My plan this year was to cut down on the number of plants to be grown. I tried to ignore all the seed catalogues and fantastic sales the plant companies are offering, but once again my finger nervously hovers over the ‘buy’ button. If it would be content to hover, I would be happy but … More Never Say Never Again
Perhaps it’s memories from my childhood, but there are a few plants grown by my mother, which instilled a fondness for them in me. Hollyhock, lupins, red-hot poker, roses, aster, gypsophila and many others come to mind. Her collection of plants had many origins from either exchanging seeds or cuttings with friends – and visits … More Barking Mad
If you know horse racing terms, you will recognise the term ‘the also-rans’. Those are the ones in the race, the stragglers that never quite made winning. Like some of my plants, I am always surprised at the ones which, throughout the summer had to be coaxed into making an effort to do anything, but … More The Also-rans
We just could not muster up enough heat or sunshine to ripen the Kiwano but at least I got three more fruits than I did last year. They should ripen indoors eventually but I consider it an achievement to get this far. For such a large, heavy, fruit, it hangs on a surprisingly fine vine … More The Fading Harvest
I join gardening clubs, Facebook groups, gardening forums and follow gardening bloggers etc. and see all the gardens which their owners describe as ‘small’. I would like to have their version of a small garden. I could grow enough produce to keep our town supplied with fruit and vegetables for many months. However, I have … More Bijoux Gardens
Fencing, or lack of it, has been the bane of my life in trying to keep dogs out. My garden is small and so is the little furry tornado which tries to get into the garden and run amok. Ideally I would like my garden fenced in, however I have a problem that it doesn’t … More Don’t Fence Me In
The United Kingdom is made up from the union of two kingdoms, Scotland and England (which already included Wales). … More The Big Divide
I do get a bit envious of gardeners with a sizeable vegetable plot. I never seem to have enough of a harvest of anything to think about preserving. Before the invention of refrigerators, people knew how to preserve produce and other foods. Seasonal meant just that, with much of the staple produce locally grown. Sweet … More In A Pickle
At a time when everyone is trying to collect and dry seeds for next season, I am thinking about tea. Mint tea to be exact and to be even more exact, it isn’t really a tea at all. It’s an infusion, as tea only comes from a tea plant (Camellia sinensis). Although it would appear anything … More When Is A Tea Not A Tea?
I was given some Tamarind seeds some time ago, and although difficult to germinate, one of the three seeds I was given, did. I watched the little sprout develop, it grew a stem which carried its seed up with it. Delighted to have got this far with it, I watched it carefully. When it started … More My Little Tamarind Tree
