I’ve done my best with the back garden this year but I can’t help feeling a little disheartened with it.

I tried my best to make a polytunnel out of scrap, but the latest strong rain and winds have really battered it. Inside, it just looks a mess and isn’t what I was hoping for. I couldn’t find a way to line the roof with the bubble wrap like I did on the sides and I’ve tried a few different things to make it work – none of them do. It’s colder than the polytunnel on the allotment.

I had thought at one point I could have one polytunnel for tomatoes and chillies and one for cucumbers and things like aubergines. Not to be. Decisions have had to be made and I have some hard work ahead of me.

The problem isn’t just the polytunnel, it’s the whole back garden. We have a white plastic table which is big and round and wobbly. I got it on a free site online but it is so wobbly, I was scared to use it! I’ve been putting plants on it but the amount of space it takes up is quite big. It’s not working for me so it will be going soon.

I think I have to move 2 of the shelving units out of the polytunnel and use them outside to grow the salad on in the future. I’ve also got a row of chairs at the moment, holding pots etc, along the edge of the polytunnel. I don’t like it.

I’m pretty much the only person in the house who uses the back garden but I’m just not happy with the layout, I don’t feel comfortable with it. The apple trees are in large tubs and they don’t look happy either. I’m trying to decide if one should go in the front garden which is colder and one up to the allotment?

There are so many decisions to make and either way it means more hard work which I’m not ready for!

So, on the plus side, I took some photos the other day to show someone appreciates the place: