I’ve been asked which greenhouse plant is top of the GYO essential list, practical, productive, with the most outstanding nutritional value? Unfortunately this would be trays of kale and watercress. However also high in the ranking is a little grown relative of tomatoes that I featured here a decade ago. Still not widely known the […]
With the rush to grow edibles at home this summer, your painstaking efforts with garden stars like tomatoes or corn may mean that easy-care herbs could be overlooked. And yet, herbs can bring joy to your table, enliven your self-care routine, or enhance your gift giving. And many will continue to do that year in […]
Keeping seed-gathering and sowing close to home reduces gardening miles to footsteps – and results only in joy. This spring, one coy flower, above all others, brought me an untrammelled and deeply satisfying joy that endured for weeks on end. It wasn’t just the early dash of pink and blue it added to my borders […]
Sow Fennel, oriental vegetables like mizuna greens and Pak Choi, rocket, coriander dill, spinach, claytonia and land cress, in modules as soon as you can in August. These will germinate quickly and can be planted out by mid-August for cropping in Autumn. Continue sowing ‘cut and come again’ crops like mixed herbs, in pots, greenhouse […]
I was strolling (properly masked) through my neighborhood on a recent afternoon when I spotted a flower in a front-yard garden that swept me into one of those wave-of-memory moments. It was Gaillardia pulchella, the plant my mother grew up calling Indian blanket, its cheery red daisylike flowers rimmed with bright yellow. It threw me […]
The beefsteak tomatoes have started ripening in the greenhouse, the most delicious crop of the year. I could survive all of late summer just on beefsteak tomatoes, a bit of salt and olive oil, and hunks of bread to mop up the juices, and by the way the greenhouse is looking now I most probably […]
I had rather a large birthday recently, the sort you want to keep a deep, dark secret! I’ve seen a variety of gardening styles and, although I’m not quite old enough to remember Dig for Victory, I do remember the self-sufficient gardens of the 1950s, the low-maintenance shrub gardens of the 1960s, the conifers of […]
“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” but do pay attention to it. In this time of pandemic, when even our commonest gestures must be made with care, my focus has been put into sharp detail on the treasure to be found in the smallest package. I begin with my grandson, turning seven months as I write […]
As the climate crisis escalates, 40°C heat alerts are becoming a regular event – and that’s before you’ve factored in the midsummer frosts and greenhouse-shattering storms. Dry, rustling leaves roused Lena from her heat-induced snooze; the thick, clammy air was finally on the move. Yawning, she pressed her back against the oak’s trunk, her legs […]
It doesn’t matter whether you have a large or small, old or modern greenhouse, you will use potting soil. I use a lot of potting soil, bales of it in fact. I’m talking about real potting soil. Mixtures that are instead called “garden soil,” or something similar, are a different animal entirely. They can contain […]
Plan ahead and plant some Christmas cropping potatoes now for your festive feast, says Jean Vernon Growing your own food is a wonderful way to connect with nature, nutrition and your own well-being. There’s little more healthy than harvesting fresh, homegrown produce from your own garden, especially if it’s organic and free from toxic pesticides. […]
Looking for a spot in your garden to grow more edibles in this stay-at-home summer? But maybe you don’t want to tear up more lawn or build raised beds. So, consider planting fruits and vegetables in the existing ornamental borders around your home, where the soil is already turned, mulch may be down, and weeds, […]
