Author: Reclaiming Paradise

Garden blogger
Cooking and eating from the garden, Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Summer harvest begins

Reclaiming Paradise

As we pass midsummer the harvest in the garden and allotment is really getting into full flow. The soft fruits are appearing: raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries and even some cherries this year, rescued from the tree before the blackbirds got to them. All this bounty is helping me towards my target of sixty different harvestable fruits, vegetables, herbs and weeds to celebrate my sixtieth birthday. I’ve now passed the half way point and am reasonably optimistic that I’ll meet my target – for an update see here As well as all the summer fruits, the overwintered broad beans are producing great … Continue reading Summer harvest begins

Why I garden, Wildlife13 Comments

Why flowers are better than car parks

Reclaiming Paradise

I was out in the front garden looking for joys for #SixonSaturday and was overcome by all the beauty of the flowers and bees. Time for my annual ‘why do people cover their front gardens in paving when they can have all this instead?’ blog post. Here are six pictures which I hope will explain why flowers are better than car parks Osteospermum with self-seeded Canterbury bells and a Small White butterfly 2. Wild roses with more self-seeded Canterbury Bells 3. Bee on self-seeded lavender 4. Cherries – almost ripe – need to pick them before the blackbirds get them … Continue reading Why flowers are better than car parks

Why I garden, Wildlife2 Comments

Friday night delight

Reclaiming Paradise

It’s been a bit of a week (a bit of a month actually) but it was a lovely evening so we had our tea in the garden – we had ‘leftover delight’, which is basically ‘what’s in the fridge? Let’s just heat it up’. Tonight that meant leftover vegetable curry with some rather aged microwaveable rice. It all tasted fine. What was really delightful though was the complete mess of self-seeded and other flowers, waving around in the wind, and Bella walking purposefully past on her way to check out any leftovers under the garden table. The garden has gone … Continue reading Friday night delight

Why I garden7 Comments

Changing seasons

Reclaiming Paradise

Everyone does #SixonSaturday differently. My usual approach is to have a quick look around the garden and see what strikes me as new, special or a useful pattern of six. Today I did a quick tour of the front and back gardens to see what was going on. It was raining a bit but what struck me most was the signs of the changing seasons. Early spring changing to late spring, but with signs of summer and autumn too. So in one bed there were late daffodils, with forget-me-nots in the background 2. In another, the roses are beginning to … Continue reading Changing seasons

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden4 Comments

Blossom Season

Reclaiming Paradise

For #SixonSaturday this week, here are six beautiful fruit blossom trees in my garden just now. Bird cherry Or at least that’s what the label said when I bought it – I’m growing it as part of my hedge rejuvenation project. Apparently it produces bitter fruits – for the birds. My theory is that the birds eat this one and not the edible cherry in the front garden but that is probably wishful thinking. Pear I know, I’ve blogged about this before but I am very excited by this tree producing its first ever flowers and, I hope, its first … Continue reading Blossom Season

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden6 Comments

There may be pears

Reclaiming Paradise

Yes, pears, not bears. The baby pear tree which has done nothing very much for the last three and a half years, has blossom. I’m very excited but also a little worried. This little tree has chosen to have it’s blossom debut in the middle of a cold snap, just after a mini heatwave. I covered it with some ‘may come in handy some time’ plastic from the shed during the very cold nights last week and it seems to have survived Just as well. We had ice on the pond on a couple of mornings. Bella likes to check … Continue reading There may be pears

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden2 Comments

Falling behind

Reclaiming Paradise

Apologies that I’ve fallen behind on blogging – life has got in the way a bit – but exciting things are happening in the garden. Here’s a snapshot from last week’s glorious sunshine. Plum blossom, crocuses, a tiny self-sown nasturtium in beside the tulips, the wild primroses all coming up. Now it’s all rainy and cold and nasty, but my cucumbers have germinated, so life is good: Continue reading Falling behind

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers7 Comments

Seed sowing at last

Reclaiming Paradise

After what seems like a very long winter, I’ve made a start on this year’s seed sowing. Back at Christmas time we had some home made crackers which I cunningly filled with chilli and and tomato seeds (and chocolate) to encourage my green fingered family to grow their own veg. Most of them (possibly all of them) chose the ‘pass on to someone who will’ option, leaving me with the joyous task of sowing the tiny seeds today. Here they are in relatively well labelled pots and off to their home in my heated propagator for a couple of weeks. … Continue reading Seed sowing at last