Veg Plotting

  We're back from a much needed and delightful break on the Isle of Man - a fascinating place to visit and ideal for slowing down the pace of life for a few days. This is part of the view from the top of Snaefell - the highest point on the island - where we were blessed with a clear day so we could see England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in one 360° sweep around. This is looking towards England and Scotland which is the thin darker line you can see on the horizon. It's clear the Manx people are proud of their island, a world biosphere no less, but they're also no stranger to innovation as it's where pilates was first developed (a product from war internment), where the RNLI was born, and is home to the world's largest working waterwheel at Laxey, plus the world's oldest continuously running parliament, the Tynwald . Manx Gaelic is alive and well too; many street signs are bilingual* and there's a primary school at St John's where it's taug...

This is a great way to use up stale bread and is adapted from this Italian recipe  I found when I googled "soup made from bread". I ate it warm and freshly made, though I think it'll be great chilled for the hot days we're due later this week. I'd also throw in a can of cannellini beans for a warming winter version.  I've added this delicious recipe to my store cupboard/use of leftovers/heart friendly options - it's tooth friendly too which is sorely needed until I can get sorted at the dentist's 😋 Serves 4 generously Ingredients 1 tbs olive oil 1 large red onion, finely chopped 2 x cans chopped tomatoes - I used one with herbs and the other with garlic and peppers in the Lidl range (add extra Italian herbs and garlic to taste if using plain chopped/plum/fresh tomatoes) Freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 tsp powdered garlic Half a teaspoon chipotle paste (or similar to taste to add a slight chilli kick) 1 litre vegetable stock (I used 4tsp low sal...

I had a brilliant day at Lacock Abbey last Sunday with Justin 'Pinhole' Quinnell playing around with various traditional photography techniques including Camera Obscura, turmeric printing and pinhole photography. The latter was most apt as it was World Pinhole photography day  - the website is well worth a look with participants and a wide variety of viewpoints from around the world. Justin loves making unusual pictures using this technique and delighted in taking pictures up our noses and of our ears as well as more conventional views. Many of his techniques use recycled or very cheap materials and he has full instructions for various projects you might like to try on his website . We all got to have a go with pinhole cameras made using old beer cans and traditional wet chemical developing techniques. I was pleased when it came to my turn to pose on the bench in the botanical garden and the results are shown above. True to my Veg Plotting roots I was also pleased to take a ph...

I've had a lot of fun experimenting with various flowers and combining them into a seasonal wreath for our front door as I've noticed lately that a year round door wreath display is becoming a bit of a trend around here. Have you found that? I'm not usually a great follower of fashion but I do like the idea of adding a visual welcome to our front door which extends beyond Christmas and New Year, I've chosen snowdrops, daffodils and forget-me-nots for mine as these add a lot of cheer in the guerrilla garden on the public land next to our house which adds a little rebellious twist to the convention. I planted the snowdrops and daffodils and nature decided to lend a hand by bringing in the forget-me-nots* to extend the season of interest. Have a blooming good Easter and see you soon! * Forget-me-nots are also a poignant nod to the Alzheimer's Society as it's their official symbol and daffodils remind us of the work of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

  I do like an invoice with a sense of humour! "Much tree work" was the description given by Alex from Arborinati for the extensive amount of tree surgery his three guys did for us just in time before bud break this week. It's great to have professionals in who not only enjoy their work, but also carry it out in a personable and humorous way. My fig is no more because it needed taking back after last year's super crop so that I can train it on the wall instead of it taking up a substantial chunk of the patio. Alex hadn't quite seen a fig like mine, being so happy despite being in a pot and he reassured me a total cut back instead of the one third per year usually given in gardening advice would be fine.* The apple trees also had a much needed substantial trim so I can regain access to our garden shed ready for its replacement and I now see where I need to do some light summer pruning to train them into the weeping shape they're saying they want to be. I'm ...

This year's constant rain has given me plenty of thinking time about the garden, but today's sunshine (at last!) tempted me out for a good, long walk with a little detour for seed buying along the way. I've been pondering my patio pots and what I could try for the first time as a bit of an experiment. My local shop provided the ideal solution: aha, why not try some shallots!? I've grown these before on the allotment, though pesky onion white rot there meant I had to give up and give the soil a chance to heal. I've chosen shallots over onion sets this time as I think they give more bang for my buck, plus they feature in one of my favourite new lunch recipes, a creamy mushroom pasta. At 3 packets for a fiver I think they're worth a try. They're shallow rooted so ideal for pot growing albeit they'll need quite a bit of width to bulk up rather than depth. I'm eyeing up my Plantbox troughs as part of my experiment as well as more conventional pots. I ha...

