General Chat

I knew somebody who lived alone so she didn't need many and she planted a runner bean to go up her apple tree.

We live in a modern town house and although we have a garden there is no where to grow runner beans. A quick chat with the neighbours and the beans are planted in a large plastic trough and will climb up trellis attached to the blank south west facing wall of their house. Beauty and practicality!

The house I was born in was one of a typical Victorian brick terrace in a northern mill town. Front door opened right onto the street, and we had a small paved back yard, with the loo at the end. No place to grow anything.

My grandfather lived across the street in a similar house, except he had a very small front garden with a little wall around it, but still only a paved back yard. He rented an allotment where he grew some veggies and a grape vine in a small greenhouse. He made a pretty vicious wine from the grapes, but otherwise seemed to just sit and enjoy the view of the growing area. I don't remember eating any fresh veggies!

When I was 11 we moved to another part of town where Dad had bought a much older stone house (with a brick extension that had a full indoor bathroom!), which had a very long front garden fronted by a stone wall that had had railings on it at some point. The backyard was small with two stone buildings in it, the old outdoor loo and a place for coal. No room to grow anything there.

Dad really enjoyed working in the front garden, which had two lovely weeping trees, one in each lawn, and flower beds. BUT it had to be flowers. No-one, but no-one would have dared to grow veggies in the front garden!

Houses here have both front and usually larger back gardens, most people grow flowers in the front and veggies in the back ............. for the same reason as Allan :-D .

More and more people are beginning to grow veggies and even grains such as wheat in the front garden as the urge to eat fresh and use as much ground as possible for useful purposes is becoming more common and accepted. It's usually still so rare that it will make the local newspaper!

We grow our vegies at the back of the house.

If we grew them at the front they'd soon be nicked. Mind you, at the moment, until we can get the side fence replaced, our back garden is just as vulnerable :-D

Hello Sharron

Oh yes, the chicken were down the very bottom of our garden.

The pit (don't ask!) was half way down, by the pear trees. We didn't need a pit when we moved into the council house we had aspired to for so long. We had an outside lavvy with a chain and everything and a cesspit down the garden.

When we were really into gardening, we had flowers at the front, veggies at the side, and ducks in the back :-D

Not in our cottage they weren't! Flowers round house, veg down the garden.

Once we moved to the council house it was flowers in the front and veg in straight rows in the back.

Since when? :-)

In cottage gardens vegetables and flowers were all mixed up together, and lots were planted next to each other because bugs that liked one didn't like its neighbour. I used to know lots of tips like that, from my mother, but I've forgotten most of them.

You plant where you want - and convert Fred's spirit!! :-)

Around here front gardens are for cars, as many as possible in some cases. If cars are not available wheely bins are acceptable.

:-D :-D :-D
My sister grows flowers in her (large) back garden - and veggies in the small front garden of her terraced house :-D

I am expecting Fred to came back and haunt me or, at least, do another one of his thunder claps!
When I suggested putting a broad bean in the front garden because I think they are beautiful, well, I was suggesting something that was probably illegal, certainly immoral and probably flying in the face of Nature! Vegetables are only to be grown in back gardens, with no exceptions.

We have planted a courgette in the front border where I can see it from the front window!