Just popping by to introduced myself. We live in a lovely part of Hampshire just outside of both Southampton and Winchester....the latter being one of my favourite cities ever!! We are also very fortunate the be a stone's throw from the beautiful New Forest and the stunning South Downs....so consider ourselves very lucky indeed. We've lived in our house for 42 years which was transformed from a 'compact ' farm workers cottage over the first 12 years of living here to the lovely home we have now. The house has been more than doubled in size from the original. This has obviously reduced the size of our garden a fair bit, we had to remove quite a few Apple trees and Blackcurrant bushes in the process, but on the whole it's still a fair size compared to the ones more modern houses are allocated with. We raised our 3 son's here and despite all of them having flown the nest almost 20 years ago they are all still very attached to the place as it's the only family home they have known. We were able to have our garden returned to us when the children departed and the lawns began to resembled.....well ....lawns again and not football pitches, this coincided with me reducing my work life and so finding time at last to enjoy and develop my love of gardening. This I think I inherited from both of my parents...my Mum in particular. She was a stay at home Mum ( as many were back then) looking after Dad and my other 3 siblings, the dogs, cats Budgies , Rabbits and fish ..both tropical and in the ponds whilst also creating beautiful gardens for us as family to appreciate, explore and play in. She was an very inspiring person to have had in our lives....not that my Dad wasn't...he was , and was also very good at following Mum's guidance and instructions on all things garden related. There are a few names here that I recognise from other forums but I'm really looking forward to meeting more friendly gardeners. Thank you , will undoubtedly be chatting to you all soon. xx
Welcome to GardenStew! I'm sure you'll like it here so much, that you will never want to leave - That's what my experience has been like, over a decade now. Therefore please feel totally at home, we all get to learn something new regularly from each other in this community. So get ready for a horticultural enjoyment overdrive!
Welcome to Garden Stew Oreti! It sounds like you live in a beautiful place. I'm looking forward to reading about your garden adventures and viewing the scenery through your photos.
Thanks very much @S-H , I' m on a few other forums and love the friendly atmosphere that surrounds a bunch of chatty gardeners.
Thank you @Daniel W ......don't encourage me too much, you'll be sick and tired of all my pics and posts soon.
