Getting started on my rented garden

Five hundred and twenty five thousand six hundred ideas for the garden

When I went to study in Germany last semester, I had to move out of my old garden. It’s one of the negative aspects of moving: having to leave your growing space. I used that garden to grow the plants for my RHS show last year, so I was really fond of it. I’d also contributed quite a lot of waste to the compost bin…

So I was excited that a room was available in the house next door! It means I am gardening just next door. And this year I am categorically not growing plants for an RHS show garden, so I have a lot more time to making the space special.

Glimpse of the growing space as it is right now

I posted on Instagram about my plans with my rented garden and got a lot of encouragement. I like to post about my garden on Instagram and get advice and inspiration from other gardeners - but you can get the impression that most people on Instagram own their own homes. In fact, often in the “gardening establishment”, it seems like people think gardening is for homeowners. When there is advice for renters, it is usually always the same: “grow in containers so you can keep your plants when you move.”

I don’t that is necessarily terrible advice, but there is a lot more to gardening as a renter than just using containers. I also wonder how many people who give this advice have actually tried to move house with a garden’s worth of container plants! I have. It’s heavy.

Container gardening isn’t all bad - and I found a whole egg in one of the old containers

One annoying assumption I have seen is that renting is just a “short-term step” towards house ownership. I know a lot of people find that buying a house prompts them to get into gardening. But the truth is a lot of people rent for their entire lives - are they supposed to never garden? Many gardeners do not grow on land they own. I am thinking about allotment holders, community gardeners, guerilla gardeners, volunteer gardeners and frankly most professional gardeners. I think the real issues that stop renters from gardening are insecure rental contracts, lack of outdoor space, landlords not providing tools, money etc etc… perhaps this is a rant for another day.

Starting off some bare roots in the old cold frame

In some ways, container gardening is good for renters and beginners. But on the other hand, it’s a lot more expensive to buy containers and bags of compost than to simply stick some spring bulbs into the soil or direct sow annual seeds. And when you container garden, you don’t get to smell the soil, or see the earthworms and other creatures wriggling around tree roots, or pull up nettles and brambles and learn how unfathomably long they can be. Fancy missing out on such pleasures!

Anyway, thinking about these things made me want to challenge myself to see how many ways I can actually use the outdoor space that I am lucky to have, for as long as I have it, and make my rented garden a bit more special for me and my housemate. There’s lots of things I want to test to see what is sustainable, good value for money and high impact for short-term results.

One of the first projects I’ve done in the garden so far is making a sitting spot / altar

I am hoping to write about what I learn from the process. If you have ideas my space let me know, and if you know somebody who is renting and might want to start gardening, please feel free to share the newsletter!

Happy gardening,

Sarah Rose