Environmental problems are rampant worldwide, everywhere you look there are terrible atrocities happening to our natural world, it can all just seem completely out of our control. But surprisingly, there is something you can do in your own back yard! You can improve your personal health and the health of the environment by taking up … Continue reading »
Tag Archives: garden
Fresh Homegrown Tomatoes
What do I see wandering around the garden – a tomato that survived against all the odds! A couple of days on the kitchen bench should be all it needs. Couldn’t be more fresh. And plenty more where that one came from – nestled in a grove of Jerusalem Artichoke. Growing tomatoes from home is … Continue reading »
Diversity of Insects within a Healthy Garden
It is a great time of the year for being outdoors; a huge variety of insects and other life in all shapes and sizes, colours, functions. They are everywhere all the time, are they are marvellously diverse. Maybe it is all the coffee in the ground that has caused all this activity? Maybe it was … Continue reading »
Companion Planting – Natural Pest Control and Fertilization
Anyone who has studied Biology knows that nature takes care of itself (mostly!). Sunflowers grow and flourish in fields without a helping human hand, while blueberries can spread their vines across the ground offering up a bounty of fruit. Companion planting is a gardening method that harnesses nature’s own means of fertilization and pest control. … Continue reading »
How to Grow an Indoor Herb Garden
What better place to grow fresh herbs for cooking that your own kitchen? Being able to micromanage your herb plants in the kitchen allows you to grow herbs efficiently and give a greater sense of achievement when you finally use them in your cooking. There are several basic steps to get the best results. Follow … Continue reading »
Nasturtium Flowers – Patient Spider!
Just one of those regular sort of days, wandering around the garden and not looking for anything in particular. I am fond of the Nasturtium growing in Plot 1 - Lovely cherry red flowers all Spring and Summer, great for reducing weed growth, and a magnet for aphids and other nasties that would otherwise be … Continue reading »
Ladybugs Eat Aphids
I was admiring one of my apple trees, as you do. The flowers, a little apple (this tree’s first!), the leaves, the ladybug. One of the more frustrating things I have found in the garden has been the absence of ladybugs. But no longer. The Ladybug But wait… what’s up here then? Quick aphids run! … Continue reading »
The Herb Garden
Herbs bring their own something special to the garden. Many act as an effective ground cover, a home for bugs, garnish for a salad. All those things and more… One of their best traits is to be admired? The photo below is from the West side of the garden, at the base of a brick … Continue reading »
Make Your Garden Bird Friendly
Seeing songbirds is always a pleasure, and many of us like nothing better than watching the native birds that flit through our gardens from time to time. However, they’re not nearly as common as they used to be. In Europe, North America, Australia, and in many other parts of the world, native songbirds are in … Continue reading »
