Fruit, Veg, Flowers and Slugs

I have been given a  Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. repens , better known as Creeping Blue Blossom , by my mate and fishing buddy Noel  which  truth be told I knew nothing about until I undertook a little research on the good old internet. Apparently , it   is one of the hardiest of the Ceanothus. It will all being well grown into a low-growing, evergreen shrub which, come May and June, should be covered in what are described as fluffy, powder-blue flowers; happily it appears to be beneficial to an assortment of pollinators. I am going to plant into a large square pot allowing me to move the plant into a more sheltered  area come winter as my reading informs me they don't do that well if overly exposed to winter wind and frost. I write on New Years Eve pre a drink or two so it is unlikely anything will get done in the garden on New Years Day as I will no doubt have a hangover and family will be visiting at some point; which will probably lead to a drink or two being sunk again!  I di

Wildlife Friendly Gardening is a very popular search term on the internet these days and actually quite trendy; plenty of column inches have been printed in magazines and newspapers on the subject as well.  I have always tried to garden with wildlife in mind, I suppose it goes back to tricks my old Grandad and Dad both taught me down the years. People talk about Companion Planting and Plants for Pollinators as if it is a recent discovery but I can remember my Grandad using these tricks back in the seventies when I was no more than knee high to him and I am sure he had been doing the same things for years before that.  Wildlife friendly Pest Control is an issue that can cause confusion - how do you get rid of the pests you don't want whilst attracting the insects, birds and mammals you do? Down the years there have been a few weird and wonderful practices undertaken by gardeners. As a child, perhaps no more than five or six-years-old, I remember watching my Grandad sprinkling salt a

It's December, Christmas is nearly upon us and we find ourselves in a bit of a mess with Plan B having been implemented. Does anyone else get the feeling we will be onto plan X, Y or Z by the time this covid malarkey is dealt with! Many of you will probably be working from home again, I am, and, if you are anything like me, you have probably already spent a fair bit of time looking at the garden and wondering what you can be getting on with on your plot this month. Well fear not dear reader I have five jobs you can crack on with.  Five jobs to be done in the garden in December: Put up bird nesting boxes. I have a couple in my garden not that anything has used either of them in the last couple of years. I have this morning moved the Tit box from out of the Cherry Tree where it was located last year, and ignored, and hung it on the fence pointing as north-easterly as I can get it.  The RSPB advice is u nless there are trees or buildings which shade the box during the day, face the bo

I touched upon the subject back in March 2021 and as I said then  I should start this post by making it abundantly clear I am in no way expert or have any type of qualifications. This article is based purely on my experience. This post isn't about lockdowns and the dreaded C word, it is simply a few words looking at whether gardening is beneficial to your health and wellbeing in general.  Let me start by saying I think gardening is beneficial for your health and wellbeing, plain and simple. This could be the shortest post on a blog ever!  That said let me explain my thinking on the matter and why I believe it would benefit everyone to have a few hours a week gardening.  I appreciate not everyone has a garden so when I say 'gardening' in this piece I am including a few pots in a backyard or on a balcony or of course house plants for those with no outdoor space. The benefits of having plants around you, indoors or out, are many. Indoors a few plants dotted around your propert

The internet will be full of listicles over the coming weeks with present ideas for Christmas. You know the sort of thing: Top Five Gifts for the Gardener. Top Ten Tipples for the Christmas Table. Top Ten Presents for Teenagers. Top Five Presents for DIY'ers etc...................... Now I am no retail expert but I do know what I would like from Father Christmas this year for the garden, providing of course I have managed to make it onto the Good List.  Below is my list. I don't expect you dear reader to purchase me anything, I post this purely to, perhaps, give you an idea of what to purchase the gardener in your life this Yuletide.  1. A new Lawn Mower . I have never owned a cordless mower and think it is probably time I did. I actually quite enjoy mowing the lawn, unusual I know, but if there is one thing that spoils a good afternoon mowing the lawn it is a tangled power cable! 😠 2. Terracotta Pots . I like to think I am anything but a garden snob but if I do have one thing

It was a chilly day down my way Sunday but one of those lovely sunny afternoons which as long as you are suitably wrapped up against the cold is lovely to work in. I dug out the old West Ham woolly hat and a thermal vest and ventured bravely into the cold.  I mentioned earlier this month that the clearing of leaves will be high on the list of jobs in November and as you can see from the photo below I've had a few fall in the garden over the last few days! It might not be everyone's idea of a fun afternoon but once you get going raking-up leaves can be quite therapeutic and gives you a little cardio workout to boot. Okay, it's not like going on a ten-mile run but you can get a sweat on plus you do get a feeling of a job well done when finished.  I decided to cobble together a Leaf Mould bin; as described in the What jobs need doing in the garden in November post it doesn't have to be the most elaborate of structures. As you can see from the photo I have  simply wrapped

It may surprise anyone new to gardening but November can be a very busy month in the garden and it's not just all about raking up leaves; that said, you will be raking up leaves! November is a great time to be planting Tulip bulbs ready for a display next year. I have usually have Tulips in pots allowing me to change displays each year and in truth very few of them come back year after year and those that do often disappoint coming back smaller and not flowering as well. You can get away with it, and I have had bulbs in borders for two or three years in the past but generally you're better off planting new bulbs this time of year in pots for late spring, early summer next year. I often sow Sweet Peas at this time of year in pots, keep them indoors until germinated and then over winter in the greenhouse. This way you get a head start on spring sown seeds and get your first flowers earlier in the season. As yet I haven't actually done either of these jobs, I may not, but prob