Postcard from 2016


Some of my favourite highlights of 2016. Here's to a wonderful 2017 for you and yours :)

Comments

  1. Flighty31 December 2016 at 10:40

    Thanks, and to you too. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Margaret31 December 2016 at 18:22

    A happy and blessed new Year to you too, Michelle xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sue Garrett31 December 2016 at 18:34

    You too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lea31 December 2016 at 22:46

    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Juliet31 December 2016 at 23:13

    Happy new year, VP!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anna1 January 2017 at 19:53

    A most Happy New Year to you and NAH Michelle. I hope that all went well with your mums' move so that she could be nearer to you xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. VP4 January 2017 at 11:55

    Thanks for your good wishes everyone :)

    ReplyDelete

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Review: Riverford Recipe Box with guest chef Sarah Raven

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The arrival of a big box is always exciting, like Christmas come early, and last week was no exception when a trial recipe box arrived courtesy of Riverford. They currently have Sarah Raven as guest chef and this was the first week out of four different recipe boxes on offer, with seasonally adapted recipes from her latest book, Good Good Food.

The box contains everything needed* to create three recipes with accompanying goodies for two people and retails at £36.95. There's a suggested cooking order for each dish; I reversed 2 and 3 as the chicken recipe requires marinading overnight. The dishes were:

Tomato and Poppy Seed Tart served with salad leavesSangria Chichen served with red rice and salad leavesSweet and Sour Vegetable Curry served with red rice
My box arrived on its appointed day last Wednesday at 7.30 am, much to our surprise. It seems deliveries can start as early as 6 am, so luckily ours arrived when we were awake**

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How not to look after your Pilea peperomioides

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I was really happy when Barbara gave me an unusual looking Pilea peperomiodes aka Chinese Money Plant last summer. Little did I know then just how cool and trendy they are, being at the forefront of the houseplant revival. They even have a dedicated Pilea Lovers page on Instagram with over 21,000 Followers - it's not often you'll find me amongst the hipsters!

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Garden Bloggers' Blooms Day: 'Just Add Cream'

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Veg Plotting's Blooms Day would be incomplete without the occasional foray into Grow Your Own flowers, so I'm pleased to bring you my 'Just Add Cream' strawberry plants for this month's floral focus.

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How to make a show judge's life harder

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It's been great to see lots of people showing off their produce and show prizes on social media the past week or so. Prime village fete season is here and I'm delighted to be judging at Foxham again after my debut there last year.

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Before the show
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Dessert Apple Jelly: Seasonal Recipe

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This year has seen a bumper apple harvest, possibly the biggest in decades, so like many of you I've had my work cut out keeping up with the crates of apples piling into my kitchen. NAH has been most happy for me to convert a fair portion of the spoils into the pictured jars of his favourite apple jelly. As you can see all kinds of jars have been pressed into service.
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Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

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I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on.

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Postcard from Texas

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I'm back from a wonderful week in Austin where the Garden Bloggers Fling was held this year. We saw plenty of amazing gardens, and a few extra days plus our downtown location meant there was plenty of time to see what else the city has to offer.

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Review: Stihl Compact Cordless Blower BGA 56

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With autumn comes new seasonal tasks, especially the collection and disposal of leaves. This usually causes a moderately tense time here at VP Gardens as NAH likes things to be neat and tidy with not a fallen leaf in sight. I prefer the leaves to gather over time, so the task is completed in one go.

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Snow Time

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