As I write we are just at the beginning of the Coronavirus ‘lockdown’ period. In these uncertain times it’s good to find a silver lining to this particular cloud: being forced to stay at home, when you might normally be Read more »
What a wet winter! We have struggled to get much done outside in the market garden this winter, our polytunnels are looking very weed free and productive though, as we have been finding shelter as much as we can! We Read more »
If you are reading this article then I am assuming it is because you have an interest in gardening and not because you are seeking amusement by critiquing my somewhat ungainly prose! Years and years ago, I first veered away Read more »
Early last month I was in the border cutting down a Molinia, this grass species is less stiffly-sturdy than it’s cousin the Miscanthus, and among the masses of cut stems, at ground level, I found eleven (yes, 11 ) bright Read more »
It’s all kicking off again! Well…just about. We will begin to sow our first seeds this month, starting off with peppers, tomatoes, beetroot, lettuce and other salad leaves (like broad beans for tips, mustards, kales, chervil), shallots, spring onions and Read more »
A new decade has begun and the shortest day of the year has passed so the hours of daylight will be on the increase. Plants will notice the lengthening days and subtly begin to react, thanks to complex hormonal processes Read more »
December is a great month to treat yourself by sitting in your comfiest chair with a cup of tea and sifting through the pages of seed catalogues to give you some inspiration for next year. It is the time that Read more »
It certainly seems as if it’s done nothing but rain, for most of the autumn, which may have delayed some of the gardening activities which you’d like to have completed by now. While the ground is waterlogged, it does more Read more »
November is one of those months when gardening activity is largely dictated by the whims of the weather and, of all the months, November is perhaps the most variable. In a ‘normal’ year it is the final chance for those Read more »
November is a time to start taking stock of the year gone by and think about how to make changes to the year ahead. It is also a time when the majority of crops have been harvested, and most winter Read more »