Simon's Allotment

So spring is here, not that you'd know it, cold as the proverbial witch's tit up here. Still, best to show willing and all that, so ...

Broad beans "Aquadulce" - Sown last autumn, some direct, some in coldframe planted out 19.4. More sown for next year in open coldf...

Not much work for gardeners here in the winter so I spent February pruning olive trees in Spain. With some trees it's just a matter...

OK so winter's here...

Well here I am again. Temperatures in double figures when it should be freezing. Heating off, doors open. All very pleasant but also a bit w...

  These seem to be all the rage at the moment so I thought I'd have a crack at making one. It's basically just cooking over a chi...

Autumn seems a little early this year, the leaves aren't turning much yet but it sure has turned chilly. Still plenty to eat of course...

I've got potatoes in store and peas in the freezer; the brussels sprouts are starting to fill out and they'll be plenty of leeks and...

I've cut back the meadow grass in the orchard so it looks much bigger all of a sudden. I'll keep it short now so that the finer gras...

This is the only cut flower I grow these days - they've been later than usual this year after the poor summer but worth waiting for. ...

I'm proud to say I've more flowers than ever this year to keep the bees and butterflies supplied with nectar during this critical la...

It's that time of year when gaps start appearing on the plot as crops are harvested. I mulch the bare soil with compost or fork in chick...

The top fruit hasn't done at all well this year - the apples, pears and plums all suffered through there're not being many pollinato...

Harvested the last of the maincrop peas today; I've been freezing most of them as I now have plenty of beans -  runners, climbing French...

These are a bit disappointing this year, but hardly surprising given the conditions we've had. I cut the leaves off at the first signs o...

These have been the surprise hit of the year. I'd grown them from seed under glass and after the meadow mix failed to germinate I put th...

 Corn marigold    Field poppy    Rose campion    Marjoram    Verbena    Eryngium "Miss Wilmot's Gh...