A Proper British Garden

I am a voracious reader.  I read the newspaper regularly as a child.  If there wasn't a newspaper around I would read a cereal box.  I probably have the Wheaties nutrition facts memorized.  But, I digress.  A lot of the books I read are by British authors.  In these books, from those amazing writers across the Pond, there is almost always something written about a garden or gardening.   As in the "Let's go take a turn about the garden, my dear," or "Gardening is such beneficial exercise," or "Duchess so-and-so was kind enough to give me cuttings from her lovely garden."  I cannot recall a book by a British author that neglects to talk about this, I mean, England is a garden, right?

The Brits have gardening in their blood.  From the invasion of the Romans bringing their ornamental gardens to the invention of the lawn mower to the formation of a horticultural society, the British have been invested in gardening for centuries.

Anyways, for some time now, AJ and I have tried to come up with a solution to rid ourselves of the swamp in one corner of the yard.  If you walk to the west side of the backyard in bare feet, you will sink into the ground and have to squelch your way to safety.  Part of the problem is our neighbor's sprinklers, which, we found out, spray directly over the 6 foot vinyl fence into our yard.  In addition to this, it is in the shade much of the day, compounding the issue.  AJ and I have negotiated about this sinking section of lawn: he gets to manage the fruit/veggie garden on the east side of the yard, and I will get--wait for it--a Proper British Garden complete with any selection of plants I desire!  While I am not going to learn all the scientific names of the flowers I plant, I figure I can be a pretty devoted gardener nonetheless.   Just like all the books I read!

So here we are, about to commence on Project PBG.  I am hoping, as a side effect of this project, that somehow my British accent will improve and I will comprehend the slang when I watch Law & Order: UK.

Cheers!

Now all I need is to buy a really obnoxious sun hat to garden in.