Mint is the herb I most associate with summer. And I’m not just referring to jugs of Pimm’s, which would, of course, be incomplete without fresh mint. There’s something wonderfully refreshing about the scent of fresh mint that is both mind-cleansing and invigorating. Cool, fragrant mint leaves are the perfect antidote to a hot summer’s […]
GARDENING
Why Growing Your Own Vegetables is Worth It
The squirrels and I are at war and so far the squirrels are winning. I plant the seeds, they dig them up and either eat them or carry them off somewhere else in the garden and bury them. My role is to curse them and to patch up the mess they’ve caused and to wonder […]
Wild about Garlic
‘Do you realise your front garden is full of wild garlic?’ my friend Maria asked as I answered the front door to her last week. She pointed to a bunch growing near the front door. ‘Try some.’ Wild Garlic in My Front Garden I’m ashamed to admit I had no idea the bunches of delicate […]
Tales from the Vegetable Patch: Part 4 – The First Harvest
There was great excitement and jubilation in the kitchen last week as I harvested my first crop of leaves from the vegetable garden. My war against the slugs and snails appears to have paid off and we feasted on a selection of chard and beetroot leaves for dinner. Beetroot and chard leaves are rich in […]
Tales from the Vegetable Patch: Part 3 – Life and Death
Tales of life and death from the vegetable patch this month. And rain. Lots of it! Back in May, I finally got round to planting seeds for kale, spring onions, beetroot, chard, pak choi and lettuce a month behind schedule. The first seedlings to appear were the pak choi – just four days after sowing! […]
Tales from the Vegetable Patch: Part 2 – Sowing Seeds
Back in April, in Part 1 of Tales from the Vegetable Patch, I wrote of my intention to prepare the vegetable patch and plant seeds before the end of April. Well, it turns out the famous saying by John Lennon: ‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’ is true. Not […]
Tales from the Vegetable Patch: Part 1 – Planning and Preparation
I love growing my own veg but things have got off to a slow start this year. To be honest, they’ve hardly got off to a start at all. I’ve got as far as weeding the vegetable garden, and rescuing it from an infestation of bindweed roots, and buying several bags of multi-purpose compost. After […]