Who loves food? I know for me it's the difference between a happy Belle and a grumpy Belle! Beauty certainly turns into the beast with no food; well Belle certainly does anyway. This is why I will most definitely be absorbing every morsel of food I can at the BBC Good Food Show as well as all the … Continue reading Marcus Bean – Cooking and GYO unite
Crikey rain, you took your time to show up! The lack of rain in April set fear into farmers across the UK, seeing 50% less rainfall than average. Drought put crops at risk, alongside the unseasonably cold snap that recently took us by surprise. Dear rain, after one of the driest winters in 20 years, it may mean us putting … Continue reading To Do List – May
Well April certainly hasn’t lived up to its stereotype has it?! For a month which has its own name for rain; April Showers, it has certainly let us down! Only a day or two of rain in the whole month and my lovely but consistently moaning neighbour is already complaining at every second about the … Continue reading Oh so bright and beautiful…
I recently had the amazing opportunity and absolute pleasure of talking to Frances Tophill. If somehow you don't know who I am talking about, switch on your TV! Frances is one of the presenting team on ITV's Love Your Garden and BBC's Gardeners World in the UK. Her enthusiasm and passion for gardening and conservation is infectious! As you know … Continue reading Frances Tophill – Exclusive Interview & GW Live Competition
How is it that not long ago it felt like we were all sat twiddling our fingers over seed catalogues and websites waiting what seemed like forever for Spring to come?! Now, I feel like I can't keep up with all the sowing to be done and the cheeky weeds popping up through the soil, saying "You thought you … Continue reading To Do List – April
After spending all of Saturday at the allotment in the glorious sunshine, I feel like year two at No.27 has officially started. Year one, I focused on clearing and double digging just one side of the plot, mainly in order to only slightly overwhelm myself and not cause complete mental carnage. The left hand side stayed fully … Continue reading Year Two – All systems are go!
Spring is officially here; the tulips are beginning to flower, the clocks go forward at the weekend and the evenings are beginning to get lighter. Bring on after work allotment time, I can feel the skip in my step already! Even spending just 30 minutes at No.27 after work completely changes my mood and more than … Continue reading To Do List – March
Hey! It feels like ages since I have done a general update blog, so I decided with Spring here and lots beginning to happen, it was about time for an update. I said it....Spring is here, wahoo!! Are you as excited as me?! As I am sure you know, I am currently a week away … Continue reading Hey…It’s germination time!
On the 16th February I had the pleasure of the attending the Garden Press Event in London, self quoted as 'the only event of its kind aimed specifically for the industry to showcase the latest products and stories exclusively to the key names in the garden & home press and media'. What an event Guy Burtenshaw … Continue reading Garden Press Event 2017
In the Summer of 2015, I was growing vegetables in a few containers eagerly waiting for a email to arrive offering me an allotment. Enthusiastically sowing seeds and a few cheeky plug plants in the hope of my first grow your own success. I was hooked instantly and fell head over heels in love with nature's … Continue reading Enabling GYO success – Pippa Greenwood
I live and breathe for the passion of growing your own and inspiring all ages in particular the younger generation to just give it a go. It's not just about the end result of that delicious juicy tomato or crunchy vibrant quirky purple carrot, it's the mind set it creates and installs in you. There is so many … Continue reading From me to you…the younger generation.
Buttered broad beans with bacon as a side dish or on a toasted slice of ciabatta certainly gets me excited for early Summer. Accompanied by a glass of homemade broad bean wine too of course. Yes, you can make wine from beans if you didn't know, it's lethal but pretty damn tasty! I will share one … Continue reading Broad Beans – Made Simple
It's midway through February and I have just about got through all the allotment activities I listed for January. What a busy month it has been so far, the year seems to be flying by already. On Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending the Garden Press Event in London, which was truly incredible, so … Continue reading To Do List – February
It's that time of year again for a good 'chit' chat about spuds! How do you like your potatoes? I particularly love mine mashed with a dollop of butter or roasted until crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside. Yesterday I spent my lunch break down at my local market seed potato shopping, its … Continue reading A peeling potato talk
We were all starting to think that 2017 had to be a better year than 2016 but then disaster struck.....the 19th January 2017, the day #CourgetteCrisis trended on Twitter. Seriously?! Are we spiralising out of control already? BBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph and the Daily Mail all reporting on the catastrophe. Shoppers in their droves in uproar … Continue reading Lost the plot: Courgette Crisis
