Veg Plotting

Sunshine, spring flowers and the Easter bunnies have been. It's a perfect day. A bunch of British daffodils is my weekly treat from January through to now, they are such happy flowers. This year in an unexpected turn of events NAH has made it two bunches! Have a good Easter everyone 😊

It's nine years since our last visit to Liverpool and my postcard , and the building work along the waterfront which was much in evidence at that time is now complete. Those familiar with previous times may mourn the loss of the old character of this part of the city, but for this visitor it made for a magical Sunday morning stroll. We were staying in the city centre, so it's just a 5 minute walk to reach the start of our weekend wander at Albert Dock . I love strong shapes and combined with their reflections, I spent a while trying to do these justice with my camera. 'Laurel and Hardy' were being briefed outside the Merseyside Maritime Museum . Their day had just started when I strolled by. Sadly I didn't have time to go into Tate Liverpool , but that didn't matter as there is plenty of public art on view outside. This is the Tate's latest by Ugo Rondinone. Like The Guardian , I'm not so sure about this one, but that's one of the stre...

Screen capture of part of the #gdnbloggers page on Twubs Let's start with a short story (abridged and from a UK perspective)... ... Once upon a time there were loads of garden bloggers all typing away on the void, who were grateful if a handful of people (mostly their mums) stopped by to leave a comment. Then along came Blotanical (RIP), where we found lots of garden blogs and friends from all over the world, and we happily talked to each other, left comments, even met up from time to time. We all learned lots from each other and all was well with the world. Then everyone got busy with their lives instead (which is fine and quite natural), and in the meantime the online world fractured into more pieces where lots of other shiny things like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest laid temptation in everyone's path. It meant we had plenty of ways of making virtual friends and sharing our stuff, though it often felt like a lot of frantic running on the spot was nee...

Since attending the British flower growers gathering last year, I've been keeping a weather eye on what they've been up to. This and talking to Cally and Sara about their exciting ideas for Our Flower Patch *  has formed a steady drip, drip of influence on my plans for the plot this year. So it's very timely that I have a review copy of Louise Curley's debut book, The Cut Flower Patch . Many of you will know Louise as wellywoman and that growing cut flowers is a passion of hers. Louise's easy writing style shines through in this book and Jason Ingram's stylish photographs form an accompaniment which I'm sure will encourage lots of other readers to get growing immediately. Louise provides a good argument for why growing our own flowers is an enjoyable and sustainable task. She shows how a surprisingly small area can be used to provide buckets of the freshest possible flowers for a good proportion of each year. There's an in-depth guide to arou...

My latest book review is aimed squarely at foragers and foodies alike. Rosehips on a Kitchen Table is as attractive on the inside as it is on the cover and serves up 56 recipes using fresh produce which have either been gleaned from the wild or pulled from the plot. It's divided into four main sections (after an introductory section called Rich Pickings), covering over 20 different kinds of produce: Gleaning - wild garlic, nettles, elderflowers or berries, blackberries, rosehips and sloes.  Grow Your Own - recipes for rhubarb, sorrel, rocket, chillies, Jerusalem artichokes and chard. Gluts - a section to turn to when your harvest runneth over with broad beans, tomatoes, strawberries, runner beans, courgettes or root vegetables.  What on Earth do I do with This? - designed for those more mysterious items delivered in veg box schemes and includes celeriac, gooseberries, beetroot, quince, Brussels sprouts and kale. (I would have put Jerusalem (f)artichoke...

Here's the solution to the Gardener's Word Grid I published I last week. How did you do? The link takes you to the original cryptic puzzle, if you missed it the first time round and fancy having a go. There are more puzzles to come, once I've devised them!

This is the latest offering from no-dig gardening guru Charles Dowding and is essentially an updated reprise of his earlier Veg Course in bite-size monthly chunks. Seeing part of Charles's philosophy is to do 'little and often', his Veg Journal sits well with this premise. After a very brief introduction, we're straight into January and setting up for the coming growing season. February sets out the argument for the no-dig approach and March deals with the types of beds, plus their pros and cons. April sees the creation of our no-dig beds. We're also into the growing season proper at this point, with the growing of each crop introduced at the appropriate sowing time. Woven into the mix are various general information articles on weeds, pest control, crop rotation etc. Each month is completed with a list of jobs, plus there are blank pages inserted at various points for the reader to keep their own notes and for the book to be in keeping with its title. As wit...

Here's a quick extra post for the week because I love this discovery from yesterday's Guardian . I'm particularly delighted to see Denmark's translation of  "garden" is haven and the potential for us to drink sodas in Lithuania. You can take the link to the original article see how the word 'cat' translates across Europe and to have a play with the map yourself. There are also some FYI links on there which my Print Screen version hasn't captured.

