Category: Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers

How to grow things

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers4 Comments

Freezing

Reclaiming Paradise

On this first day of British Summer Time, we have had hail but also some sunshine and it’s still light! At last we’ve made it through the dark months and have long spring and summer evenings to look forward to. Meanwhile my freezer is looking rather bare, having used the last of the frozen rhubarb for breakfast this morning and the last of the frozen apple in a chocolate apple cake – recipe here – for a family birthday. However this year’s rhubarb is now in full production so I’ll be able to start filling the freezer again! The spring … Continue reading Freezing

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers5 Comments

Daffodils in the snow

Reclaiming Paradise

We’ve had a bit of snow and ice here but nothing lying for long. Here are the tete a tete daffodils appearing with still some snow lying. The garden is looking a little battered but the spring bulbs provide cheer. There’s still lots of snowdrops, daffodils coming in waves, crocuses in odd places and even some hyacinths planted out from last year, looking as if they’re going to flower I forgot to take any photos of the large daffodils apart from the fallen over ones which I brought into the house. I was pleased to be able to take some … Continue reading Daffodils in the snow

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden4 Comments

Reclaiming Paradise Awards 2022

Reclaiming Paradise

As we approach the end of 2022 and venture into the wilds of 2023, this post celebrates all that has been joyful, exciting or downright disappointing in my garden and allotment this year. This year my main achievement was my challenge to harvest sixty different vegetables, fruit, herbs, or edible flowers or weeds in the garden and allotment. In fact, my list reached sixty nine. This was an interesting challenge for me and I didn’t do anything very different from usual other than try some new varieties of veg that I’d grown before and make sure I recorded every new … Continue reading Reclaiming Paradise Awards 2022

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers2 Comments

Novembery

Reclaiming Paradise

After all the unseasonalness of the last couple of weeks, today felt proper Novembery. The forecast is for the temperature to dip below freezing tonight so I got out in the garden to do some tidying up and harvest a few bits and pieces. The Wonder of Four Seasons lettuces are living up to their name, with a few juicy looking plants still growing nicely: I harvested one and covered the others with some plastic sheeting in the hope that this will keep them going for a bit longer. the lettuces were already covered with freezer baskets to keep Bella … Continue reading Novembery

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers4 Comments

Unseasonal

Reclaiming Paradise

I was at the allotment for the first time in a couple of weeks. It is beginning to settle down for the winter but there is still quite a lot growing and still some veg to harvest. We have leeks, kale, potatoes, broccoli and sprouts still in the ground which will do us well over the winter. The runner beans have practically finished but I’ve left the poles up as they are supporting the sweet peas which seem to have had a burst of growth in the last week or so. It is quite usual for the sweet peas to … Continue reading Unseasonal

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

I had a little pear tree…

Reclaiming Paradise

… and nothing would it bear, but silver blossom and a golden pear: Just one – but a pear never-the-less! It fell gracefully into the clover yesterday morning. It’s not ripe yet but I’m ever hopeful. This prodigal pear tree has taken three years to do anything at all, producing tantalising blossom in April this year and then just this one beautiful pear. To celebrate I’ve ordered another tree to keep it company. Apparently you need two and I don’t know why I didn’t check this before. So hopefully in years to come there will be many pairs of pears. … Continue reading I had a little pear tree…

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