Hi I’m Louise Findlay-Wilson. Despite the name (I married a posh sounding carpenter) I’m quite an every day sort of person. I love my kids, Mr F-W of course…and my gardening!
This blog is for people like me. Who want to create a beautiful garden that expresses their personality, supports their lifestyle and doesn’t cost a bomb!
I’m no gardening expert but I am an avid gardener. I’d describe my style as natural and flowing – Cotswold classic, cottage gardening but with a creative twist. This blog charts the tips and ideas I gain and the disasters (not all of which I avoid). Of course, it also covers the plants that work for me – as I try out new things.
I have always loved gardening. I pottered about in my parent’s massive garden in Wales as a small child. Tending and planting a tiny 1 meter square patch which they let me have. I filled it with ornamental gourds or any seeds I could lay my hands on! This interest endured. And as a young adult I always tried to do my best with the plots attached to the tiny terraced houses I lived in. But I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was always more ambitious in terms of my gardening ideas then was good for me or my budget!
Wellbank Cottage
Not long after marrying, my husband and I moved to our lovely Cotswold cottage which he lovingly restored. The cottage is not large but has a relatively generous walled garden – about 90 feet long and 200 feet wide. Approached by a narrow gate, people are always amazed to see the amount of space we have.
However, working full time and with four children I just didn’t attempt to do much with the garden for years. I knew that my sports-mad kids would crash through any borders I attempted to create. So I left the space as a play area. For 20 years it had lots of grass, lovely mature trees and rope swings, dens and sheds for all our gear but precious few plants for me!
About eight years ago this all changed. With the children pretty well grown-up I rediscovered a gardening passion that had lain suppressed for years.
These days I garden all weekend and most days, when my full-time job permits. I still have all the sheds (and two of them are incredibly ugly) – but I now have beds and borders too!
Conscious of the many things I still don’t know, keen to do more than the basics, and worried plants will otherwise die in my care, I research everything avidly. I can still make some terrible mistakes – especially as I definitely have an experimental streak – but I’ve found that being a ‘tryer’ often pays off. My plants seem to be incredibly forgiving – or perhaps like they like going on a creative journey with me as I try to realise the true potential of my garden – turning it from a former muddy playground into a paradise!!
Do join me on this great adventure!
Louise Findlay-Wilson x