Tag: Winter

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers11 Comments

Winter work

Reclaiming Paradise

Last weekend I did some DIY in the garden to provide some protection for the expected storms. I noticed a crack in the door of the seed palace. The palace has done a great job protecting seedlings but this needed some attention. I got out the ancient tools and added a splint of wood to hold it all in place Since the problem had been caused by the door banging in the wind, I also added an extra hook and eye to keep the doors shut. It’s all nice and cosy now and looking after the sweet pea seedlings, which … Continue reading Winter work

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Chilly day at the allotment

Reclaiming Paradise

I made a trip to the allotment today, the first for a couple of weeks. It was a bright but chilly day and I did a little weeding while checking out the various overwintering vegetables. I was pleased to see the broccoli and sprouts still providing us with some winter vitamin C. We also have kale and leeks so shouldn’t be in too much risk of scurvy. Meanwhile the onions and garlic are pushing slowly up through the soil and there are daffodils, looking ready to burst into colour in a few weeks time. Then I spotted these lovely primroses, … Continue reading Chilly day at the allotment

Why I garden5 Comments

New year flowers

Reclaiming Paradise

We usually go for a good walk on New Year’s Day but visitors meant that we stayed in and chatted and played scrabble instead. I did get out in the garden to count the flowers though. Here’s what was in bloom this year. First of all the sweetly scented viburnum: Then some unseasonal beauties: a red scabious, a pink Benjamin Britten rose, a yellow wallflower and a blue campanula There were some more seasonal yellow flowers: a yellow primula in a pot and the winter jasmine just coming into flower.  And finally the tiny but powerfully scented wintersweet Apart from … Continue reading New year flowers

Why I garden3 Comments

Winter wonderland

Reclaiming Paradise

The temperature dropped to -4 last night, leaving a winter wonderland in the garden: This sets me up nicely for my annual wild and wonderful advent calendar. From tomorrow I’ll tweet something that strikes me as wild or wonderful every day until the 24th to get us through the sometimes tricky dark days of December. I’ll update on the blog every few days. Meanwhile I’m having a jolly time in a station waiting room, waiting for a much delayed train. Not much wild or wonderful here but frost and cat pictures on twitter and a good book are keeping me … Continue reading Winter wonderland

Cooking and eating from the garden, Why I garden9 Comments

Apples and ice

Reclaiming Paradise

This weekend has seen the first hard frost, with ice on the pond: and lovely frost on the Broccoli I thought I’d better harvest the last of the apples before it gets any colder – Yes these are the phenomenal Howgate Wonders again – I picked 30 on Saturday morning and we’ve had about 6 or 7 already this year so this is a bumper year. They are the most delicious apples, eaten fresh or cooked. They’re a little too big to eat as eating apples but lovely to share between two or three over breakfast. Here they are with … Continue reading Apples and ice

Wildlife5 Comments

Big garden no bird watch

Reclaiming Paradise

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 sparrows and blue tits, blackbirds and robins but also starlings.  In this garden, where I’ve now been counting birds for nearly ten years, there is a wider variety, including magpies and wrens, but I’ve never seen a starling.  The other variables include the weather, the … Continue reading Big garden no bird watch

Cooking and eating from the garden6 Comments

Solstice soup

Reclaiming Paradise

Today’s the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year but the one where we can start looking again for light and the promise of spring. It’s rained for most of the day but I went into the garden in the rain and hauled out masses of overgrown stuff from round the pond. The frogs like the overgrown weeds but I know that there are spring bulbs underneath it all and so worth hauling some of it out. It felt quite therapeutic.  I was called away from this task by a horde of musicians who have returned to take over … Continue reading Solstice soup

Why I garden1 Comment

Advent Calendar Days 15-20

Reclaiming Paradise

Today I’ve been at home in daylight and even done some gardening.  I forgot to take any photos in the garden  but here’s a wee update on the wild and wonderful Advent Calendar this week. On Saturday the 15th, snow and hail and all sorts of wintriness was forecast. I spent the day delivering mince pies to my mother and helping her to eat them, while sorting out her Christmas card list. By the time I got round to thinking about the advent calendar, it was dark and it was hailing. So here is a picture of the pond in … Continue reading Advent Calendar Days 15-20

Wildlife2 Comments

Advent calendar update

Reclaiming Paradise

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 some festive holly: Day 9 – tiny signs of spring. Snowdrops peeking through the soil outside my mother’s new flat Day 10 – frosted oak leaf lying among the frosted clover in my lawn Day 11 Chelsea sitting under a broccoli plant Day 12 Lovely … Continue reading Advent calendar update

Why I garden, Wildlife4 Comments

Wild and wonderful advent calendar

Reclaiming Paradise

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 still some light and to try and notice the world around me. Some days this is easy but others I have to really pay attention. So for your enjoyment, here is the first week of wildness and wonder: Day 1 – the Viburnum in the … Continue reading Wild and wonderful advent calendar