I’m not very green-fingered. I either forget to water things or I water them too much. Usually I forget and then I drown, out of guilt. I had a strawberry patch when I was a child. Well, it was in theory my patch. My mum did most of the actual work, and I think the… Continue reading Beginning to Garden: Repotting Parsley
Category: Garden
Nature Notes: February 2023
As the weather (finally!) appears to be getting warmer where we are there is an abundance of plant life coming back after the long hibernation of winter… The bulbs are coming back with dashes of violet, blue and yellow all over the garden (mainly from the squirrels digging up last year’s plantings and reburying them… Continue reading Nature Notes: February 2023
Nature Notes: January 2023
Our wildlife survival outpost is attracting the usual eclectic mix of characters at the moment. From the locals (the Blue Tit Group, the Great Tit, Robin, Nuthatches and Squirrels) to our visitors from -further afield (a family flock of Long-Tailed Tits and the occasional Jay) we have a thriving community of creatures that we are… Continue reading Nature Notes: January 2023
Nature Notes: November 2022
Only a day late, but better than never, especially as M provided this in good time and I failed to schedule it like a sensible person. Normal service should resume shortly. Probably… With the cold weather well and truly upon us the garden has changed roles from a (semi) productive fruit garden into a wildlife… Continue reading Nature Notes: November 2022
Nature Notes: The Bluster of Autumn
Although the leaves I can see from my office-window are mostly still green, they are beginning to turn orange and yellow at the edges, and the garden below is beginning to disappear beneath fallen leaves. The weather is wetter – a welcome relief after the dry summer – but the temperatures are still fairly mild.… Continue reading Nature Notes: The Bluster of Autumn
Nature Notes: August 2022
This month has been all about water and the importance of making sure that as well as ourselves we keep the creatures in our gardens hydrated this summer. With the unprecedented growth spurt a lot of our plants seem to have had in the last month or so there has been a greater demand for… Continue reading Nature Notes: August 2022
Nature Notes: July 2022
In the interests of learning the Art of Delegation in anticipation of less time later in the year, I'm handing at least some of the Nature Notes over to M to write, especially since he's the one who really knows what's going on in the garden. Over to M... Blueberries and Black Widows With the… Continue reading Nature Notes: July 2022
Nature Notes: June 2022
I write this in the middle of a thunderstorm. Although that seems a bit of an exaggeration: it’s raining and occasionally there’s thunder. It isn’t very stormy, though, and I haven’t yet seen any lightning. It’s a rainy end to June, after the sunshine and mini-heatwave of a few weeks ago. Typical of a Glastonbury… Continue reading Nature Notes: June 2022
Nature Notes: May 2022
We’ve been (sort of; it’s laziness more than anything) participating in the No-Mow May thing, to allow for the clovers and daisies and other lawn wildflowers to grow for the bees and the butterflies. We’ve also found that we have bluebells at the edges of the lawn, and by the fence which backs onto the… Continue reading Nature Notes: May 2022
Nature Notes: April 2022
Spring is a time of notoriously changeable weather, and this April has been no different. It started warm and sunny, then dipped back to cold and hail, before recovering somewhat to end with sunshine. At least, it’s sunny as I write this. The patio doors are open and I’m listening to the birds singing. The… Continue reading Nature Notes: April 2022