The Jungle at Chez Tigs - a photographic summary

This is a fairly long and rambling blog about the ins and outs of my growings at home - in many ways I've used it as my own personal growing diary so if gardening's not your thing, you may want to skim / skip this one!

Sunday lunchtime
Today was a day without plans but with lots of potential - and after breakfast on the beach I fancied "getting on and doing" - and what took my fancy first of all was playing with my various plants at home. And having played with them, I fancied doing a bit of a summary!

The biggest challenge is knowing where to start. With the plants that have been here the longest? From the top of the house down? From the bottom of the house up? Inside to out? Outside to in? I have a true delight with my house in that I experience it in different ways - coming in through different doors, different "journeys" through the house on different days and at different times, and even things like temporarily forgetting part of the jungle (in this case, the outside plants at the front - how I could forget those when I see them every time I come in and out of the house I have no idea!). And I'm still at a loss as to where to start...so I'll just start and see where it takes me.

Spider Plants

One of two tubs that "came
with the house" up on the
second floor landing

So, spider plants are a bit marmite-esque in people's response to them - folk seem either to love 'em or hate 'em. But the truth of the matter for me was that they were the only thing that survived the neglect any plants in my home were subjected to when I wasn't living here full time.

Most rooms have at least one
spider plant if nothing else!

They also seemed to work in some kind of symbiosis with one of the house plants that was here when I moved in (the stick in the photo on the left) which resurrected itself quite successful...although has since given up the ghost again. But given their seeming ability to grow through any amount of neglect (and mainly desertification) makes them somewhat of a staple in my house.

I love these shelves but have
been on such a clear out that
I don't yet have gazillions of
books to fill them - so spider
plants it is

In addition, while I'm still cultivating other more "useful" (edible etc.) plants, they're still doing their photosynthesising and bringing a bit of (plant) life to rooms which otherwise would be empty of such growing.

A useful spider-plant
nook in the hallway

I occasionally take to composting the odd one (another fine use for spider plants - although I'm not sure of the quality of compost they produce...) but the general plan at the moment is to cultivate some more large-ish plants which I may then be able to use as ornamental plants at work - while they're small, spider plants just look a little pathetic!

I must confess I also do rather like the way they cascade from high shelves and the like so for now, the spider plants will be staying. In if you're a spider plant hater, there will be a few more creeping into later photos but they'll be hiding amongst other plants - so do persevere!

Currently cropping...with the spider plants out of the way, on to my current grand success! I got myself some troughs which I had always planned on using as salad window boxes and which are coming on a treat - and also my main source of leafy greens at the moment. That all three of the said troughs are up on the second floor simply adds to their healthiness - the odd bit of running up and down the stairs to furnish myself with some spinach or lettuce doesn't go amiss!

My plant identification skills are pretty shocking at the moment (I'm working on it...slowly!) but when I originally planted the troughs they had a combination of lettuce, spinach, perpetual spinach and rocket in them. At least - I think they did!

The lettuce and spinach have been growing well for a while now and I'm beginning to really see the difference between the perpetual spinach and the "normal" spinach as well. However, the rocket was nowhere in sight.

There's one "weed" (for weed read "plant I haven't yet identified and therefore don't know what to use it for so for the time being am eliminating it to focus on the things I do know how to use") which I think the troughs picked up seeds for when they were outside (in anticipation of the drip trays I'd ordered for them) and which have been particularly fertile - and are now merrily composting.

Thinning out those has definitely helped the target-edible-leaves but today I attacked one of the troughs with a plastic fork (I don't have a small thinning out tool - but said fork worked rather well) and potted on some of the plants that were crowding out the others. I'll be intrigued to see how this trough does compared to the others but in addition to having a whole bunch of plants which hopefully do better with more space, I also found my first rocket plant! Hurrah!

