Le Vendange!
Sorry - I've come over all smug because my grape harvest (vendange) has been formidable this year.
we have been growing the vine up the back of the garage on a south facing wall. Those of you who have been fol...
Algae
Our pond is no longer clear as gin nor fresh as a daisy. We have algae.
E
ven the word feels like an anagram of "plague" . Algae are simple plant life that live in or near water. They don't have leaves o...
Kind of Blue
I recently overheard someone say to a friend "thank you for those blueberry plants: we had more than we could eat".
A
nd I couldn't stop thinking I wanted more blueberries than I could eat. I'd dismissed the...
Timber!
We have some lovely mature trees in our garden which are full of twittering birds and give the garden plenty of "vertical interest". Two of them are huge cherry trees which stand at ten metres.
I
don't think...
Winter Berries
Christmas is over and the fairy lights that lent a little sparkle will soon be back in the loft. Now the garden really has to work to lure us to the window let alone outside.
W
hat you need, according to the...
Fiddly Fennel
I began my first vegetable garden in 2001. Everything grew like topsy and I had a bumper harvest. It was definitely Beginner's Luck - especially when it came to Florence Fennel.
T
hey were beautiful fleshy ...
Bumper Spuds
Every year I seek the perfect salad potato. It's my holy grail.
I
t seems that every variety I grow is inevitably floury rather than retaining that firm, waxy texture that works so much better in a potato sa...
Constant Cabbage
It's only when you flick through the seed catalogues that you realise there is a cabbage for every season.
F
inding room for them in a modest plot is more difficult. We have two raised beds for brassicas and...
Grape Vine
I'll admit I have got into a pickle with my grape. It is very happy growing along the south-facing side of the garage but I haven't really got the hang of pruning it.
M
y variety is Black Hamburg, a dessert ...