Month: August 2019

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden5 Comments

Runner beans and nasturtiums

Reclaiming Paradise

Down the allotment at the weekend, there were tons of runner beans and giant courgettes.  I forgot to take photos but here are some of the runner bean flowersI’ve grown the red flowered ‘painted lady’ beans for years but these are ‘moonlight’, from a seed swap back in the spring. I also have sweet peas growing up the bean poles – a combination I particularly like Alongside these, a rogue squash was also climbing: The beans, courgettes and squashes are loving the warm wet summer, as are the nasturtiums which self seed all over the plot, making it  very beautiful … Continue reading Runner beans and nasturtiums

Recycling and reusing, Wildlife4 Comments

Nesting bees

Reclaiming Paradise

It was one of those days when you are sitting having your lunch, pondering the nature of utility and beauty and realising that your garden is not quite passing the William Morris test: ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’ – for more see here , where I argue that the test does not apply to the garden. In the garden there are many many beautiful things but also some that are not beautiful but are useful, mostly old plastic buckets and odd bits of wire caging which keep cats … Continue reading Nesting bees

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden5 Comments

Monsoon weather

Reclaiming Paradise

I brought the lawn mower back from the allotment last week so that we could tackle the jungle in the garden. Fortunately a small gap in this year’s monsoon enabled us to have a go at the lawn.  But the monsoon has returned, which means the lawnmower is useless and the grass just keeps growing, but I have found a solution I evicted all of these little chaps from my pea plants and set them to work on cutting the grass. Meanwhile the marrows are really enjoying all this rain: I did get a great harvest from the peas and … Continue reading Monsoon weather

Why I garden, Wildlife2 Comments

Paradise reclaimed

Reclaiming Paradise

This blog takes its name from Joni Mitchell’s song Big Yellow Taxi. My front garden is a reclaimed car park where previous residents parked their cars in front of the house. For more on this story, see my about page. Instead of parking cars, I grow plants and welcome the wildlife. Today I did a big tidy up in the front garden, updated the labels in my herb garden and revelled in the plants and creatures that would not have been there had I been parking cars instead: I also found this frog in the back garden, lurking in the … Continue reading Paradise reclaimed

Cooking and eating from the garden5 Comments

A new redcurrant recipe

Reclaiming Paradise

I harvested most of the redcurrants today. They have been fabulous this year in the garden but not at the allotment. Another of the strange differences in microclimate between my two growing spaces. I remembered making some less than successful redcurrant relish last year but couldn’t remember where I found the recipe – just checked, it was a link on the blog – here , but I didn’t think of looking on my own blog! Instead I ploughed through my various recipe books, failing to find a suitable recipe, and so decided to adapt one for red pepper relish instead. Let’s hope … Continue reading A new redcurrant recipe