Renting a garden

Despite my love of gardening I actually don't own my own garden and never have. People, non-gardeners mind you, can't understand why I would bother putting any effort into someone else's property. For me it's a no-brainer. When you rent a house there isn't a lot you can do to the actual rooms to fit your taste. You can't knock down walls or extend rooms but you can do that with a garden and it will always be an improvement from doing nothing. I have yet to meet a landlord who has complained about me working on their garden. In fact in most cases I am adding value to their property.

The cost is very low too. I take cuttings from plants I like, I make my own compost and fertilizer, and I save money by growing my own vegetables.

I spend a lot of time in the garden, whether I'm gardening or lying in the shade reading or hosting a BBQ. To me it makes perfect sense to work on a garden whether you own it or not. For the last few years I have been renting a house with a fantastic space at the back. It is large and flat - quite a rarity in this area. There were some beds already growing a mess of plants but I have extended them and added new ones. There are a few limitations though, like the ugly concrete path dissecting the garden and the concrete area you need to cross to get to the garden. How I would love to rip all that up. For the time being though I will just work on training the focus away from such eyesores.

Even though I don't own it this is my garden. One day I will have my own garden, preferably a large area in the country where self sufficiency will be my aim. Until that time I will continue to be the model tenant and enjoy the fruits of my labour.