Summer can be cruel, can’t it? One minute it’s 1st July and you are rejoicing in the prospect of seemingly endless days of light, warmth and tomatoes; the next minute it’s 1st September and suddenly we have to accept that the days are noticeably shortening and that the fresh green colour in the hedgerows and… Continue reading 1st September
Time is a funny thing. I seem to spend all of spring looking forward impatiently to a time which is just round the corner, when a particular tree will be fully in leaf or a favourite plant in flower, and then before I know it it’s all happening around me while I’m busy looking forward… Continue reading Late May – how did that happen?
I think the Chinese probably have New Year about right – for all the icy winds and snow showers, mid-February feels like a new start in the garden, certainly more than the 1st January. It must be the combination of more light (an extra 2 hours by the end of the month), the shoots and… Continue reading Gardening New Year?
It’s mid-November and things are undeniably slower and less immediately exciting on the plot, but nevertheless things are still happening and there are harvests still to be had. An hour or two spent gardening on a crisp winter morning is about as good a remedy for the winter blues as you can get, and I’ve… Continue reading Winter Salad Days
It’s surely a natural tendency most of us have to only post the best bits of our lives on social media – not necessarily in order to deceive others into thinking we’re perfect but because the successes are the things that excite us the most, and therefore the things we most want to share with others.… Continue reading Pests & Diseases – Keeping Calm And Carrying On
It’s something of a culture shock to return back to the noise and bustle of a city after two glorious weeks in the Outer Hebrides! The allotment has more or less looked after itself – there was lots to pick and lots to tidy upon our return, and I’ll write about that in more detail… Continue reading Wildflower Obsessions On Holiday In The Hebrides
If Autumn is the season of mellow fruitfulness then July is surely the month of frantic fruitfulness…. Autumn offers us harvests to slowly gather and store at our own pace for the winter months, whereas the peak of summer is about grabbing whatever is at its best and either enjoying it in that moment or… Continue reading Frantic Fruitfulness in July
You’ve got to love this time year in the garden – all the hard work through spring starts to really pay off with some great harvests (strawberries, peas, broad beans, shallots, spring onions, beetroot, salad, herbs in our case), and there’s something new to look at everyday with new blooms appearing in a constant succession.… Continue reading A tour of the plot, 18th June
It’s been a while since my last post – I suppose at this glorious but hectic time of year any spare time I’ve had has been spent doing actual gardening rather than writing about it! It seems like there is always an extensive to-do list for an allotmenteer in May, and it can certainly feel… Continue reading Nearly June Already!
It’s been a great spring so far! Lots of plants are well ahead compared to last year – broad beans are flowering 3 weeks earlier, and early plug plantings of lettuce, radish and peas are starting to grow well. Another true harbinger of spring warmth is the sight of topless male pensioners on allotment sites throughout… Continue reading Early April Update
