Driver Jatt

What do you get if you leave a car in the garden? Carden 😊

Yes, I know. That’s a pretty lame title. But it is very apt.

You know the drill with most garages. The vibe is… practical. A bit of a grease fest. You walk in expecting that specific smell of old oil and a faint dread about the bill.

This place in Cardiff, in the CF14 area, was different. It actually made me stop and look. I was down there on a job—a little different to the usual.

The Job: A Victorian Sink Sprint
The run was this: someone in Birmingham had bought a solid Victorian sink on eBay. A proper, heavy lump of history. The seller was in Cardiff. The buyer needed it that day to be installed in their house. Obviously, we weren’t doing the plumbing (you don’t want me near your pipes), but the job was to get from Birmingham, collect the sink, and bring it back. A proper there-and-back-again tale. And yes, before you ask, we can do this too. It’s what we’re for.

After the handover, heading back to the van, that’s when I saw it.

A Garage with a ‘Front End’
Let’s be clear. Next to where I’d parked was a garage. A proper car MOT and servicing type place. But it had a very different ‘front end’. And yes, I’ve never ever thought I’d use the word ‘front end’ when describing a garage. It’s more of an IT thing, I guess. But here, it’s the only word that fits.

It was just… very welcoming. Clean, orderly. Not what you’re braced for when you’re thinking about a brake check.

The Star of the Show: The Carden
The thing that properly caught my eye was parked right out front. A little blue Peugeot. Or, what was left of one. Someone had the absolute genius idea to let a garden grow out of it. We’re not talking a bit of moss. This was a proper, planned, flourishing garden spilling from the windows, the boot, the sunroof. Very interesting. Very unique.

A cool car garden. A carden. It set a tone before you even walked in. It said the people here might actually look at things a bit sideways. Not a bad quality in someone you trust with your clutch.

Here’s a link to the place: https://gardenvillagegarage.co.uk/

I have no affiliation with them at all. Never used them for a service. Just something I liked the look of in the ten minutes I was in the area, between collecting a sink and starting the M5 slog north.

The View from the Van
That’s the bit I like. One minute you’re orchestrating a Birmingham-to-Cardiff sink rescue, the next you’re staring at a Peugeot that’s been turned into a flowerbed. It breaks the monotony of the motorway.

It reminds you that every place has its own character. My job is to navigate between them all, whether the cargo is a cardboard box or a chunk of Victorian porcelain. And sometimes, you just have to give a nod to a place that’s done something a bit different to stand out. Even if it’s just making an old car bloom.