 January's To Do list from last year's calendar, which sparked off today's musing I'm a firm believer in the To Do list - it's most satisfying to tick things off as the final nod to a job well done. It seems I'm not alone - monthly lists of gardening jobs are a regular feature in gardening magazines. Websites like the RHS feature them too - here's theirs for January . Pick any one of these you have to hand and look at it carefully. Does it bear any resemblance to what actually needs doing in your garden? No, it's nothing like mine either. Here's what I need to do this month: In the garden Clear up December's fallen leaves and use them to mulch borders (remember Compost Direct ?) Cut back fallen stems which no longer have seed heads Shred stems, plus the twigs etc brought down by December's storms Weed garden path See what I have on hand already for the  GQT border  (my new name for the front garden side border) - I'm thinki...

Do not judge this book by its cover, well the front one at least. For once I'm showing you the back as well as it's much more representative of the overall content. What lies inside is a charming pictorial tale of life on Caroline Deput's allotment in colour drawings. Quite a lot of the narrative is in colour too. This is a very inventive and humorous account from 2010 through to early 2012, packed with the trials and triumphs of allotment owner 'Floss'. Amongst the usual allotment plans, lists of things to do and harvests achieved, there are exquisitely drawn details, such as the badger who's trashed the tayberries*. I particularly enjoyed the tale of 2010 told via a snakes and ladders board and the bindweed wars cartoon, which reminded me so much of Karen's comics **. This is a positive allotment tale, which doesn't shy away from when things go wrong. In the process of drawing Plot 19, life is depicted in a much more realistic way than most...

I've been accumulating a list of little 'niggly' jobs to do around the house and garden lately, so last week I set out to get a few of them done. Some of them involved using the assorted pack of sugru  I've been given to try. This is a playdoh like substance which can be used to make small repairs, or added to objects to make them more usable. It can also be used to transform objects ready for another use, but that's something for another day. Inside the pack of white The pack I was given contains small portions of various colours - 1 each of white and black, plus two each of red, blue and yellow - hence why the colour keeps changing in the following pictures ;) The tasks I had in mind were: Repairing a small hole in my watering can Making the corners of my coldframes less of a hazard to walk past Repairing a saucepan lid Making a new hook for our airing cupboard door to hang my swimming bag (not tried yet as I'm not sure it has the strength...

Colander lights add a quirky touch to Yeo Valley HQ  I'm veering off-topic - as I frequently do here on Veg Plotting - with some non-gardening blogs which have caught my eye this week. Don't worry, there are a couple of gardening ones by way of a finale too :) First up is my beloved NAH. After years of teasing me about Veg Plotting , he finally started his own blog a couple of years ago. He's putting a steam engine back together without the manual - or many of the parts! Have a look at how he's progressing on Sentinel 7109 I've just found out about the fascinating  neolithic houses project at Stonehenge. It's something I hope to investigate personally next month . It's a small hop, skip and a jump to my Local Vocal  Janice's new blog Immaterial Practice documenting her progress and discoveries in the 30 days up to her Fine Art degree show. Found via my friend Mark's blog , I love Perpetua's  way of roving in retirement. Not a blog,...

Porch still life - Great Dixter March 2013 Week three of my version of Emma Cooper 's Blog Love Challenge sees me discovering blogs which are celebrating gardens - especially theirs - as my homage to National Gardening Week . Firstly there's Pauline from Lead Up the Garden Path , who celebrates the return of her St Patrick . We gardeners love talking about the weather, so here's a blog which keeps tabs on gardening and the weather in Ossett, Yorkshire. Helene has been a regular, thoughtful commenter here over the past few months, so it was lovely to discover her multiple-collage celebration of her garden this week. Not a garden, nor a new blog (though sadly I haven't visited in ages, so it feels like a new blog again), but I had to share Val Littlewood's willow sketches from Pencil and Leaf . A Blooms Day discovery this week is Mario and Hortus | 5 - thoughtful posts and good presentation of  his beautiful images Rosie at Leavesnbloom has some lov...

Oh to have a compost heap so tall it needs a ladder! Week 2 of my version of Emma Cooper 's April Blog Love challenge has led me to the following new discoveries: Peonies and Polaroids   -  a discovery thanks to Out of My Shed as Cara was on the list for the bloggers get together at Great Dixter. Sadly we didn't get to meet, but I've enjoyed getting acquainted with her beautifully written and photographed blog instead. The joys of the headlines from Brighton's The Argus . My favourite (not included in the link) is Bearded Woman Attacked At Crucifixion , though many seen via the link also had me crying with laughter. Rusty Duck - I love the cheeky robin on the header photo. Amy at Get Busy Gardening - another discovery via Gayla Trail's Grow Write Guild :) Missing Henry Mitchell - an intriguing blog name, which is succeeding in being as observant in its nature as the writer Henry Mitchell apparently was. I particularly enjoyed this week's encounter ...

