On my first official post as a GGG editor I would like to introduce you all to one of my favourite places ‘my garden’ and my gardening history.

When I was 21 I decided it was time to get on the property ladder however I didn’t have much of an income to get my dream house which would be a farm (will be dreaming for a long time) however I found a bargain of a house which had a farmhouse / cottage feel to it and a reasonable sized garden.

As soon as I moved in I wanted to get growing vegetables and flowers however I first needed to transform the garden which was just grass and patio. My only real experience of gardening at this point was helping my granddad on his allotment when I was a little girl. Thus inspired by my time with him when I was younger and his most prized possession ‘The Readers Digest - Food from your garden’ book (which I inherited when he sadly died) I began my hobby as an amateur gardener.

Over the last 4 years I have developed my gardening skills through trial and error and slowly created a garden that suits my needs. I have various vegetable plots scattered about, native hedging and wildflowers, a rock garden, a pond, mini orchard (comprising 4 fruit trees and lots of fruit bushes), lots of pots with herbs in and a pagoda that my fiancé and I built with our own hands using felled wood from a local nature reserve. I enjoy spending time in my garden, especially first thing in the morning when it is all tranquil as none of the neighbours are arguing.

I must admit though over the last few months I have neglected my garden and although I prefer it slightly wild as it is better for wildlife – it had gone very wild.

I thought that seeing as I was on annual leave today I would spend some quality time gardening. Wow. It was amazing, the sun was shining, the bees were busy collecting nectar and I got stuck in doing a bit of tidying up.

At the end of the afternoon I harvested a range of produce (pictured) and created a delicious healthy meal - it literally was from garden to plate. Whilst eating, I realised how fortunate I was to be able to nip into my garden for food and how environmentally friendly it is. No chemicals have been used, no transport was needed, no packaging. Growing your own veg is really good for the environment and you don’t need lots of space, if you live in a flat and have a balcony you can even grow them in pots, even on your windowsill. If you want some gardening advice then why not check out this fantastic site that I discovered today called ‘You grow girl’ – the site owner Gayla is extremely inspiring.