Water, water, everywhere, and not a minute to lose

July 24, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

In the middle of what has arguably been the best summer in years, the only people complaining about the heat are the gardeners, myself amongst them. How glorious to sip a g&t on a sunny evening! How less so to be robbed of that opportunity because of a stupid pipe dream about setting up a […]

Watering worries: garden irrigation

May 11, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink (if you’re the trees in our orchard) because frankly I’m getting tired of having to haul entire bins full of water up a steep hill to water in excess of 30 trees, 120 raspberry canes and 20+bushes. I’m fed up. It’s back-breaking. And this leads me to […]

Field finds: troughs for all

March 25, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

One of the nicest things about moving to a new house is how it can surprise you. Of course that can also be one of the worst things about a new house too (boiler breaking down the week after you move in anybody?). But in the garden I’ve been constantly surprised and pleased at the […]

Sowing seeds with a toddler

February 22, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

Ever since my oldest son was born, I’ve always tried to interest him in the outdoor world. We go for walks whatever the weather, we look at trees and plants and birds and investigate animal holes and tracks and calls. We also mess about in the garden, and he’s joined me in the garden since […]

DIY irrigation using soda bottles

April 7, 2017.Reading time 1 minute.

Years ago I decided to install a homemade drip-feed system of soda bottles to water my pots and raised beds. But having filled the one nearest to my beloved plum tree yesterday, I noticed this morning that the water level hadn’t dropped. The culprit was the lid of the old water bottle I was using. […]

Biblical floods, or, Watering the garden with a toddler

April 3, 2017.Reading time 1 minute.

Of all of the gardening tasks that we have to do, digging, sowing, weeding, moving things around, one chore stands out as a complete and utter treat for GarlicBoy. The promise of being allowed to water the garden (with the hose of course) is something that he’ll do anything for. And he’s really thorough! A […]

DIY watering system (drip – feed from soda bottles)

June 22, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

When planning the garden, one of the things that worried me most about planting in pots was how easily they dry out, especially on hot days. It’s not good for root structures to get completely parched as the plant stems start to collapse inwards. So my initial thought was to purchase a rainwater butt and […]