I was surprised and pleased to see Amateur Gardening magazine had a section in one of their September editions dedicated to organic gardening, mainly because the magazine always seems to endorse all kinds of sprays and pesticides. But here they were making the case for national charity Garden Organic, compost, reusing resources, stopping chemical usage … Continue reading Be Brave, Go Organic and Save Your Corner of the Planet
You can’t help it. You’re gloomy. The nights have draw in. The days are colder, the trees are bare, the ground is sodden. All that glorious greenery that sustained you in the other seasons has now gone. But can you still extract some wellbeing out of your winter garden? Continue reading 7 Ways to Boost Wellbeing in Your Winter Garden
If you want a great garden, you can’t do it by yourself. There’s an army of little helpers beneath the soil. With a spring in their step, these bees of the soil are doing wonders for your plants. Continue reading Springtails: The Wee Beasties Helping Your Plants
While ‘mulch’ may be utterly charmless as a word, it is full of potential to transform your garden from an ugly duckling into a preened swan. Find out all your need to know about mulch in this week’s blog. Continue reading What Is Mulch and Why We Should All Be Mulching
I love planning. I have lists, sub lists, sub sub lists. When it comes to gardening I like to start planning on the 1st of September. Why? Well if you want a great spring, with healthy plants and rich soil, then you have to get your organic garden ready now. I always think of September … Continue reading How to Get Your Organic Garden Ready for Autumn (Fall)
Wildflower watching became an activity itself on our holiday. Having seen the clouds of insects surrounding these…it made me realise that exotic ‘pollinator plants’ have nothing on the natives. Continue reading Call of the Wildflowers
Don’t waste your time chasing butterflies. Mend your garden, and the butterflies will come. Mario Quintana Growing up, we had two big glass picture frames filled with dead butterflies. Pinned to a board, they were skewered, dry and drained of colour. I hated them, but also liked looking at them too. There weren’t that many … Continue reading Mend your Garden so the Butterflies will Come
Buying food to feed the birds is costing way more than tuppence these days. I’ve been trying to grow wild food and attract more insects into my garden to provide a more natural source. Continue reading Stop Buying Bird Food! Attract Insects and Grow Your Own Seeds & Fruits Instead
After 5 years of tidying, lack of organic matter and absolutely NO mulching, the Vinca minor (lesser periwinkle) and other groundcover plants had left behind a wasteland. Was it possible to re-grow my soil? Continue reading Grappling with Groundcover to Save My Soil
I hate taking instructions with no explanation. 2×2 is 4? But why. Add in baking powder to make your cake rise…how does that work? Mix cardboard and grass cuttings in this ratio and get compost – but why that ratio, what’s breaking them down? How can I make it go quicker? I find that if … Continue reading Composting: How it works and why you need to make it?
