This bed, tucked under a high yew hedge can get very hot in summer. A two-year old Crimson Drop Plum has settled in and this year is showing its first fruit. There is a rhubarb crown here and a redcurrant bush. Come summer the bed often has tiny pumpkins on a wire climbing frame, purple cosmos, rainbow chard and a few mauve and white aubergines. This little bed is also home to endless claret and orange nasturtiums that I planted a few years ago and now happily seed themselves and ramble through the box hedging.

Winter 2009/10 In late January, just after the snow had melted I planted three currant bushes against the yew hedge. They will get good sun levels here and hopefully prevent the foxes from any further digging under the hedge. The White Versaille, Laxton's No 1 redcurrant and Ben Connan blackcurrant are no strangers to this garden, so hopefully they will settle in happily. Each received a light pruning to reduce stress and encourage new growth. The rest of the ground has been dug over, the chard plants cut back and their soggy, frost-bitten leaves removed. Already there are signs of growth, with new leaves unfurling even in the icy chill of early February.

 Late Summer 2009. The bed is a mess. The beans did less well than they have previously and their place has been taken by climbing nasturtiums whose orange trumpets are currently shining like beacons against the dark yew hedging. The peas, a great success, have been replaced by a row of Brussels sprouts. Early days, but they have been well firmed in and tied to stout sticks. They will also be protected by the low hedges that frame this bed. The chard is standing well and a fabulous shade of deep claret. But the bed still lacks the generosity of the others and looks permanently untidy. I will have to rethink this one next year.

Summer 2009. At the heart of this bed is Liberty, a heritage variety of runner bean that is currently (June) about a third of the way up its hazel frame. A few white sweet peas are tucked amongst the climbing stems, to attract bees to the bed, which is also home to a row of white flowered Windsor broad beans and three rows of Carouby de Mausanne peas. Tucked at the back are four potato plants, a small patch of ruby chard and a redcurrant bush. The almost perfect balance of sunshine and rain this year has left this little bed in excellent shape.

Winter 2009. The bed rests. Currently home only to a couple of overwintering artichokes and the fennel, already showing a froth of feathery new shoots. I am late planning the garden this year, but I expect to use this for squash of some sort, which will climb up the permanent iron frame that towers over the bed. Part of the joy of winter gardening is working out what will be happiest where - the plan of which I am currently sketching out in my notebooks.

Summer 2008. The chard gave us a seemingly endless supply of apricot, burgundy and pink stalks but had started to bolt and has had to go. The Aquadulce beans were an enormous success, providing many a supper and are due to come out once the last few stragglers have been picked. We ate many of them raw with paper thin slices of Jabugo ham. The climbing frame is currently full of sweet peas in shades of violet and magenta including the ancient and sweetly scented cupani. I have three globe artichokes here that struggle rather than thrive. Should they survive the winter and my impatience, I hope they may do better next year. Violetta beans have joined the sweet peas and are currently twisting their way up the frame, here and there the exquisite violet flowers showing through the lush leaves.

Spring 2008. There are dark-coloured sweet peas just starting to climb their frame and a new row of Violetta artichokes on their way. This is also home to a couple of rows of broad beans (Aquadulce Claudia) that are currently budding up well. Each one is protected by a copper ring. Later this year this bed will also be joined by a trio of Hamari Gold Dahlias, which are currently doing fine in the cold frame. I am giving this bed a rest from tomatoes this year. I will be planting them up large terracotta pots in the sunny basement garden. This year there is not just the usual Marmande and Costelluto Fiorentino varieties that do so well here, but also Green Zebra, Auriga and the perennially charming Gardener's Delight.
    During the third week of May the chard has suddenly become exceptionally thick and the leaves are smaller in size than they have been. I have pulled out the largest of the plants and reseeded.

Winter 2007. The chard stems still shine red and yellow against the almost black soil, but what I am really waiting for is the first sign of the rhubarb, which should be appearing any week now. The rest of the bed has been manured and is waiting patiently for spring.

Summer 2007 - As much as I love the smell of the garden after it has rained, this bed hasn't been able to cope with the amount it has received this year. The snails, who come out after a rainstorm, had all the Munchkin pumpkins and several of the sweet pea plants. It was heartbreaking. The chard loves it here and is sending up leaf after leaf of ruby, yellow and white stalks. A real cut-and-come again crop, the stalks looks most beautiful in a salad, lightly cooked and tossed with a simple olive oil and lemon dressing. Two Marmande tomato plants are doing well next to the path, heavily laden with green fruit by mid July. Amongst them are growing white daisy-like Cosmos, the clear orange dahlia David Howard and a mass of dark red velvet nasturtiums.

Spring 2007 - In mid May I planted a small patch of Jacob's Coat chard, whose stems can range from magenta through to brilliant orange. Its a risk, as leafy greens tend to get eaten at a very early stage here by the myriad snails, but I will try. If I get enough for one meal I shall be happy. There are sweet peas in now too, to be followed I hope by tiny Munchkin pumpkins, which sprouted this week in the cold frame. If there is one thing this little garden contains it is hope.