We may still be trying to wave goodbye to winter, but if you’re even remotely green-fingered your thoughts are bound to be turning to what plants you want to grow this year. I’ve already spent a lovely afternoon with the kids planning what to grow on their plots, and a couple of evenings working out what I want to grow in our garden and allotment over the coming months. I've done my seed order and now it’s a case of waiting for the weather to ...
4. The 10 minute gardener: spring planning
Wow, it’s February already. While January was a low-input month in the garden, we spent a lot of time planning, sketching and dreaming; the kids chose what to grow in their plots and I sorted out my seed order. It’s definitely time to get on with some spring planning, as well as some quick garden jobs that will pay dividends when the new season arrives. Here are some ideas for quick and productive garden jobs to tackle now.Save your egg ...
Gardening with children: seeds to sow in winter
We’ve started the seed planting for this year, hurrah! Sowing seeds is my kids favourite gardening job; it never fails to grab their attention and we always have a really great time doing it. Usually a messy time too, but that goes with the territory! Now, you may be thinking “But it’s still freezing outside, no way could we start growing tender little seedlings” - and yes, if you planted most seeds outdoors at this time of year you’d be ...
Tips for effective summer garden watering
Having spent the last few months coaxing seeds and plants to grow, everything in the garden and allotment is now shooting off at a crazy speed. Suddenly it feels as if I’m in a race to provide the plants with what they need in order to thrive.Watering forms a big part of this job; with the summer months upon us and plants growing so fast, the demand for water is at it’s peak. Providing your plants with adequate water at this time ...
Review: Cobra T24C 10″ Cultivator
If you’ve got a big garden or an allotment, you’ve probably struggled at some point to dig a large patch of land manually. Digging is certainly a good workout, and some people really enjoy it, but I’m definitely not one of them! We’ve had our allotment for three years now, and while there are some raised beds which we don’t dig, there’s a good chunk of land that gets trodden down and needs digging over each year. It’s a laborious job, and ...
How to get your garden ready for summer
Summer is on the way, and with it the chance to spend more time enjoying our outdoor space. Is your garden ready? During the colder months we naturally spend less time taking care of our gardens, but when the weather warms up again in summer we immediately want to get out there and enjoy them. The trouble is, there’s often work required to get things looking good before we can sit back and enjoy the view! If your garden is looking a bit ...
Gorgeous gardening gifts from Burgon & Ball plus giveaway
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I'm usually quite organised, but this year we've been so busy I'm only just starting to think about gift ideas. I have a few green-fingered recipients to buy for, and being a bit of a gardening geek myself I can't resist browsing gift ideas for them first!So, I've just spent a really lovely afternoon exploring the fantastic range of gardening products over at Burgon & Ball, and I thought I'd ...
Review: Robomow Robotic Lawnmower
At this time of year, everything in the garden is growing pretty quickly - and that includes the grass! Our lawn isn’t enormous, but it still requires regular mowing in the Summer, and with the usual chaos of family life it can be hard to find time to look after it properly. We’ve been guilty in the past of leaving it to grow quite long, which makes it difficult to mow and looks pretty messy. Robomow asked us to trial one of their robotic ...
Mother’s Day gift guide
Welcome to my Mother’s Day gift guide - yes, it’s really not long until Mother’s Day! Sunday 6th March is fast approaching, so here are some brilliant gift ideas to help you narrow down your search for the perfect present.Whether the mum in question enjoys gardening, getting outdoors, pampering or just a lovely treat, there are lots of great gift suggestions here. Hopefully I’ve done the hard work for you and given you plenty of inspiration ...
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 ...