What do you do when you don't have a garden at home but still want to create a relaxing retreat? For Vicky and her partner Maxine, the answer came when they discovered this bramble-choked, allotment-style plot right by the sea.
Over the past 13 years - or just one decade if you count the years they weren't even sure how to tackle the garden - the pair have created several distinct zones in which to express their creativity and love of local plants and found objects.
Their main challenge on what they lovingly refer to as "The Lottie' has been to bring everything they need by hand, along a coastal path 20 minutes from their home, but their hard work and ingenuity have paid off and hundreds of you voted their plot this year's People's Choice award-winner.
How did you set about creating the garden?
We had to clear it first and we did that mainly with hand tools. I think eventually we did use a strimmer, but it kept breaking so we ended up clearing it by hand. You couldn't actually access any of the levels that you see now at all. It had clearly been terraced in the past, though, and you can see remnants of the old walls, but it was so overgrown that you couldn't get down them. So we had to be quite inventive with how we did that. At the start I was literally dropping myself down the banks, using an old bed frame as a ladder. I did look for a slide - one of the old metal ones. It would be a great way to get around!
Can you tell me more about each of the garden's areas?
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Esta historia es de la edición January 2023 de Gardeners World.
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A new plot for tasty crops
Taking on a new allotment needn't be hard work. By simply following a few easy tips you can have bumper crops in no time, just like Alessandro Vitale
We love July
July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
Now, at the height of summer, Frances Tophill shows how to boost your plants' health and productivity with a timely cut
Hassle-free harvests
Flowers are out in abundance this month and for Jack Wallington, many of these blooms make delicious, low-effort pickings
Bite-sized bounties
Glorious doorstep harvests can easily turn into gluts, so let Rukmini Iyer's recipes help you savour every last bit
Upcycled outdoor living
Create unique and stylish garden features for minimal cost using reclaimed materials and simple DIY skills. Helen Riches shares four step-by-step projects and more inspiring eco tips
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Buildings and landscapes can play a vital role in supercharging your space, as Nick Bailey demonstrates
Greening up a city balcony
Looking for sustainable, small-space gardening ideas? Take inspiration from Oliver Hymans' transformed balcony garden in north-east London - now a lush, green haven for humans and wildlife
The dry and mighty garden
As we adapt our gardens to a more volatile climate, Alan Titchmarsh reveals how to create a drought-tolerant plot and picks his top plant performers
Nature knows best
Carol Klein explains how to choose plants for specific growing conditions, based on what has naturally adapted to thrive there
