This week's slice of garden loveliness comes from my mum-in-law's garden in Devon. We visited at the start of the school holidays and while the sun shone I spent a happy hour amongst the flowers with my camera. When Penny and Mike moved to Devon 16 years ago their house had a large patch of land at the back but no garden to speak of - so they just created one from scratch. Among the countless hours of work this involved was the scarily huge ...
Savings on grow your own with grow2eat.com
If you grow your own fruit and vegetables you’ll already be saving lots of money compared to buying the same crops from a shop - as well as enjoying much fresher, tastier produce. I’ve recently discovered you can also find lots of savings and special offers on grow your own at grow2eat.com. Whether you’re a member of an allotment association or gardening club, or just an individual who loves to grow their own food, you can join the grow2eat ...
Potting heaven: my dream secret shed
I am a gardener. I love my garden and I garden most days, certainly every week. So if I asked you to guess what is in my garden shed you would logically assume it was pretty much dedicated to gardening equipment, right ? Wrong. Here's what's inside our garden shed: Bike x 6 (but only 4 people in our family) Kids' bike seats, spare bike wheels, bike rack for car (can you see a pattern emerging here?) Huge shelving unit full of paint pots, ...
August birth flower: Gladiolus & Poppy
Do you know what the August birth flower is? Just like birthstones, there are birth month flowers for every month of the year. Birth month flowers are usually in season during their specific month, so they should be easy to find in florists and mixed bouquets - making them perfect for a really thoughtful gift, or just a treat for yourself! If your birthday is in August, or if you'd like to buy a personalised gift for a loved one with an ...
Wildflower wanderings
Have you ever had the chance to roam through fields of wildflowers? It’s the stuff of romantic novels and Hollywood movies isn’t it, and certainly not something I expected to be able to do locally - but that’s exactly what we spent an afternoon doing at Naturescape wildlflower farm in Langar, Nottinghamshire. Naturescape is a 90 acre wildflower farm, producing native species of wildflowers and grasses primarily for the wholesale wildflower ...
In Season Now: August
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Insect Lore Butterfly Garden Review
Welcome to a new review of the fabulous Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden kit. We’ve been having a lot of fun over the last couple of weeks reviewing the Live Butterfly Garden. What a brilliant nature project to do with the kids! The Butterfly Garden arrives in the post in a really nicely presented box. When the children opened it they were so surprised and excited - it would make a lovely gift. Inside the box is ...
An unruly Summer allotment
It's been a while since I shared any pictures of our allotment. This hasn't been deliberate, I just haven't got myself organised! I feel like I've been behind the whole way with the allotment this year. Last year I had the plot rotavated in early Spring, which meant I was good to go with the planting nice and early. This year however there's a greenhouse slap bang in the middle of the plot, a few raised beds and some permanent fruit canes, so ...
Dealing with Summer home & garden pests
The summer months can be a bit of a pain when it comes to home and garden pests. Warmer weather, outdoor dining and more readily available food sources can all contribute to an invasion of unwelcome visitors. Here are some tips and ideas on how to make sure your home and garden isn’t a prime location for these pests during the summer. Or, if you're already dealing with an infestation, hire A1 Pest Exterminator Canberra to get rid of the ...
Statement sheds: the latest garden trend
Today’s guest post introduces a whole new side to the humble garden shed. Enjoy! Sheds: a British passion and tradition we already know, but a fashion trend and the latest must have accessory - are you serious? Just a few years ago, you would never have believed that the next big, must-have fashion trend was the humble garden shed, and a television programme dedicated to them would draw in millions of viewers every week. If you had been told ...