Spring has certainly sprung!

Well I just couldn't let another weekend go by without adding something to my blog - must admit I've really missed having the time to post more on here recently - it started with a 2 week break in Cornwall - at some point soon will do a posting just on this as we visited some lovely gardens and coastline. Then since returning at the beginning of April it's been 24/7 gardening both for clients and here too - just managing to keep up with the ever growing grass and weeds! I must admit I've really missed having the time to keep up with other blogs too - maybe the wet weather will give me a few more spare indoor moments this week? So before the rain I thought I'd share something of our own garden with you...











I'm pleased to say that we've had a mostly very dry and sunny weekend here - even some time to sit and enjoy our plot for a change in between the digging and planting that is! Seeing this garden and woodland come on over the 5 or so years that we've been here has been a wonderful experience - especially considering the state it was all in when we bought it... the house alone was uninhabitable and the garden just left for 8 or so years to do it's own thing. What is amazing to me is that I rarely have to use any products on the garden other than a bit of diluted weedkill on the gravel as the place just seems to look after itself... the birds alone do a marvellous job.




There's still a huge amount to do and massive scope for future development - every year I try and set myself goals of things I'd like to achieve and being the determined person that I think I am I seem to get there in the end! What I love is looking back at the before photos which gives me a huge sense of achievement and encouragement to press on to the next bit - here are a few...


















Birds busy nesting already - baby blue tits can be heard from the nest box on our Walnut tree, the Great Tits are also nesting in another box and the Swallows are nesting too.... more on that soon!

Have a good week and will try and post again soon...

Growing Stuff....

Amidst trying to keep our own garden and clients' gardens maintained at an extremely busy time of year I had to share the details of a fantastic gardening book which I've been reading recently.

As a gardener and a lover of books especially on the subject of anything to do with gardening and planting I really couldn't resist this one! It is definately a "must have book" and would make an ideal gift as there really is something in there for everyone - for the experienced gardener or for people just starting out and wanting to learn more - it's even got ideas that would appeal to children too.

It has been so refreshing to find a book that doesn't just regurgitate what we find in gardening magazines and the latest in gardening books - there really are some interesting, original and quirky ideas even for those with little resources and a small growing space!

We're always looking for ways of re-cycling used water bottles - especially in France and one of their suggested projects is creating a mini window garden using half a plastic bottle along with some unwanted newspaper - an ideal base for growing your sprouting seeds to add to tasty summer salads! There's no reason why this idea couldn't also be adapted further for general seed growing too - put a few holes in the water bottle for drainage and fill with compost!

Growing Stuff covers subjects such as the basics of sowing seeds, pest control, pruning and caring for plants as well as giving you ideas on vegetable and herb growing, including some delicious recipes. It's got pages on wildlife gardening and details on how to create your own worm farm and also a ladybird house. There's so much in this book, I could go on...

There are quite a variety of contributors to this book which makes it more interesting including both Richard Reynolds and Elizabeth McCorquodale. If you've read this posting and keen to find out more click on their website.

If you would like to order a copy you will get a 40% discount as a reader of this blog and you should email Jessica Atkins mentioning that you found the details on my blog site.

I really hope you enjoy this book as much as I did....

I understand tha anyone wanting the book posted to France that the costs are as follows:
Surface Mail - £4.65 (2-4 weeks)Airmail - £5.22 (1-2 weeks)Astro Air Economy - £8.20 (up to 5 days)