle with it's apex chopped-off.
It is bordered on two sides with shallowish canals, or "ditches" as the Brits who have visited us call them.
The lottie is divided into two sections- a veggie section and a floral one. My wife manages the veggies and I, the flower plot.
The lottie has really gone through some changes over the past 7-8 years that we've had it. The lottie was delivered as a clean plot with nothing at all growing on it...just a small shed for the tools was standing. The rules of the lottie complex stipulate that you must leave it just the way you received it- perfectly clean.
The first few pics will be winter shots and then early spring. Hopefully I can send some more along as it progresses. Obviously I could place piccies of the garden from years gone by, but that's not in the spirit of this forum as I understand it.
Ok, so here goes then:

26 Apr '06 2:08 pm

The diaries on this forum are so interesting ,Sjoerd .I don`t think anyone would mind if you showed photos from previous seasons. In the depths of winter ,I need to keep looking at photos of what my garden looks like at growing times ; it keeps me focussed (and dreaming ).
I really like your design ,with the curving paths going under the archways .Have you found Moosey`s section on archways yet ?What are you planning to grow on your arches?
Dixie.
(PS ..I`ve visited your website ,and found it very interesting ,and will visit again as the season progresses ,to see how everyone`s garden is doing. )

26 Apr '06 5:33 pm

I absolutely love seeing pictures of other people's gardens - and not the finished product, either! The real things that happen when gardeners work and change things, plants that look lovely and silly - it's like seeing your protective sleeves on those archways. We all do these things - and while we worry, most of the plants grow!

I checked your site, too - and loved the idea of having meeting times when gardeners could drop by. Forgive me if it's a silly question, but can anyone do that? For example, an overseas gardener-visitor on a self-organised world garden tour?

Dixie is right about enjoying seeing older pix of other seasons. I looked at your cold photo, and shivered! Lovely! And winter is a lovely time of year, as it puts everything else so much in perspective.

27 Apr '06 12:11 pm

Well Dixie, you first:
I have five arches on my small plot! On the "entrance arch" I have two Westerland roses with two Loniceras weaving through. On the back one, to the left of the shed, near the compost bin, I have a varigated-leafed lonicera ( with an exquisitely sweet-smelling flower) and a Clematis montana "Broughton Star". On the arch in front of the one just mentioned, guided Buddleas (one pink, one purple). On the arch next to that will come my new Clematis 'josephine'. Finally on the arch nearest the veggie plot I have two more loniceras (a red and yellow and a very nice pale yellow one). I know it sounds a bit exeaggerated to have so many arches on such a small plot, but it seems to work. The lotties surrounding us are quite flat and the height of the arches breaks that up a bit.

And now for Moosey:
Yes... anyone can do that. In fact groups come by from time to time on a sort of visitation day. Last year was a good example of that. A group in the area (Groei & Bloei http://www.groei.nl/2073.html ) organised a bike tour one weekend and cycled by several garden complexes; ours was one of them. They could park their bikes at the clubhouse and stroll the paths of our complex to look at the various plots, ask questions, take piccies or just chat. It was fun...(and an opportunity for us to take a break...ha ha ha).
So...if a certain overseas gardner-visitor were to drop by one summers day, for instance, they would be very welcome...and could have a coupla cuppas and bikkies at lottie number 316, for sure. Wink

BTW... I'm glad you had a look at the website. It was alot of fun to make and is a challenging to keep-up, but I'm satisfied with the result.It's nice that you enjoyed it.

27 Apr '06 1:01 pm

I read on your Lottie website about Hetty`s first attempts at gardening, and that thieves took from her, which I think is a terrible thing to happen. Does your garden have a good security system in place Sjoerd ?
I enjoyed reading about your archway plans .Are they in place permantly, or do you have to set them up each year ?I like the social aspect of gardening you have there--- alongside people who think the same way---of creating a special place to enjoy and to share !
Dixie.

27 Apr '06 1:19 pm

Hiyah,
Yes they are permanent...but they haven't all been standing so long.
The security's pretty good at our complex...there are fences around some of it and there is a sturdy front gate, as you've probably seen on the first page. Then there are canals on the other borders.
Trouble is, when it's a hard winter, the canals freeze and pubers come across and damage houses, sheds and green houses. I have some pretty shocking piccies of what happened to ours a few years ago. Now we take the glass out each year in oct-nov and put it back in around 1 apr. It's such a shame, so pointless.
The social aspect is nice on our complex, in fact our society is quite social-minded in my opinion. Having travelled widely in the world I now realise how fortunate we are and how good we have it in this country. Most non-Dutch folks find that we are over-organised here...but it has to be that way with so many people living in such a small country.
I appreciate your candid remarks, Dixie.

28 Apr '06 12:49 pm

We have taken a few vacation days to get the lottie in order.
Today we laid more paths, plantes, transplanted and did some cleaning-up.
I have gotten to use my new present to mysdelf...a schoffel. It is a Sneeboer impliment (well known here). http://www.sneeboer.com/index.cfm
When you moan about the price the salesmen just say..."Oh...it's something you can pass-on when you die". Shocked

. Chuckle.
Here is a piccie:

28 Apr '06 4:54 pm

'Schoffel' is such an interesting name for a boring old hoe ,Sjoerd. From now on I will call my ' hoe' my schoffel .
Dixie.

29 Apr '06 11:56 am

Heh heh...It seems such an ordinary name for the impliment to me. Well, whatever name it has, it's a jewel. It lays the weeds low with great ease. Very Happy

That hoe of yours may work alot better, now that it has a new name, Dixie. Wink

Ha ha ha ha...

30 Apr '06 5:36 pm

I could add - ho, ho, ho! - to the heh heh heh! I can't find mine - anywhere. My weeding style requires serious changes of clothing - I get so muddy. It's hard to banish oneself from sneaking inside ones own house because of trailing dirt, but I have to!

So if I had a schoffel I could weed standing up? Much cleaner, more elegant!

My Lottie/Garden

My Lottie/Garden

Lottie Diary

More photos please

Answers

Lotties

Archways n' Stuff

Vacation to Work

meinschoffel

Schoffel

Ho ho ho...