Another excuse for a view of Great Dixter: the Sunken Garden this time :) Emma Cooper, that all-round good egg of garden blogging has come up with a great challenge for April: spread a little blog love . I found out on Monday, because I was one of the first recipients :) In her kick-off post Emma says: It has been a bit of a gloomy old start to the year. The sun won’t come out and play, the NHS is being dismantled and anyone with a blog has been battling spam comments every day [too right - Ed ]. Now we can’t do anything about the first, and it feels like we can’t do much about the second, but we can bring some love to bloggers everywhere (because we do love them, don’t we?) and so I am starting the April Blog Love Challenge. Emma is commenting on 5 blogs a day, then sharing those posts back over at her blog. Hers will be a combination of old favourites and new discoveries. I've modified her challenge for my purposes because I've been trying to comment on 5 blogs a d...

Design Grow Sell is one of a series produced by Country Living magazine which describe how to start a business from home. They also have a corresponding  Kitchen Table Talent website designed to support and encourage those who have (or are thinking of starting) any small business. Many people dream about starting their own gardening business. This book aims to show how it can be done. Having just filed the first tax return for my freelance writing income, does this book tell me the things I wish I'd known when I started out? The answer is well yes, ...partly. Strengths It's easy to read and relatively short compared with most books I've read of this kind Inspirational - there's a positive 'can do' message. It's definitely one for those who want to take their daydreams about starting a small business a step further It focuses on how to start a gardening business, so it puts what can be a dry subject into an understandable context Real people an...

How easy can it be to start getting a whole community to start growing their own? In Veg Street we learn all it needs is a serendipitous knock on a neighbour's door... ...Naomi Schillinger's lively debut shows how one simple action can unleash a sequence of events which ends in the floral transformation of a London neighbourhood and over 100 residents growing their own. I always feel a bit nervous when reviewing a book by someone I know, especially when they've sent me the book. However, I needn't have worried. Veg Street is just as warm and thoughtful as Naomi's blog, Out of My Shed . I've always thought a community growing project must be a complicated affair, but it's reassuring to see the lure of cake is just as irresistible to neighbours as it is to those who visit gardens. The  Cake Sunday  events are a brilliant way to bring everyone together informally to share ideas and distribute resources. Naomi is equally reassuring the committee side of...

This is a timely book to review seeing I've just started my new Breaking the Rules series. I'm pleased to see my planned snippets aren't covered, so everyone can read something new from both reading this book and my future posts :) Decoding Gardening Advice looks at the top 100 pieces of advice given [in the USA, though most also apply to the UK - Ed ] to see whether they're good, questionable or downright bad. Unlike most advice we see in books or on the TV - which have an unwritten or unspoken assumption they're all good - the reasoning behind their categorisation is given. So thinking about the advice I've seen or researched recently, on the good side we have... Stop fertilising during very hot weather to reduce plant stress Water deeply and infrequently to encourage a strong root system Do not plant trees too deeply ... and on the debatable side there's... Follow spacing recommendations on plant labels Always stake young trees (Yay!...

Here's something to cheer up the winter blues!  Today I'm teaming up with Gardens Galore to bring you the first super competition for this year.  The prize is a Draper fork, spade and mini trowel and fork kit valued at over £50 :)  The weather forecast may be dire, but before you know it, the evenings will be light again and we'll getting outside to prepare for the coming season. A new kit of tools could be the very thing to help you get cracking! If you can't make use of the prize, why not enter anyway? I'm sure there's a community project, school or something similar in your neighbourhood who'd welcome your donation. All you need to do is leave a comment below to enter. If you tweet a link to this post or RT my link, that'll double your chances of winning. The closing date is midnight, Sunday, 24th February . Comments and tweets will be allocated a number corresponding with the order of entry and then I'll use a random number generat...

Last Monday saw the start of a new plant-related series on Channel 4 called Wild Thing s . I haven't yet caught up with my recording of it, but in the meantime I've been thoroughly enjoying the accompanying book tie-in :) The programme and book are looking at the changes found between 2 major botanical surveys of the British Isles conducted in 1962 and 2002 respectively. The 1962 survey resulted in the first ever  Atlas of the British Flora, a collection of plant distribution maps which meticulously documented over 7,000 plant species and where they were found. As a result of these maps, a modern version of the research discipline biogeography was born. The second survey, using the same methodology* has enabled botanists to see how our plant populations have changed in the last 40-50 years. Naturally, there are winners and losers and its the colourful stories about some of these which Wild Things brings to life. For instance, many of us are aware of the threat to our...