I'm hoping for enough of a break between weather events this morning to meet with a young couple who are going to take on half of one of my two allotments. I don't really need two whole plots but one isn't quite enough either. They're new to veg growing and both work full time, so…
Six on Saturday – 2/2/2019
It rained steadily all day Thursday, turning to snow in late afternoon. Any salt applied to the roads had been washed away so the snow settled and as the temperature dropped, froze, along with the slushy stuff underneath. Result, an inch or less of snow and impassable roads. I was very glad I didn't have to…
Six on Saturday – 26/1/2019
Yesterday the temperature was well up in double figures and there is no doubt the pace of things in the garden is picking up. I went out expecting very little to have changed from last week and found twice as many items as I needed. I'm not complaining, winter is plenty long enough and I'm always desperate…
Six on Saturday -19/1/2019
When I was writing this yesterday afternoon it was 8°C and raining, as it had been all day. It was also getting brighter, like it was going to brighten up just in time to go dark. Thanks a lot. I didn't fancy going out in the rain with my camera and today I'm off gallivanting…
Apple upcycling
OK, you planted a bunch of step-over apples nearly ten years ago because they were fashionable then and to be honest they’ve been a disappointment. Maybe they don’t get enough sun, maybe they weren’t pruned quite right. Some good varieties among them too, like ‘Saint Cecilia’. According to the National Fruit Collection this is a…
Six on Saturday – 12/1/2019
If we had a well defined winter in this country I imagine there would be months of nothing at all happening followed by a relatively quick transition into full on growth. It seems that one season starts before the last one has finished and the acceleration into full growth runs at about 0 to 60…
Six on Saturday – 5/1/2019
If you wanted the clearest possible indication that not a lot is happening in the garden it's the fact that I've spent most of the last week decorating. Hanging wallpaper and painting. The last few days have been cold though we've mostly escaped frost. Nevertheless I scurried round on Wednesday afternoon tucking things up, then…
Seeds for 2019
There must be gardeners who never grow things from seed, just like there are gardeners who don’t compost stuff. If gardening is about growing stuff you simply cannot get more engaged with the process than by sowing and growing seeds. I have a list of the seeds I hope to be sowing in 2019. It…
Six on Saturday -29/12/2018
Last six of the year. Taking inspiration from Jane's king parrots last week I have been trying to take pictures of garden birds. We hang a couple of feeders of sunflower seeds out for them and mostly get flocks of goldfinches hoovering them up from dawn to dusk. I started taking pictures from the house, through…
Six on Saturday -22/12/2018
I have to admit I'm not highly motivated to get out into the garden at the moment. My task for the week has been to sort out the 18,500 photos of Camellias I took in 2017. Done, phew. Now for 2016, not so many, just under 10,000. It would not be true to say that…
garden ruminations 