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 … Continue reading Nesting bees
Wildlife
Wildlife – mainly creatures rather than plants
Paradise reclaimed
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 … Continue reading Paradise reclaimed
Slow germination and deep roots
Two plants have appeared in my garden this week that I don't remember planting. First of all this orchid appeared in a pot of tarragon which has been at the kitchen door for several years. I have no idea how it got there. Possibly the seed was in some garden compost and had been dormant … Continue reading Slow germination and deep roots
Frog season
I've been busy this weekend and not much gardening done, other than a frenetic couple of hours on Saturday evening, hacking back overgrown grass and weeds at the allotment. Still, there are signs of summer finally arriving. I harvested the first few strawberries from the allotment and the frogs have reappeared in the garden pond. … Continue reading Frog season
Thirty days wild
It's June, so it's time for #30DaysWild - an annual event run by the Wildlife Trusts to encourage people to get outside and enjoy nature. I try to appreciate nature every day, not just in June, but the 30 Days Wild event makes me try that little bit harder. My busy city life doesn't usually allow … Continue reading Thirty days wild
In other newts*
...the frogs are back! We've missed seeing them in the pond since last summer but the sunny weather has brought them back. We spotted at least two but I am sure there are more lurking in the undergrowth. We also have newts, dozens and dozens of them. They are harder to photograph as they flit … Continue reading In other newts*
Black and white and colour photos
Another lovely sunny day in the garden and allotment. I had been up since a silly hour in the morning, woken by bird song, so I went out when all was quiet and everyone else was trying to grab as much sleep from the clock change as possible. Bella came out with me and, sensing … Continue reading Black and white and colour photos
Big garden no bird watch
Today was the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch day. I've counting the birds in my garden at the end of January for over twenty years and have found that the birds vary enormously from one year to the next. One of the variables has been the change in garden. My old garden attracted the usual … Continue reading Big garden no bird watch
Advent calendar update
It's been a bit of a long week but keeping my eyes open for snatches of winter joy has helped me get through. So here's an update: Day 8 - I was walking along the street, not feeling very festive, when I heard workmen singing Christmas carols as they worked. This prompted me to photograph … Continue reading Advent calendar update
Wild and wonderful advent calendar
The first week of my wild and wonderful advent calendar has gone rather well. I set out to tweet something that struck me as wild or wonderful every day. This has forced me to go outside at least for a few minutes in the morning or in the middle of the day when there was … Continue reading Wild and wonderful advent calendar
