All about sustainable food production on small spaces plus books and gardens
Coming back from the one-acre plot the other evening, I noticed a comma butterfly flitting around an overgrown patch of brambles festooned in flower. Stopping to watch, I was mesmerised by the sheer wealth of insect life in this sunny
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It was a comment from one of the speakers on BBC Radio 4 Farming Today (Sat 15 June) that got me thinking about #nectar, or rather the lack of nectar. The topic of discussion was flea beetles and oilseed rape
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Hurrah, some rain is forecast. I know, it’s June, and we all want to be outside enjoying the sun and the last thing we want is rain. But 2019 has been a dry year so far. Down in the south-west,
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I’ll never tire of sitting down in the plot on a sunny day to simply watch and listen. Today the phacelia was alive with pollinators, mostly honey bees and bumblebees, while the birds were in full voice. The video says
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The orchards are full of blossom at the moment and bees (hopefully) are busy. But all may not be well. I have just watched a Countryfile Spring report on fruit trees, pollinators and the threat of climate change. The item
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A visit to RHS Hampton Court Flower Show is one of my highlights of the gardening year – an idyllic location beside Hampton Court Palace and the Thames, a vast array of show gardens, stand holders with just about everything
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You don’t see udo (Aralia cordata) very often in the UK. Its a huge Asian perennial ‘vegetable’ that grows to two to three metres in height. It’s also called Japanese Spikenard because of the spiky bristles on the shoots. Being
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What are those yellow flowers? Its a common question asked by visitors to the plot at this time of year. The eye-catching flowers that tower above everything else are parsnips. It’s a shame that more don’t keep their parsnips in
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Last week I popped along to the #NGS open day at Homeacres – Charles Dowding’s no dig garden in Somerset. I have visited before but not at this time of year, so it was good to see the beds early
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This is the last of my saved Musquee De Provence, a large traditional French winter squash (Cucurbita moschata), now a puree in the freezer. These large flat, cheese-wheel squashes are often seen on sale in French markets where they are
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