As with so many gardens, this family garden and workspace was once uncultivated and wild.
The field which existed prior to the construction of this housing estate in 1960 was said by some to be used for grazing. That would have been quite an impressive sight, as apart from being very damp (as evidenced by the continued presence of juncus-type, marshland plants popping up in today’s gardens), the land is on quite a steep slope. The incline would have been a challenge for cattle and probably unhealthily wet and too boggy for sheep. The natural shale-type bed rock (over which a spring still flows in winter), is covered by a stone and gravel strewn, claggy mud soil. The poor-quality land is often leached by heavy rain and does not nurture sustainable quantities of cultivated plants. Unless considerable manure and composting is built into the regime, such plants will not thrive here.
The natural shale-type bedrock (over which a spring still flows in winter), is covered by a gravel and stone strewn claggy mud soil. The poor quality land is often leached by heavy rain and does not nurture sustainable quantities of cultivated plants.
Much feeding by manuring and composting had to be built into a regime to allow for the development of a healthy humus. This would then aid plant cultivation, beyond inedible tough grasses.
In sheltered pockets, gorse blooms on the hill above the garden throughout most of the year. The hill faces Cardigan Bay which is about a mile away, as the crow flies.
