This week: Covid, equinox, seeds and seedlings

Just as spring equinox arrives (a highlight of the year for me, signalling the real end of winter darkness and inertia), I’ve finally come down with Covid-19. So whilst it’s been beautiful sunny spring weather here in London this weekend I’ve been holed up at home feeling sorry for myself (well, not very sorry actually […]

Solace in manure, seed sowing and early spring flowers

It’s been another beautiful sunny day here in London. More manure This morning, I went to fetch some fresh manure from the local stables and filled up the third compost bay I emptied yesterday. You can’t have too much manure or compost on an allotment, I don’t reckon, so I like to keep all 3 […]

Unfurling rose

A pale pink rose unfurling in the February garden

Sowing the first seeds of the year

Spring around the corner It’s been sunny and frosty for a lot of this week – weather that is beautiful in itself, but that also gives you hope and anticipation of spring just being around the corner. As a result I’ve been itching to get going in the garden and on the allotment, and that […]

Sowing seeds

I love this time of year for the lengthening days, the way everything starts quietly and in tiny ways coming to life and the hope and optimism that is involved in sowing seeds. I get most of my seeds from The Real Seed Company, because I love their general ethos, they have a good range […]

Hail and rainbows

I ended this week with a horrible migraine, feeling completely wiped out. Woke up this morning feeling stressed about not having done everything I planned to at work this week and worried about the general state of the world. Thought I was too knackered to go up to the allotment, but after a bit of […]