Author: Reclaiming Paradise

Garden blogger
Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers10 Comments

Sixtyish on Saturday

Reclaiming Paradise

In a small departure from the Six on Saturday rules, today’s post celebrates my challenge to harvest sixty different edible plants from my garden and allotment this year. Last week I hit my target, with the wondrous Howgate Wonder apples coming in at number sixty. I’ve now gone over the target and you can read all about what I’ve harvested since January here This year the Howgate Wonders are bigger than ever. I weighed one and it was 1lb! Not all are quite that big but there have been about thirty of these lovelies on the tree. So far they’ve … Continue reading Sixtyish on Saturday

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Disappointments and monsters: Six on Saturday

Reclaiming Paradise

I don’t know how everyone else does their #SixonSaturday posts? I often struggle to find time to blog every Saturday but I do try and post six nice things on the twitter hashtag. My process is to go out into the garden and see what strikes me as interesting, beautiful or particularly photogenic. I’m often in a bit of rush and some weeks’ photos are better than others. Anyway, today I followed my usual process: wandered round the front garden, looking to see what was there, while hauling up a few weeds, deadheading some roses and chatting to my neighbour … Continue reading Disappointments and monsters: Six on Saturday

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Harvest

Reclaiming Paradise

I’ve been away from home for a week or so, walking and swimming in the rain. We had a bit of a plum glut just before we left, so we took the plums with us. I also made an emergency supply of plum jam the night before we left, rather than doing any packing, getting my priorities right, as I was worried they wouldn’t survive till we got home. Some of the tomato crop also joined us on our holiday, including a double Costoluto Fiorentino and the first of the impressively coloured but decidedly small ‘Indigo Blue Berry’ and a … Continue reading Harvest

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers10 Comments

A seedy Six on Saturday

Reclaiming Paradise

I was out in the garden checking on what’s happening for #SixOnSaturday and was struck by all the seeding going on, among the vegetables, herbs, flowers and wild things. The noble teasel, which has had seed heads for weeks or possibly months but is looking rather good just now. These self seed all round the garden and I allow one or two to grow to full height each year. It’s all a bit random where they end up. This one is growing by the fence in the front garden. 2. Foxgloves, like the teasels, these decide where they want to … Continue reading A seedy Six on Saturday

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Not counting my chickens..

Reclaiming Paradise

.. but my plan to harvest sixty different fruit, vegetables and edible plants this year is nicely on track. As I explained back in January the plan is to see if the garden and allotment can produce sixty different vegetables, fruits, herbs, or edible flowers and weeds over the course of the year. I’ve now recorded forty-five – see the running total here – with my climbing French beans the latest in the harvest record. So, I’m fairly optimistic that I’ll reach sixty by the end of the autumn harvest. However, I’m not counting my chickens too soon as all … Continue reading Not counting my chickens..

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers2 Comments

Red and purple

Reclaiming Paradise

I’ve just had another week away from the garden and returned to all sorts of joys. The bees are very happy on the buddleia and the lavender in the front garden. The rowan berries and the wild roses have beautiful red berries. There’s not a huge amount to harvest – mainly peas, lettuces and some frighteningly early autumn raspberries. However, the French and runner beans are coming along nicely and there was a pile of windfall Howgate Wonders on the grass – don’t worry there are plenty still left on the tree. Most excitingly, a tomato has appeared on the … Continue reading Red and purple

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden10 Comments

The joys of home – six on Saturday

Reclaiming Paradise

Earlier in the week I blogged about the joys of tomatoes and my envy at my friends’ ability to grow them so easily in the south of France. Today’s #SixOnSaturday celebrates what’s growing in my Scottish garden today. Peas – these are Prussian Blue – or at least I think they are. They are from saved seed and I seem to have got the varieties mixed up a bit. Anyway, they taste great. 2. Overwintered broad beans – Aquadulce Claudia I think . They’ve been superb this year. These are the last of a massive crop. I’ve also had a … Continue reading The joys of home – six on Saturday

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden4 Comments

Tomato heaven

Reclaiming Paradise

I’ve been away from my garden for a week or so, visiting friends in London and France and doing some work stuff. It was lovely to catch up with some very good friends who I hadn’t seen for a while, what with lockdowns and such. I also caught up with some good weather, a wee bit of swimming (see my swimming blog) and some fantastic tomatoes. The ones in the picture above were on sale at a train station in Provence, making up for my delayed train in a way that British stations really can’t compete with. I couldn’t resist … Continue reading Tomato heaven