In my blog post about my visit to York in August, I hinted at my appreciation for hollyhocks, especially when they are contrasting against a painted wall. My family holiday to Skåne in Sweden has only enhanced my delight in hunting for hollyhocks, to the point where I couldn't pass one without taking a photo and... Continue Reading →
Allotment site visit: Derry’s Field (Part 2: The highlights).
I saw lots of interesting things at Derry's Field Allotments, but I've chosen three highlights. Some of these ideas I'd like to use next year, some are just interesting and intriguing, and some are so far outside the bubble of my own allotment site that they are actually banned.
Don’t let the blight grind you down, “The Garden: A Metaphor”
The garden is one of the two great metaphors for humanity. The garden is about life and beauty and the impermanence of all living things....
Allotment Open Day: Derry’s Field, Woking (Part 1: Bursting the bubble)
On Saturday, I visited another allotment site here in Woking: Derry's Field. They had a site open day, due to it being "National Allotment Week", and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a good nose around. After all the usual Saturday morning clubs, activities and general family faffing around, we arrived quite late... Continue Reading →
Video: Allotment Plot tour – 20th August 2017
A rapid trip around the Allotment plot on a Sunday morning. See my football-sized beetroot, sprawling sweet potatoes, dangly butternut squash and the empty raised bed left due to the potato blight I discovered this morning.
Ten horticultural highlights: Weekend in York and Harrogate
My top ten gardening joys of York and Harrogate. The highlights selected are skewed towards my preference for kitchen gardening: I’m a sucker for luscious vegetables interseeded amongst nasturtiums, cosmos or sunflowers. But, there’s a few non-edible nibbles mixed in.
Video: Allotment Plot Tour – 26th July 2017
A brief tour of my allotment plot, featuring: - Blueberry tasting - Bean arch bat cave - Masses of overgrown squash plants.
Video: Allotment Plot Tour – 6th July 2017
A brief video tour of my Allotment plot, filmed the day after the plot was judged for the Woking Borough Allotment competitions.
Video: Allotment Plot Tour – 13th June 2017
My first full allotment plot tour, filmed after school with the kids in tow. They wanted to be involved, despite my efforts to distract them with ice pops. But they did bring a lot extra entertainment value to the tour, I think.