About me
Welcome! I’m Nathalie, and this is my little corner of the internet to share with anyone who loves gardens that breathe, bloom and come alive with nature.
I have always loved that ‘secret gardens’ sort of feeling and when we were faced with trying transform land into just a basic garden, we quickly realised it was going to take some serious hard work! Along the way, we faced just about every gardening challenge imaginable—heavy clay, endless rubble, poor soils, boggy ground and steep slopes. Hundreds of plants failed before we figured out what would truly thrive!
While the work was back breaking and quite honestly a bit soul destroying, what I’ve discovered is that it’s not just the gardening itself but the transformation of the space – The anticipation and watching, especially a ‘difficult’ garden, come alive, bloom, thrive, full of plants, birds, insects, and wildlife, it’s just magical – and it has all the more meaning, because ‘you’ created it!
It’s been a very steep (and expensive!) learning curve and that’s why I created this site: to share what I’ve learned, and to help fellow gardeners avoid some of the pitfalls and help make gardening more rewarding and hopefully easier! To help others avoid the mistakes I made, I decided to create a ‘kit’, my Difficult Garden Starter Kit where I share everything I learned in the creation of new gardens.
What you will find here
Here, you’ll find practical solutions for difficult gardens. Including improvements for poor soils, clay soils and steep slopes, as well as tips to help plants thrive, and ideas to make your garden beautiful, productive, and sustainable.
Whether you’re just starting out, or facing one of the many challenges that come with gardening, I hope this site offers inspiration, guidance, and a little encouragement. Gardening can be tough—but it’s also one of the most rewarding ways to connect with nature, to care for living things, and create a space that brings calm and joy just for you.
Struggling With a Difficult Garden? Start Here
If you’d like some help getting started with a garden, check out ‘The Difficult Garden Starter Kit‘ — Struggling with clay soil, boggy ground, rubble, or slopes? My Difficult Garden Starter Kit shares simple tips and practical ideas to help your garden start thriving.
Get Inspired
Whether you’re tackling your first garden or trying to revive a stubborn patch, I hope this site gives you the encouragement, ideas, and confidence to create a space full of life, calm, and natural beauty.
For ongoing inspiration, follow me on Pinterest where I collate and share garden ideas, planting tips, and beautiful outdoor spaces.
Why trust this site?
My Gardening Experience!
This site is based on real experience transforming various pieces of land, each with different challenges. It has taken years to create thriving gardens! We have had to learn how to amend, improve and actually just work with the land. We have dealt with many common gardening problems including heavy clay soil, rubble soil, boggy ground, and steep slopes.
Much of what I share comes from trial, error, research, and hands-on learning, discovering what truly works when conditions are far from ideal.
My goal is to make gardening easier for others by sharing practical solutions, ideas, and inspiration so that even difficult spaces can become beautiful, thriving gardens full of life and wildlife.