Fort fox(proof): building a luxury chicken enclosure

May 6, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

After the shock of finding that the chickens had all been taken by a fox last week, we decided to fortify the new poultry enclosure somewhat. It used to be a composting area behind our barn and was utterly overgrown with weeds that were literally above waist height. The irony of our loss is that […]

Is this over the top(iary)?

April 11, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

We’ve divided our little smallholding into four distinct areas: formal garden, kitchen / cutting garden, woodland garden and playground and livestock paddocks. Whilst this is a working smallholding and I want to keep the property functional in that respect, we do have two small children and I want them to grow up in a large […]

Planting an edible boundary hedge

February 25, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

Our little smallholding is surrounded by very appropriate but rather ugly stock fencing. We needed something that would fit in well with the rural nature of our village, but that would keep our livestock safe (and, frankly, would keep other people’s dogs out). However, the stock fencing that was in existence when we moved in […]

Gather ye roses if ye may (and ye can’t, the sodding ground is undiggable!)

January 14, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

In the spirit of trying to do as much as we can around our little homestead ourselves, we had a good crack at the main flowerbeds in the front garden. This is a slight change of pace for us as we’ve focussed mainly on practical projects thus far, chicken-proofing the paddock for them to free […]

I hate my Aga, and this is why it has to go

November 11, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

There are so many things that come to mind when one pictures stereotypical country living in England. Traditional old houses, be they stately piles or thatched cottages. Boot rooms. Gravel driveways. Wellies everywhere. Open fires welcoming home cold but exhilarated walkers. And Agas. For those of you outside of the UK, an Aga is a […]

Getting started

March 5, 2014.Reading time 2 minutes.

One of the first things that needed to be done when we took over our garden was to fight back against the wilderness that occupied the space we so badly wanted as ours. So a mammoth pruning session ensued (tempered slightly by the discovery of a nest in a neighbour’s overhanging bush that we didn’t […]

Hello world!

March 4, 2014.Reading time 1 minute.

Greetings from a tiny, hitherto unloved patch of patio in South-West London now occupied by Mr Garlic, our two GarlicCats and I. I’ll be writing about the challenges of taking a tiny urban garden behind our Victorian house (and the side return) and growing as much edible produce as is possible. I’ll also chuck in […]