MEET THE BLOGGER MY COTTAGE GARDEN

Inspired by her grandfather, Instagrammer Sarah Pursey from Northamptonshire shares her passion for growing veg and flowers in her long back garden, a throwback to the 1930s

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How long have you been growing your own and what inspired you to start?

When I was a child I really enjoyed spending time with my grandad in his garden. Watching him planting, pruning and harvesting always felt like such a treat and it left me feeling engaged and inspired. When I was about 12, I asked my parents for a ‘patch of earth’ of my own in our family garden and into this patch I planted a few vegetable seeds. The seeds were not very successful but although the method needed some refining, the drive and interest was always there. When the time came to move out and look for a home of my own enough space to grow my own fruit and veg was top of the ‘must have’ list!

Do you have an allotment/veg patch in the garden or both?

I have a large cottage-style kitchen garden with plenty of space for growing both cottage garden favourites, such as roses and lavender, as well as enough fruit and veg to keep me happy in the kitchen. It is the kind of garden which will be very familiar to those with 1930’s properties across the UK, and the way in which we use ours harks back to how these gardens would have been used back then. They were first built with lots of space allocated to home-grown fruit and vegetables as well as flower and wildlife.

We notice you like to make your own herbal cures. Do you have a favourite and how do you like to make it?