Veg Plotting

Last week I set a Sudoko puzzle with a difference, using the letters from Stourhead instead of the numbers one to nine. Here's the solution. How did you do? Did you find letters easier or more difficult than the usual Sudoko puzzle? Would you do one of these again? Other puzzles published previously on Veg Plotting : Connections   Cryptic Word Grid Garden Scramble  (the solution is here ) Garden Wordsearch  (NB no solution is given for this one as you'll know when you've found them all) Happy Families Shows of Hands special (quick ID quiz) What's in a Name? What's in a Name? Part 2

This puzzle has been waiting in the wings for a while and I'm pleased to bring you a letter based Suduko using one of Wiltshire's most famous gardens, Stourhead . In this case the letters of S-t-o-u-r-h-e-a-d are used instead of the numbers one to nine and your task is to add further letters to the grid below so that each line of nine both across and down, plus each box of nine only contains one instance of each letter. The grid is based on one published in the Radio Times which had a difficulty rating of 11/20. A printer friendly version can be found here . I'll post the solution next week, though you'll know when you've cracked it! If you enjoyed this puzzle, Sue Garrett over at Green Lane Allotments has another couple for you to try. Other puzzles published previously on Veg Plotting : Connections   Cryptic Word Grid Garden Scramble  (the solution is here ) Garden Wordsearch  (NB no solution is given for this one as you'll know when y...

Top left to right:  Triphora trianthophoros ,  Cypripedium californicum ,  Hexalectris spicata ,  Cypripedium Reginae , and  Spiranthes odorata Bottom, left to right:  Platanthera leucophaea ,  Triphora trianthophoros ,  Platanthera grandiflora ,  Cyrtopodium polyphyllum , and  Calopogon tuberosus It's not often that my worlds of nature, gardens and stamp collecting collide, so a recent email about a forthcoming stamp issue in the USA on Friday is cause for celebration. Even better when it means I can join in Gail's Wildflower Wednesday . These are a selection of 10 from over 100 native species which grow in the wild (and in gardens) in the States. We have 52 native species here in the UK, many of which are so rare they can only be seen in a nature reserve. Thanks to Facebook friend Jacqueline Soule who double checked with David Coleman (originator of the email), I also have their confirmed names as shown above. Now to ...

First thought: Perhaps only a gardener knows the value of a heart shaped potato for Valentine's Day 😉 Second thought: Crikey! I didn't know I was that wrinkly! 👀 Third thought: Reader, we ate it 😜

A few days ago I was feeling rather peckish and knew this would be the worst possible time to walk to the shops and buy something for lunch; there's far too much temptation in there! My usual lunchtime options weren't available at home, so I started to think about other possibilities instead. Thankfully my store cupboard came up with the answer: frozen peas, onions, stock cubes and herbs, so it didn't take long to come up with a tasty pea soup. It took just 20 minutes to plate up the perfect antidote to a dull winter's day. Ingredients 1 litre vegetable stock (a stock cube dissolved in hot water is fine) 1 medium onion, sliced thinly 750g frozen peas (I used a bag of petit pois) Freshly ground black pepper to taste 4 heaped teaspoons dried mint (or fresh when in season) A swirl of cream, low fat creme fraiche, or natural yoghurt per bowl (optional) Method Pour the vegetable stock into a large pan and add the onion and peas Add the black pepper to ta...

Words of wisdom from an 19th Century Poet, and that's where I plan to be today 😊 Have a great weekend everyone!

Last week I set you a Connections puzzle which I hope you enjoyed. Now it's time for the answers... How did you do? I asked you to answer the questions below, and take the letter as indicated from your answer to complete the blank boxes. For multiple word answers, I asked you take the letter from a particular word if not from the first. The answers to the questions and the completed line of boxes all had something in common. How early did you make the connection? Did it help you with some of your answers? Question Answer Title of a novel by Jeanette Winterson (1985), also adapted for TV (5) Oran g es are not the Only Fruit Place in New York where John Lennon's memorial is situated (3) St r awberry Fields Name of the group with Freegle, Bingo, Droopy & Snorky as members (2, 4, & 6 of second word - just one of them will do) The B a n a n a Splits Name of the purple piec...

I love pub quizzes with friends. They're fun and sociable, with the added frisson of a possible prize if we're on top form. Sometimes one of the rounds is a Connections puzzle, where the answers have something in common. Often getting the connection early on can help with some of the more tricky questions... or lead us completely up the wrong tree if we get it wrong! One of our quizzes came up with a Connections round which I thought was worth tweaking and twisting a little for Veg Plotting . I hope you enjoy it. What you need to do Answer the questions below, and take the letter as indicated from your answer to complete the blank boxes. For multiple word answers, take the letter from a particular word as indicated, otherwise it's taken the first. The answers to the questions and the completed line of boxes all have something in common. What is the newly formed word and the Connection? Question Answer Title of a novel b...

I've made a guest appearance this week on the Thompson & Morgan (T&M) blog with some of my top tips for allotment growing alongside regular Veg Plotting commenter Sue (yay!), plus a whole host of experienced allotmenteers. Those of you who read my National Gardening Week post last May may be a little surprised as I confessed then I no longer have an allotment. My response to T&M's questions apply to what I've been doing here at VP Gardens and show grow your own is feasible whether you have just a windowsill right through to a full-blown allotment. My update on progress since then is long overdue. In a nutshell I produced more in 2019 than many an allotment year despite the more restricted space. It's not been a perfect time owing to family circumstances, so I look forward to 2020's growing season confident even more progress can be made. Two of my key projects last year were to improve soil health and to increase my growing space with some ...

It's always good to get out in the garden (rain permitting!) in the darkest days of winter and take my annual flower count. The blooms may be smaller, but they're a welcome sight and there's always a few surprises. This year's count stands at 12: not my best result, but there were signs of plenty more waiting in the wings. This year we have: the pictured rosemary - now reclassified as a member of the S alvia aka sage family, though I'm sure it'll keep its familiar common name, This is a great plant to have flowering for any bees venturing out at this time of the year 3 different kinds of winter flowering clematis - Clematis balearica , Clematis 'Freckles' and Clematis urophylla 'Winter Beauty' Single snowdrops a-plenty - Galanthus nivalis Strawberry 'Just Add Cream' Primrose 'Cottage Cream' Double flowered hellebores, but no sign of the Christmas rose Violas Erigeron perennial cornflower Viburnum x bodnanten...