The sunshine has brought out the ladybirds on our snow-in-summer. Some hurry along the raised bed sleepers in between the silvery leaves, clearly preoccupied with ladybird business, while others doze and mate on the warm wood. The kids have always enjoyed watching these charismatic beetles with their striking patterns and distinct spots, so we decided … Continue reading Garden Schooling: Ladybird Maths
This week dawned sunny and cold - new and strange too. But life with kids doesn't give you much time to pause and think (a blessing at times), so we're moving onward with a new garden school project involving poetry, nature and art - to get us all out in that bright, life-affirming sunshine. We … Continue reading Garden Schooling: Nature Spells
Once upon a time, when dinosaurs were undoubtedly roaming wild in the garden, I had a previous life as a teacher. I loved working with children - and now I'm looking forward to rediscovering my creative side with my own kids (8 and 11) as we enter this rather surreal period of living, working and … Continue reading Garden Schooling: From Small Seeds…
With chilli sowing season already upon us, it's time to unearth my special seedy shoeboxes to plan for the growing year ahead. One particular box contains an exciting collection of seeds - those I'm trialling for Suttons in my role as a guest blogger for 2018. I'm really looking forward to trying out some of … Continue reading Seedy Saturday: Rainbows, Crocodiles and Pearls
I was asked recently to write a piece on where my personal gardening passion came from. The origins of inspiration is a subject which interests me in both my work with children and my writing. This is what emerged when I put pen to paper... As a child scrambling though the scrubby heather on Conwy … Continue reading How Did Your Love Of Gardening Begin?
We've had a spectacular spring for bulbs, both inside and out, largely thanks to J. Parker's who have kindly supplied us with a fabulous selection to trial this year. Bulb anticipation began in January when we planted the Hippeastrum with awed respect for the size of the bulbs. By late February, paperwhite daffodils were filling … Continue reading Bulbs To Light Up Spring
What is a garden? An ever-changing expanse of blue, lightness, the rush of air, freedom and energy. Swinging aloft, earthly concerns forgotten in the airborn joy of movement. In childhood days I thought little of seasonal changes, of buying plants or raising vegetables from seed, of compost, plant labels and copper tape as hosta protection … Continue reading Of Swings And Daisies
A cosy window seat has to be the best place to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book. As a child, I preferred to read near the top of our tall Scots Pine, with a Famous Five and an apple from the garden. Now I favour the cushion-strewn window seat in the lounge which … Continue reading Book Review: RHS Plants From Pips and The Little Book of Hygge
Ten years ago I went on the allotment waiting list. Local sites are heavily oversubscribed and I was expecting a substantial wait. Five years later, with one small child and another on the way I decided to come off the list as allotmenteering seemed unfeasible in the blur of family life. Instead we worked on … Continue reading Allotment Beginnings
Earlier this year I decided to focus on pollinators at the school summer fete plant stall and since then I've been a little obsessed with growing and learning about plants which give our pollinators a helping hand. I've been raising a small army of dwarf sunflowers from seed (Helianthus annus 'Little Leo' and 'Waooh!'), dividing garden plants … Continue reading The Bee’s Knees