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Remembering my Gardening Hero (Dad)
On Remembrance Sunday, I think of my gardening hero (dad) more than usual. When World War Two started he was still a boy so joined the home-guard. When he turned 18 he was sent off to serve his country. Solace in the Garden He only told our mum a few of the horrors that he’d witnessed. No wonder he took solace in his precious garden. Grateful to be alive, having left friends where they lay on foreign soils. He was never happier than when he was in his gardening clothes, digging his vegetable patch and tending his flowers. Just like Monty Don his faithful dog was never far away. I…
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Gardening with Cats – The Original Stars of Gardeners World
Come Outside! The first cat we had would scratch at the back door, we’d open it and he’d just stand there meowing. We’d say are you coming in or not? – because our cats obviously understand English (when it suits them). We’d shut the door and five minutes later we’d have the whole thing again. It took us quite some time to realise that he didn’t want to come in, he wanted us to come out into the garden – because we clearly don’t understand cat talk! He wasn’t really a lap-cat, but he seemed to love us being outside with him. When we were gardening, he was never far…
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The Geese are back in town! – Autumn is around the corner!
I am now awakened regularly by loud honking first thing in the morning. Not from a car, but because the geese are back in town! I’m not at all annoyed, I love hearing them and lie there smiling. They fly over the house three or four times each morning; I never know if it’s the same flock going round and around or if it’s three or four different flocks. The Canada geese return to us each year in late August, and it starts with just a handful. You’re suddenly aware of that distinctive honking sound, and sure enough there’s a small ‘V’ formation in the sky. By mid-September though, there…
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Wildflowers – My New Border
It’s wonderful that wildflowers and wildflower meadows are being appreciated again, and so many people are planting a version of them in their own gardens. At the same time it’s really sad to know how many have been lost over the last few decades. Again it’s the gardeners of the country that are helping by growing these insect friendly plants again! I’ve loved wildflowers ever since walks with my auntie as a little girl, when she used to teach me the names. Even the cultivated varieties of flowers that I choose tend to be the more natural looking ones. When I was designing our garden, the vegetable growing area and…
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Gardening in a Heatwave – Too much Watering!
Gardening in a heatwave means gardening early and lots of watering. Watering is not my favourite job in the garden at the best of time, but especially not the amount I had to do at the beginning of last week! As we saw temperatures reach over 40C, the highest this country has ever experienced, it was a particularly big job. At it’s peak I was watering twice a day, and despite this some of the plants were still wilting in the mid-day heat. The beetroot leaves were looking like we were all feeling, wilted! I really thought the poor old Ligularia ‘Desdemona’ was done for, but amazingly she perked up…
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Growing Dahlias – Why have I never grown Dahlias before?
I think the main reason I’ve never grown dahlias before, is because they are a tender plant. Meaning, they more than likely wouldn’t survive the low temperatures out in the border. Once the foliage has all died down, you need to lift the tubers out of the ground, dry them out and put them somewhere frost free for the winter. To me this is a bit of a faff. As far as the ornamental side of the garden goes I prefer hardy perennials, bulbs, and shrubs. Things that once planted, just look after themselves. The other reason I was put off dahlias was thinking of them as a show plant.…
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Am I turning into a Flower Arranger?
I suppose flower arranging has always gone hand in hand with gardening, but it’s just not something I’ve ever bothered with. I’ve never picked flowers from my own garden to bring into the house, preferring to see them growing naturally outside. Obviously I do my best when someone has bought me a bunch of flowers, I do like to see them arranged nicely. It’s possible that because my mum went to flower arranging classes years ago, and would come home with some spectacular but very formal displays, it put me off. My mum is exceptionally talented and can turn her hand to anything practical and artistic. She definitely brought me…
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Longest Day, Midsummer’s Day & Summer Solstice
As we left all of the Summer Solstice celebrations behind last week, we appear to have left the mini heatwave behind too. It has been lovely having some proper summer weather, allowing us to get outside more. As usual it broke before the weekend which is a shame for all the workers. Although as a gardener I’ve almost been doing a rain-dance, as the garden’s got drier and drier! It’s been crying out for a drink and watering had become a daily job. Even plants in the border were wilting and in need of an occasional soaking. The pond was also getting really low and as I’d put two new…
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Now for something completely different – The Purple Potato Project
My first early purple potatoes are ready! I wasn’t going to grow potatoes this year, as we really don’t eat very many, but when I saw the Purple Potato Project, I couldn’t resist! As I’ve said before, I am drawn to something a bit different, and I already grow so many other purple veg. They don’t actually taste any different, but they are better for you, with antioxidants in. The particular antioxidant they have is anthocyanin – known for its positive health benefits. It is purported to reduce inflammation and protect you from conditions like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Anthocyanin is also found in red cabbage…
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The Madness of May!
May is the month when the garden seems to explode. Not only do new flowers appear everyday, but more appear during the day! When I go and open the greenhouse every morning, I have a mooch around. By the time I’m out there at lunchtime, more flowers have opened. The growing rate at this time of year is incredible! I keep toying with putting a time-lapse camera on the tomato plants. They seem to grow from hour to hour! The Edible Garden Crops we are already eating Breakfast has been zinged up now with the start of the rhubarb harvest. We simply stew it in it’s own juices, then eat…
