If you grow your own food on any level, from a small patch in your garden to a full-on allotment plot, Autumn is very much the season of harvesting. It’s hard to beat freshly-picked produce, but the reality is often that we have more than we can possibly eat. For us this year the gluts have been courgettes and tomatoes, we’ve been pretty much up to our ears in them! For me, the pleasure in growing our own fruit and vegetables is not only being ...
October birth flower: Marigold & Cosmos
Do you know what the October 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 October, or if you’d like to buy a personalised gift for a loved one with an ...
In season now: October
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Ideas for preserving herbs
There’s a bit of a theme going on around here at the moment - harvest. At this time of year a lot of my ‘gardening time’ is spent picking produce and working out how to store it, cook it or preserve it. It can be time-consuming in the short term, but it’s so great to be able to enjoy your homegrown fruit and veg all year round. In this post I’m going to share some ideas for preserving herbs - they make such a difference to recipes and you ...
Harvest time craft: making veggie creatures
We've been having lots of fun this season turning our allotment harvest into veggie animals, so I thought I'd share this fun craft activity with you. Every year my local horticultural society holds their annual show in September. There are lots of categories you can enter your produce into - things like 'heaviest pumpkin' and 'best floral arrangement' - and there is a whole section exclusively for children. The kids were planning to make ...
Exploring Clumber Park
Visiting Clumber Park is one of those days out where the minute you arrive, you just know it’s going to be brilliant. We’ve been meaning to visit for such a long time and we finally managed it over the bank holiday weekend. Covering over 3,800 acres of parkland, heath and woods in North Nottinghamshire, Clumber Park was once the country estate of the Dukes of Newcastle. The original house is no longer there but there are lots of other ...
September birth flower: Aster & Morning Glory
Do you know what the September 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 September, or if you’d like to buy a personalised gift for a loved one with ...
In Season Now: September
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