Spinach and lettuce line the ledge in
front of the largest window, with 4 little
tomato plants just starting out to the
left (oh, and a spider plant, of course)

I've also hit my weeks-long target of having exhausted my pot supply - this will not in any way prevent me from cracking on with new projects (my favourite tricks of turning plastic water bottles into pots and using empty tetrapaks as drip trays will soon net me more containers I'm sure) but has been a bit a milestone. And milestones deserve celebration - so huzzah huzzah :)

A related milestone, of filling every window ledge of space, is still in progress and it looks like my plan of having mini shelves going up the side of windows may be coming to fruition sooner than I'd anticipated which may put that milestone somewhat further off again - but increases the jungle-potential rather dramatically which is very exciting.

My kitchen window ledge - not the
sunniest spot in the house but enough
light to keep things ticking over - and
the site of many a carrot seed sprouting!
The low tray is home to some thyme
seeds, then there's a lettuce plant, a
spinach and a pot I planted with "some
seeds" (I knew what they were at the time.
Not any more) and which keeps showing
signs of some sprouting but never
quite coming to fruition...

One thing Grow the House Down is really bringing home for me is the desireability for starting early. In my case, early may mean several years as the plan is to get a bunch of perennials going so when I find bits of open-air space I could use I've got established plants I could put straight in. But it also means my expectations for harvesting this year are very modest given many of the plants had their growing seasons rather limited by when I actually planted them (the tomatoes being a case in point).

The second herb pot getting
some growing in (the other
tub has purple sprouting
broccoli and carrot seedlings)

Another "currently cropping" are my herb pots. I have two (one which is in my kitchen ready for use and another which lives in a sunnier spot to do some more vigorous growing - and then they get swapped over) and although I'm in an ongoing battle with some whitefly, regular spraying with soapy water seems to be helping a lot. Parsley and chives are the main staples in the pot, with some spinach and coriander doing the best they can. Snip snip and the garnish is done = genius.

A whole variety - tomatoes, mint, spinach
aloe vera, jasmine, geranium and coriander

Other ground-floor growings While we're down in the kitchen seems like a good time to look at the living room and back room window ledges. I love having lots of plants in my living room and the geranium plant feels like one of my "oldest friends" when it comes to plants (I somehow don't have the same affection for the spider plants). My Mum got it for me when I was in Halifax and it was one of the few plants that really thrived over there - and being in a hanging basket makes it even better. The way it cascades over the side is wonderful. I'm still not convinced about the vigorous growing potential of the windows on the front of the house (which is north-east facing) but plants are able to survive which is a step in the right direction and the jasmine seems to be enjoying itself. I'm looking forward to putting some supports (possibly just some string) in to train it upwards. Space for lots more on this window ledge, too...

From left: purple sprouting broccoli,
first year asparagus plants and a
couple of cucumber plants

 The room at the back on the ground floor (which was originally a shop and still has the - rather dilapidated and currently boarded up - shop front) has until recently been the workshop for a local part-time guitar maker. Life's changed for him so he's moved out but I've yet to decide what to do with the room. But in the mean time, there are window ledges to be used!

My solo aubergine seedling, plus more
asparagus and purple sprouting broccoli

I'm cultivating a whole series of asparagus plants - I purchased some year old roots which in theory should have rehydrated and been growing away, but every single one I planted failed. Which was a shame - but is making the delicate fronds of my grown-from-seed asparagus even more exciting.

Next up: my back yard. For a long time this was the focus of my growing efforts because it had the highest chance of getting at least *some* watering (in the form of rain) in my absence. The bushiest greenery you'll see at the far end of the frame is a miniature tree I bought years ago which has continued to grow and be small. Along the back wall you can just make out three treelings - on the far left, a greengage that was a gift, then two apples. I think these are likely to end up at my office building next year, but for now they're merrily growing leaves and having a whale of a time.

