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Here we are November, with the autumn rain and wind driving in under our waterproofs, reminding us that summer has gone and nature is encouraging the plant kingdom to hunker down for the winter’s big sleep. This is my favourite time of year, would you believe it? On a good day: the light, the temperature...
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Despite living only half an hour a way, my knowledge of Knebworth is slightly limited. In fact, it could be summed up as "is that where they have loud shouty bands outside?" (I am, as you can see, a loss to the music journalism profession). In fact, there are 25 acres of garden , but as a parent...
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I am an incredibly thoughtful person. Unfortunately, it really isn't the thought that counts. It's pulling your finger out and turning that thought into action. Sadly this is where I fall down. Thankfully, some people are much better at this which is why, a few days ago, the children and I received...
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I have opened my garden this week. Before you get the wrong idea, I should clarify that this was not part of the NGS Yellow Book scheme (I fear I wouldn't make that cut) and there was a distinct lack of tea and cakes on offer. Instead, I have had the local pre-schoolers over for a 'Signs of Spring'...
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1. Cut back a couple of hundred perennials 2. Spread three cubic metres of compost 3. Hand weed 150 square metres of gravel path and driveway This is my to do list for early March. It is also the least effective advert ever developed for gardening. This is not good. I am trying to convince the kids that...
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I could never be a contestant on The Apprentice . This is partly because I still retain a semblance of humanity and could also never refer to myself as 'Dawn Isaac - The Brand ' but mostly because I'm very , very bad at selling. Yet last week, I must have been on fire because, somehow, I...
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Sometimes all you have to do is plant an idea, provide the tools needed and step back (http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html). You have to be prepared for the end result to not be yours, but theirs. There’s a chance it may not be what you hoped. But there’s every chance it is what you hoped and...
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There comes a point in each summer holidays when the kids get to that 'I'm SO bored' moment. I find there are two ways to react to this - either find the largest cupboard in the house, shut the door and curl up in the foetal position waiting for it to pass or reach for that list of 'things...
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I have not been a particularly good mother recently. I may not have whipped my kids, or sent them up to clean the chimney, but I have had to apologise to them on a daily basis which is never a good sign. I'm not entirely sure if you're supposed to apologise to children. Parenting is basically...
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Gardening shouldn't be a bore or a chore, though it sometimes feels like this - when we've got a hundred other things to do, or when it's so cold your feet are freezing inside , or it's all a bit damp and wet out there. But a bit like Mr Happy encouraging you to smile (just try turning...
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It’s that time again………… early February and every kitchen gardener is itching to get outside and sow their first seeds of 2010………..but mother nature is slightly against us as not only are my raised beds far too wet – but also ever so slightly frozen, so unless things change quickly I’d say its going...
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As I arrived at school this morning the first question I was asked was ‘Can we garden in the snow’? The thought of gardening seems quite ridiculous to many of the staff; the crops we planted last Autumn are still hidden under a thick layer of snow and the ground is still frozen. I however have a few...
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I met the school council at Ferring primary school the other day. I don't know who was more daunted - me (I'd never met a school council before), or them (many had never met a horticulturalist before, never mind a 'royal' one). But how exciting. They have decided to put on their own show...
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I know it's November, and some of you Christmas purists will think this is too early, but quite frankly I don't care. It's getting chilly outside, I've had enough of bulb planting and I'm very much in need of a good old-fashioned mid-winter festival. So here we go, my top 10 garden...
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I'm not very good at top 10 lists. I didn't even manage my list of five celebrities that, you know, you're allowed to, well... didn't you see that episode of Friends ? Anyway, I only ever get as far as George Clooney and John Cusack before I run out of inspiration. I think, as Nick Hornby...
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