I decided to do a little bit of reconstructing my planting zone, it just wasn’t working for me last year, as it did in previous years. There was a fairly good reason for it. Between personal problems and a cold, wet summer, which I believe may have been an overspill of the previous winter, there … More Watch Your Butt
When I first thought of having a tropical look to the garden, I thought more of stunning, flamboyant blooms and colourful, oversized leafy plants to brighten a dull corner, it never crossed my mind they would need to survive the monsoon season in near Arctic conditions. … More Monsoon Season
At last the tomatoes are planted up in their final pots. Eight in pots and three in the hydroponic tank, all different varieties. There are another three pots in another greenhouse with only the little Ildi tomato to be potted up. I haven’t quite decided what to do with that one yet, it’s the tiniest … More Keeping Up Appearances
We have plenty of the small, buff-tailed carder bees around but there isn’t much choice of flowers available here at the moment. I have a few miniature daffodils, some tulips and a few other small spring flowers. However, once the Cotoneaster horizontalis is in flower, the garden will be buzzing with them. Looking good in a dull corner … More Where There’s Life, There’s Hope
It’s bad enough that bees were in danger of being lost thanks to a parasitic virus, but neonicotinoid insecticides were also being approved of by the governments of the United Kingdom and the European Union until recently, when they realised the disastrous results it could lead to. The modern world is so wrapped up in … More Bee-ing Artistic
I have always liked garlic, but never really gave a thought to how many varieties there were, until I discovered ‘The Garlic Farm’. I planted up three varieties of spring garlic just a few weeks ago, Picardy Wight, Solent Wight and Mersley Wight. Most of it is growing fine but it will be some time … More Wild About Garlic
An area of my small garden is purely ornamental, partly because it’s not suitable for growing anything edible. It’s north-facing, overshadowed on three sides and only in summer, does it get a few hours of full sun. Most of the time, it remains a bit boggy. There is a small pond as well so the … More Something Old, Something New
A recent article on Facebook, ‘The Plant Guide’, by another blogger, came up with a few surprises when I read it. I realised how much we take for granted when we sow, what to us are common seeds. However, it doesn’t answer the question of what vegetables are indigenous to Great Britain? This is a … More Where In The World?
Death hits us hard when it calls. It has brought disappointment and annoyance because plants I bought, which were frost-tender at lower degrees, could still be expected to survive if protected, instead they have given up the ghost. I checked out the descriptions of the plants before I bought them and made sure they were … More Ashes To Ashes
Friends and neighbours have a very nice habit of finding me gardening bargains. … More Growing Friends
