The top bit of the garden is currently one wild tangled mess of couch grass. An absolute nightmare but what I've got planned for it should mean a haven for wildlife, an abundance of perennial food for us and various creatures, a bit of foraging and a shady water spot. It's going to be a lot of hard work before we can get it sorted and I want to do it right. I'm hoping to keep some sort of log to take you along on the journey.

The plan is to have an edible hedge with the neighbour, I've got hazelnut,  rosehips and elderflower and get the normal white one but also the black one - so beautiful. Then under the far back tree (green leafed) lots of wild garlic, muscari, snowdrops, crocus, lily of the valley. A whole row of artichokes along the back wall interplanted with foxgloves, lupins, honesty, lavatera, hollyhock and delphiniums - that I will let self seed happily for continuous flowers . Along the hedge will be various ferns and hostas and bordering the woodland meadow will be asparagus interplanted with more strawberries. One corner will get a rhubarb and another a staghorn sumac (velvet tree).

And as pièce de résistance a new pond. Organically shaped, various depth levels, aquatic plants (something edible, watercress perhaps?), a beach area - should anyone fall in, an overflow/marsh area along another edge. Later I may add a running water feature but I don't see it as a necessity just yet.

On the quick idea drawing I made back in early January 2022 you can see a little of what I've got in mind. This area is also the idea from my new neighbours, they've started creating their pond autumn 2021. I again loved what they're doing and made an adaptation that works for me and my plans. The perennial garden was going to be there, I just added water.