And so we come to the end of another year. As I approach the tenth year of this blog – look forward to the anniversary celebrations in the summer – I reflect on the joys of the garden and allotment … Continue reading Reclaiming Paradise Awards 2023
I was sitting beside our patio doors, watching Bella, watching the garden and realised that none of this was here when we moved to the house fourteen years ago: the rhubarb, the complete tangle of wild flowers, the pond and … Continue reading Summering
When I removed the monstrous conifers from the back of the garden and started to rejuvenate the hedge I promised you: daffodils and snowdrops in the spring, bees, butterflies, bunnies, unicorns… Well we have the daffodils and the snowdrops, pictured … Continue reading Unicorns in the garden
Social media is a strange thing as we all know but one thing I’ve learned from my time on Twitter is that flowers are more popular than vegetables. I can’t imagine why. Anyway there is a trick to getting lots of likes and this flower has it all: It’s a very beautiful aquilegia, self-seeded randomly in the middle of my raspberry patch. You may be able to spot the raspberry leaves in the background. Apparently the variety is something like Aquilegia Winky Double Dark Blue (and according to one website attracts hummingbirds though probably not in my garden). I’ve no … Continue reading Viral flowers
I’ve been out in the garden today, catching some of the actual sunshine and imagining that spring has arrived. It has turned back to cold and fog this evening but there was some warm sunshine for a little while. The rare appearance of the sun led me to all sorts of garden activities. I checked on all the fruit blossom which is looking very promising: four different apples, redcurrants, raspberries and even pears – still hoping for more than one fruit this year: I planted out some peas. These are the heritage ‘Salmon Pink’ which I’ve managed to keep going … Continue reading Friends and foes in the garden
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
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
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
It’s been a day of contrasts – frost and ice first thing in the morning followed by glorious sunshine. Bella went out to check the ice on the pond, which was surrounded by frosty grass. Meanwhile, at the back of the garden the sun was shining on the first daffodils. Everything was glorious and I should have spent the day in the garden, or the allotment, or at the very least, sowing seeds indoors. Instead I made a trip to an out of town garden centre. I had a choice between going to one where I can get a bus … Continue reading A day of contrasts
And so we come to the end of June and the end of the #30DaysWild Challenge. Some people set out to do something wild every day, taking them on all sorts of adventures. My wildness has been rather urban and rather garden based. I just look for something wild every day. Here’s a summary of what I’ve seen in June. That wasn’t everything but there were a lot of bees, a lot of wildflowers and quite a lot of the cygnets and herons on Inverleith Pond. I’ve been watching these swan fluffballs since they were tiny. They’re quite big now … Continue reading A wild month
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