Well, today I have put more varnish on the bedheads, and on an old chipboard table which is going to support strawberries. I have put in a third step at the change in level, and two small steps by the greenhouse, and shifted some soil to an area where I have moved eight flags. This area will become home to bulbs from the sunny part of the garden, where I will be making veggie beds. After eradicating the vinca.

So, picture the garden, the width of the house. My door opens on its left, onto a paved patio. In front of the door is one of those plastic boxes for storing tools, with next to it a fake stone bird bath from Dad's house, which doesn't have a permanent home yet. Behind it is the beginning of a hole which will house the old cold water tank for collecting rain from the flagged areas. (I'm going to have to change the fall on the patio for it.) Next to that is the herb bed, then a path with a shallow step then recently cleared soil with a rock collection which will be a rockery. It is currently home to violets, campanula, a small geranium from my mother and oxalis - where did that come from? Between the house and the rockery is a probably dead olive in a tub, and a stand with a lot of strawberry plants taken from runners last year, which are going to go into pocketed bags.

Behind these is the flagged area which was originally 8 by 10 half metre flags, with the washing line pole in the centre. This is being reduced to 6 by 6, with the corner flags missing. On the left, in the shaded part, I have put honeysuckle from Dad's, a wild rose from the last place, primroses, some hybridised with a red cowslip (which seems to have been lost in transit, wild strawberry and white violets and an angelica plant, while attempting to reduce the montbretia and a very vigorous geranium. On the right is a juniper, a philadelphus (not the best scented version) and a potted dwarf peach I bought with a gift voucher from my sister. Also a couple of brambles I brought from the old place, where they did incredibly well producing a wonderfully sweet fruit. And more geranium.

Behind this is a step in level to a sloping area where I have built steps in the middle. To the left is a forsythia and a peony in the shaded part of the garden, plus vigorous London Pride and lavender, two compost bins, and the cold water tank soaking comfrey. To the right is the bird feeder, various bulbs, more brambles, vinca, vinca and vinca, forgetmenot, leeks from last year, comfrey, and the beginnings of my raised system. On the back fence is Virginia Creeper, and in the top right corner my little greenhouse. The soil here is particularly bad, clay-with-flints, and looks much as if it is subsoil, not topsoil. The best stuff seems to be under the flags near the house. Since the neighbour's garden beyond the path to the green space is abundant with plants, I suspect that during the construction of the flagged area the subsoil was turned over onto the raise part.

It is aligned to the north west, with a 3 storey terrace to the south east, so not as sunny as I would like, but I have put three wavy sided mirrors from IKEA which lurked in the bathroom to surpise the unwary stepping from the bath on the back fence to get a bit more morning light in, and have another one ready to join them. There is a gate to the communal green space opposite the back door. I need to find a way to secure the gate, while allowing the window cleaner access. It has a simple bolt near the top which can easily be undone from outside.

Penny