Many of the plants that were also in the frame (an old divan base which just gave me a structure to start with) have now moved to the front yard or further afield, but there's still one lone gooseberry bush awaiting a new home, again, probably next year now. However, the other two highlights of the yard are my water butt (which I love - but note the not-yet-finished nature of its connection to the drainpipe top right- it's not actually lined up directly beneath the pipe due to the location of the drain in the ground and my plan for finishing off the piping) and two rather innocuous looking white tubs in the left foreground. Growing plants in containers is all well and good but fertiliser is going to be important - and this weekend I harvested myself some comfrey and nettles from the wonderful Middlewood Trust  and have started the festering process (given the smell it creates it can only be described as festering) of the mix with a healthy dose of water which, fingers crossed, will result in some great vegan low impact liquid fertiliser. That was one of this mornings jobs so I'm still feeling particularly pleased for having got it done (it's been on the list for quite some time!).

The front yard has, sadly, been subject to some vandalism so although the bathtub should be thriving and full of strong plants, it's actually just hanging on with much smaller plants than I'd hoped for. It's been a real disappointment that someone (or a group of someones) has decided to make my plants the target of their repeated vandalism (it's one of the reason I've got the apple trees in my back yard:  one of them had been pulled out of the soil and dumped exposing the roots to the air and leaving them to dry out. I was fairly convinced that would have well and truly killed it, but I try popping it back into some soil in a rather more protected spot and it's come back to life rather well) but I've decided just to get on with it and hope they cease. It's brought home the immense vulnerability of plants, even fairly established ones, but will not put a stop to the growing!

The part of the front yard which is down a set of steps has, to date, not been prone to the vandalism attacks the bathtub has experienced and has a range of plants growing, including broadbeans, some more chives, some of the ubiquitous purple sprouting broccoli, carrots, courgette, gooseberry and blackcurrant (which has some little green fruits on - hurrah!).

I've recently also added some plants in a very sheltered, but surprisingly sunny (in these summer mornings, at least) alcove between the steps and one of the windows - seen here along with my feet (a rather fun hark back to my photographs from Bolivia where my feet became a bit of an intentional theme...)

Which brings us to our penultimate location - my bathroom window ledge. The little cactus (one of two cacti I have - the second being a housewarming present from a friend which is down on my kitchen window ledge) and the "money tree" are two plants I wasn't quite sure where they should live - so they keep the toilet roll happy. The jasmine was a rather impulsive purchase (along with the other two I got) but when in flower brings a lovely distinctive smell to the room. Which is all rather nice.

And finally - the second floor landing. In many ways I thought I'd start the tour here, this being the first set of plants I generally see of a morning - and the last I see before going to bed (I do have a spider plant in my bedroom, but it somehow rarely catches my attention).

I love this view as I'm coming down from my room - a light, airy space with plenty of plants, the penguin mobile my sister got me for Christmas and my wonderful Whatnot. And no, it's not that I can't remember the name for the piece of furniture - it's actually called a Whatnot. Brilliant. This is one of the first pieces of furniture I ever bought - I think Whatnots are brilliant and when I saw one for sale very cheaply back in my teens I bought it. For a long time it lived in my bedroom at my parents' house, then on delivery to Morecambe it became my "stuff next to the shoe rack and coats" shelf but somehow didn't quite suit there. It then got relegated to the back room while I worked out where it should live - until it found its new home.

As odd as it may sound, I feel like this is the spot my Whatnot was bought for - over a decade after its initial purchase. I've never seen another Whatnot like it, it folds flat and just has a lovely sense of space to it - and fits perfectly in the corner of my landing. As you'll see there's still plenty of space to fill with more plants - although it doesn't get much direct sunlight (plenty of brightness, just not sunshine per se). I love it.

The two plant-jobs I started with today (which rather multiplied once I got started) where starting off the liquid fertiliser and potting on 11 little asparagus plants - who are now merrily living on the Whatnot, along with a cyclamen from my Mum, some more spider plants and another aloe plant (which has survived well but hasn't particularly grown - another result, I suspect, of my rather absent-minded care regime).

And that is the current state of play of the Jungle. It's very much a juvenile jungle (in fact, jungle's probably not the word for it at all, but that's the "end-game" picture I have in my mind) but it's terribly exciting and makes me happy.

If you have any tips on any of the plants I've mentioned - or, indeed, any suggestions for other edible plants that do particularly well indoors - please do let me know!