Tag: winter

Small Garden Trees For All Seasons

This is the time of year when trees shine. Flowers are fading, even the late blooming asters and roses will shortly be over. But the trees will soon be putting on a glorious show. Street trees are covered with dew drops and spangly spider webs in the early morning light as we walk to school. Beware the fat drips as you… Read more →

January: What To Do Now

Winter landed here in a big way last week and we woke up to some stunningly beautiful frosts, the ground sparkly white, and plants and trees coated in a thick dusting of frosty crystals. I couldn’t resist wasting five vital minutes of school run time taking photos! It’s milder this week, the sun is out and we’ve got our blue, blue… Read more →

D is for Digging (and Depression)

Digging is powerful therapy for me, and I could certainly do with some of that at the moment. Depression wouldn’t be in most people’s gardening alphabet. But perhaps there are more of us depressed gardeners out there than I think. It’s at this time of year, in mid-winter, that I often feel bad. The ghost at the door hovers closer and… Read more →

Xmas Presents For Gardeners

If you are my husband someone who needs to buy a Christmas present for a keen gardener, then read on for my suggestions… Norfolk Traditional Willow Basket (£44) This beautiful willow basket is hand-made in Norfolk by a near neighbour of mine, Peter Dibble. He even grows and cuts the willow himself. I would use it to collect apples, vegetables… Read more →

Gardening in a ski suit

Are you a fair weather gardener? I once heard long-haired Norfolk boy and gardening hippy, Bob Flowerdew say on Gardeners’ Question Time that there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. Bob suggested searching charity shops for a second-hand ski suit so you can garden in the very worst weather! While I am happy to garden on chilly… Read more →

Winter at the veg patch

A few weeks ago, I finally moved the last of our raised beds from the back garden to the front. I’d left it there through summer and into autumn because we were waiting for the sweetcorn that was growing in it to ripen. The cobs swelled up promisingly in September but sadly the kernels didn’t make it to the juicy… Read more →

There is no true beauty without decay

One of my very favourite films is Withnail and I. I’ve watched it countless times and often find myself quoting it in everyday situations: screeching “Get in the back of the van!” at my dawdling children; “We’re not from London,” when travelling anywhere in the country; “Fork it!” whenever it seems appropriate; and “I feel like a pig shat in… Read more →

How To Build A Hogitat

Inspired by a recent newsletter from the RSPB, I decided we would use the next dry day to build a hedgehog house in the garden. So today, we fleeced up and mustered outside, to build a warm habitat for our hogs to hibernate in over winter. Hedgehog numbers are worryingly in decline in the UK: “Our beloved hedgehog has had… Read more →