Keeping blackfly off Broad Beans
Broad beans in the kitchen garden. You can see the first beans are almost ready to pick. It’s the time of year to start planning those broad bean meals, as the first crops should be ready to harvest soon. …
My top tip for keeping cats, foxes and birds off your newly sown beds
Frequently I see people comment on social media about the difficulty of keeping cats, foxes and other creatures, off their newly sown beds. I thought I’d share my tip, which pretty much always works. Right: Parsnip seed These are newly …
Tulip fever
It’s tulip flowering time and oh gosh, do I particularly have tulip fever this year. I only have a few cultivars in my front and back gardens, but they are looking fabulous and I’m feeling that maybe I need some …
Crop rotations: the basics for urban growers
My kitchen garden and forest garden border now. The raised beds currently have garlic, broad beans and corn salad. Now it’s warming up, I can start more seed sowing and really get the season going. When I published my …
Florespondence: Helle-not-so-boring
Hellebores, they aren’t so boring. I’m sure that’s been said a lot, but look at them – such beauty! The yellow ones are in the front garden, and the pinks and purples in the back garden. Helleborus x hybridus Harvington …
Planning the crop rotations for the kitchen garden
The raised beds that form the kitchen garden. The new growing season is fast approaching. As of this year I have my full complement of raised beds for growing edibles in, so I thought I better work out a crop …
Gardening with ME: plans for the kitchen garden this coming season
I’ve been mulling over what to grow in my veg beds this coming season. I decided to focus on the following categories: A) veg I love but cannot easily get hold of from our local supermarket,B) veg I love …
Forest garden border: reviewing the first season
The L-shaped forest garden border along the south (left) and west (right) facing fences, in July, prior to the new kitchen garden beds being created in front. My forest garden border was first planted out in March this year, and …
Happy new year
Spectacular sunset from our front garden As you can see, we experienced a pretty amazing sunset on the evening of 29th December. Going by the ‘red sky at night’ maxim, we were hoping for a good day the next day. …
Autumn: Fagus sylvatica – common beech
Fagus sylvatica hedge (right), and the north-facing hedge flower borders When we first viewed our home, one of the things that quickly won me over was the beech hedge separating our garden from our neighbour’s. Unlike a fence that blocks …