My Garden

Well, actually, it's the end of a lot of bad things! I've started clearing out the greenhouse and beds of all the summer crops and consigning the plants to the compost heap - and boy the compost heap's getting big. Although there are still a few peppers and chillies in the greenhouse I've... Read more..

I love this time of year. The mild weather over the last couple of weeks has really got things going in the garden. Over half term we had huge numbers of happy visitors enjoying the butterflies, bulbs, scented flowers and general ambience. Hepaticas in the Alpine Display House are looking wonderful this... Read more..

Having had a prolonged veg-free start to the year - I blame the weather and too many other things to do - I've finally managed to getthings started in the veg garden. I know it sounds like an excuse, but last year we started too early, everything grew too much before the weather was right for planting... Read more..

Well hopefully. Although I've got to say it's a slow start to the year - probably not warm enough for seeds to germinate properly and, as a result, not much is showing in the veg plot at home. Of all the things I've sown so far only the radish and broad beans are doing anything. How's... Read more..

After three weeks of sowing a wide range of things at home in the raised beds, hardly anything had germinated – apart from two poor rows of radish! So I decided to delve deeper and see if there was a bigger problem than just the cold weather. And I’m glad I did. Two things became apparent. The soil had... Read more..

People who know me and my gardening habits seem a bit surprised, but I have finally boarded the grow-your-own bus. Until now I have always resented putting aside any of my limited border space for fruit or veg, in favour of all the perennials, shrubs and bulbs I love, but the remorseless media onslaught... Read more..

A couple of weeks ago we set about preparing to sow our 3m x 3m plots in the Model Vegetable Garden. Last year, our Grow Your Own Veg campaign proved immensely popular, especially with the supporting book by Carol Klein and BBC series, as well as our own on-line micro-site and garden activities. For... Read more..

We have been hard at work in the fruit and veg garden this month. One of the jobs was to clear the glasshouse of the tomato crop. We had a good crop this year despite the weather. The outdoor crop was wiped out very early by blight, a common problem for us in the south-west. Cultivars grown this year... Read more..

Our 3m x 3m vegetable plot is quietly heading towards winter after a very productive season. We have established a green manure crop on one half of the plot (winter tares were sown in mid September). This will occupy the bed through the winter, locking up the soil nutrients – to be released again when... Read more..