  Here's my copper foil glass heart lovingly made for today in a workshop at The Pound arts centre recently. It's perfectly paired with a stand lovingly crafted by NAH in his garage workshop here at home. We're also a good match in many other ways and celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary next month 😍 Happy Valentine's my love x

  To be honest I feel quite ambivalent about AI and largely avoid its use, where I can. I try to ignore the AI information presented within search engines and I don't usually use it to create anything etc etc. I'm worried about copyright issues for instance, and how it's already replacing garden writers who have extensive knowledge gained over many years of experience. Articles can be generated quickly, often with dubious content which is often published without fact checking first. I'm reminded of a central tenet from my time in IT; Garbage In, Garbage Out (aka GIGO), right? However NAH recently benefitted from AI technology when a surgeon assisted by a robot using CT scan data peered deep into his lung and determined the small lump there is benign, thus avoiding him losing around a third of his lung. The latter operation was the preferred approach until the robot technique was developed and often the removed material revealed a benign lump rather than a tumour. We...

Here's something to cheer up those January blues with a look back at the hot days of last July and a discovery I made on my Cheerful Chippenham  judging round. It made me chuckle a lot at the time and I've only just realised how ironic it is now as most of Chippenham's box hedges have been decimated by the dreaded box caterpillar. Cheerful Chippenham is a great project to be involved with. Around 30 volunteers are each given a specific part of Chippenham as their patch and have around a month to have a look at everyone's front gardens alongside some judging criteria to ensure we're all consistent. Those who have done something positive with their plot are deemed worthy of a Good Front Garden award. It's surprising how many aren't, including me! Long Covid meant I lost the plot big time last year. Roll on summer 2026!

I've walked many miles over the holiday season and seldom does the view match my mood as perfectly as this graffiti did in the footpath tunnel under the local railway this year. It's not the most salubrious of places or views, but it's a sentiment I wish for us all in 2026. Happy New Year everyone, and here's to a peaceful 2026 for you and yours. I also hope we get to do more of what I saw on the opposite wall! 😊

Lacock village is always a good bet for a good door display and Christmas is no exception. Here's a small selection of various wreaths I found on a wet and windy day recently which really helped to dispel the gloom and provide plenty of festive cheer. I hope you like them too. Have a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful New Year. See you all again in 2026!

My latest find just yards from our house is this intriguing candlesnuff fungus (aka Xylaria hypoxylon ) growing on a pile of logs by Hardenhuish Brook. It looks like little reindeer antlers adding a festive decoration on my walk into town, though the Woodland Trust tells me * it can be found year-round. I'm delighted to see it for the first time. Apparently the greyish white part contains the spores, so I hope the recent high winds have spread them out a bit as we have tons of fallen deciduous wood in need of a little decoration. Although it's the first time I've seen it, this fungus can crop up pretty much anywhere, from woodland through to urban parks. Have you spotted it in your neighbourhood? * = scroll down to item 7 on their list

  It's been great to find lots more public art around Chippenham this year; enough to make this collage for your delectation. From left to right and top to bottom we have: Mustard Bustards  by @lucas_antics  next to Cousin Norman's and Artel31 on Union Road; Morris Dancer by the ever reliable Chippenham Knatty Knitters  on Chippenham High Street for this year's folk festival; In Unity Beauty Unfolds by Sophie Mess at Rivo Lounge Kingfisher by Nathan Pritchard in the Kingfisher pub car park on Hungerdown Lane; Chippenham collage by 2024's Fringe February contributors; Canal scene by Ed Poster at the bus station Winnie's Barbershop by @hardlytryinganyway  on Sheldon Road; Mystery horse next to St Andrew's church; Rainbow High Street project led by Public Art Chippenham for Chippenham Pride 2025 Sadly the Morris dancer was the last topper for the post box as it's now gone solar as have at least 2 others in Chippenham. Fingers crossed the other locations get th...

