Back(s) to the Future

Feb 2009: Did I mention the Cotoneaster? Mmm, lovely, isn't it.

Before the blog began: Well, this is how it started for us. Yep, faced with the prospect of turning the above plot (top photo) into a lush 'kitchen garden', early enthusiasm expressed over seed catalogues soon had all the fizz of 3 day old lemonade.

Lest we be accused of wimping out, it needs to be said that we were starting our veg patch a tad late in the season (April) and there was a lot of ground to (un)cover.

April 2009: Going to the (Time) Bank to get the job done.

Enter Viki and his team of Time Bank gardeners, a lovely group of men from Old Church Court in North London, who pitched up and started cheerfully digging out the rose bushes and ancient shrubs, while we pulled a few weeds and made cups of tea - and in L's case, a magnificent, huge, fresh cream Victoria Sponge Cake was baked … which I regrettably forgot to photograph.

Incidentally, if you don't know about TimeBank, check out these websites here (TimeBank) and here (SPH) and you, too, could soon be basking in TimeBank goodwill.

August planting for salad crops

Just the other day, after a very satisfying morning in the veg patch, we were discussing what could usefully go into the ground for eating in a couple of months. As we've had to wrestle giant roots into submission before getting started, our little patch is devoid of summer harvest. (Although we do have a few aubergines, peppers and lavender in a greenhouse waiting to be transplanted now that the ground is ready-ish.) As it's practically still July, we decided to give salad-y stuff a go and have now lovingly sowed lettuce, rocket, radish, beetroot, spring onions, and parsley into the raised beds, with the help of one of the children. This was more an act of bravado than seasoned experience but I'm pleased to see that Sarah Raven, writing for the Guardian, advocates August as being the ideal time for sowing a late summer salad. Yum. In fact, I'm inspired to go out and sow spinach and coriander as well (which I was going to leave until the end of the month).

In appreciation of Weeds

Don't you think that weeds have to put up with an awful lot of bad press? Garden enthusiasts, determined to impose bedding plant orderliness on the habitat, often overlook the subtle beauty of these plants. I therefore offer heartfelt thanks to Susie at Flowerpress for highlighting the delights of these natural survivors and for her beautiful photography. Perhaps we'll all learn to look and love before heaving them out of (our) beds.