I have a new alter ego in the shape of Stick Me . She was created for British Heart Foundation 's Strong Woman Challenge in April to bring in a bit of fun and help document progress. Seeing my first alter ego was VP , I wonder if any future ones will also have to rhyme? 😉 My drawing skills aren't that great, especially when it comes to people so it was fun to acknowledge that and still have something useful for my intended purpose. The drawing above is Stick Me 's latest incarnation for my review of progress for October's Strong Woman challenge compared to April's achievements. As you can see, I'm very happy! I wasn't in a happy place at the start of April due to the effects of Long Covid plus shoulder problems due to hypermobility; the Challenge showed the start of a return to health again and October's challenge shows real progress. Over £300,000 was raised from October's Challenge and I'm happy to continue with the monthly donation I've b...

We've had just a few sunny days this month, so it was great to go for a decent walk recently with W in pretty warm sunshine for November. Our usual meet up spot is on the Town Bridge; it's always an interesting view whilst waiting, further enhanced since late September by the latest mural courtesy of Public Art Chippenham.* This one's by Sophie Mess ( @sophiemess_ on Insta) who's noted for her vibrant botanical art and she doesn't disappoint in this instance. I'm glad to admit I made a small crowdfunder contribution to this one, especially now the mural's been revealed as the subject matter resonates with me and quite a lot of this blog's content. I'm pleased she's included the word Unity in her piece, which is a link to Chippenham's town motto, Unity and Loyalty. It's good to be reminded of it during these strange and relatively turbulent times.  Next up is a competition for the next project: ideas for the decoration of the Open Reach ...

I'm celebrating Veg Plotting 's 18th birthday by kicking through the autumn leaves in the sunshine! My blog may have come of age today but I haven't 🤭 It was pouring with rain on that day; I much prefer today's weather and I love the buttery yellow leaves in the woodland next to our house. I hope there's sunshine wherever you are today 🥰

Perhaps not quite as unusual as some of the others in this strand owing to the date, but I'm delighted by this recent transformation on my way into town. On Thursday I had to make my way around a lorry parked on the pavement with a delivery of scaffolding. Then look what the owners did to take advantage of the situation ready for Hallowe'en the next day! I spotted the owner as I took this photograph and congratulated her as best I could whilst shouting across the busy traffic between us. She was delighted with my reaction and told me they're having work done on their house's drainpipes. What quick thinking to make something amusing out of much needed building work 👌👏😍

  It's Apple Day, one of my favourite days of the year and what better way to celebrate than to tell you about my recent trip to Longney, where Gloucestershire Orchard Trust have 18 acres of apple orchard under their tender care. Here you'll find older orchards with some trees well over a century old, plus their newer plantings of around 94 Gloucestershire cultivars which have just acquired national plant collection status at Plant Heritage . The jury's out on the actual number as DNA testing has revealed at least one locally named variety is actually a more well known one: Ribston Pippin in this case. Don't worry, there are dozens there which definitely have their origins rooted firmly in Gloucestershire and their cultivation at Longney is vital to their continued presence and preservation. There were around 200 local varieties at one time and today it's around 100 still in existence. Steve Mason - the Trust's Curator - was our knowledgeable guide who invited ...

I'm exhibiting my first ever quince for all the world to see 💛 I've had the tree for years and I've monitored it carefully previously for any signs of flowers or fruit; then I threatened its days in my garden as numbered many times when none appeared; so of course the year when I've ignored it completely is the time when it presents me with one solitary fruit. Naturally, it is truly a prince amongst all quince. I made the discovery when harvesting the figs, which have gone bonkers this year and screened off the quince tree from the rest of the garden. Perhaps that's the secret to success? At first I had quite a time deciding whether it was ripe, but that initial lime green I saw has now morphed into a wonderful warm yellow and a fruity fuzziness that tells me it's time. Now what shall I make with it? 🤔 Your ideas are welcome... You may also like: I've just fished out the link to my recipe for poached quince , which in turn links to my recipe for quince tar...

We're just back from a fortnight's cottage holiday in North Yorkshire, where the weather was a bit iffy but we still found plenty of places to enjoy ourselves with new discoveries amongst those already familiar to us. It also meant we could spend time with the Yorkshire branches of our family - now plural as our niece has settled down into her new home in Leeds. It wasn't all rain, there was still lots of sunshine and we often found rainbows gracing the valleys seen from our higher viewpoints. I feel my photo sums up quite a lot of the Yorkshire we found this time: dramatic skies with rainbows and pools of sunshine; brooding stone walls; and vegetation sliding into its more Autumnal clothes. This was the roadside scene close to Stump Cross Caverns, a welcome venue on a rainy day which we explored with UV light torches. There was space and time to breathe deeply and ponder recent dramatic turns in life, then return home refreshed and ready to face what's to come.