Old School Garden

Marigolds are great fun. They are easy to grow from seed, colourful and free flowering. A perfect introduction to gardening for children and garden novices, marigolds ask a little and give a lot. There are lots of different types of marigolds available but the key distinction is between pot marigolds (Calendula officinalis) and French and…

Plant Spotlight – Marigolds — Winterbourne House and Garden

Hello from sizzling southern Finland! Decided it was just too hot midday to continue doing yard chores. Taking a break to bring you up to speed with all that’s happening at Vanha Talo Suomi. A delightful spring was followed pretty closely with ever-increasing temperatures which are presently topping the +30c mark on the thermometer. Records […]

Sultry Southern Finland; +30c and rising! — Vanha Talo Suomi

A guest post by Carrie Spencer

A garden is a truly wonderful addition to any home. Not only will it improve your property aesthetically, but it also offers some truly amazing health benefits for you and your family. And of course, let’s not forget how much good a productive and sustainable garden can do for nature, which can be your contribution to making the world a better place to live in.

No doubt, you’re already compelled to create the best and most fruitful garden possible, but before that, get to know the essentials of this truly worthwhile pursuit.

Essential Gardening Techniques

Whether you’re just starting a garden or looking to keep one thriving and productive, you need to be well-versed in the various gardening methods.

• When you pay attention to home gardening tips from the experts (USA or try this for the UK), you’ll pick up more efficient ways to do things like composting, growing herbs, planting trees, etc.
• Mulching is definitely one technique you should familiarize yourself with as it’s arguably one the best things you can do for your garden.
• Not all soils are created equal, so improving your garden soil is a must.
• Timing is also crucial in gardening, so know that some gardening tasks are best done in certain months (e.g., trimming in June).

Hello, Healthy Harvests

The benefits of gardening are varied and plenty, but arguably, none are more precious than the opportunity to boost your and your family’s well-being with fresh, clean, and healthy produce straight from your toils and onto your table.

• Growing a healthy and productive vegetable garden starts with the soil.
• Your choice of food and vegetables to grow in your garden matters, too.
• You also have to know the ins and outs of harvesting, such as when and how to harvest certain vegetables and fruits.
• Finally, learn how to store your garden-fresh vegetables, so you can enjoy healthy produce all year long.

Giving Back to Mother Nature

Gardening is undoubtedly a way to be closer to the earth, but you also have to be mindful of the fact that some gardening practices do more harm than good, so you can effectively avoid them and make your gardening journey a truly sustainable one.

• You may find that eco-friendly gardening is actually quite easy to do, as long as you know the principles of it.
• Water conservation is quite central to sustainable gardening, and making use of organic mulching is a huge part of it.
• It’s definitely a good idea to make use of water-saving gardening products, as well, to keep your irrigation practices in check.
• Also explore no-dig gardening for peak sustainability, minus the back-breaking work.

Indeed, the rewards of growing your own food in your own garden are plenty and truly compelling, so you cannot be blamed at all if you’re already raring to get started.

Know that while a garden is started with sufficient research and careful planning, it’s ultimately grown with love. And when you have that in spades, you just can’t go wrong.

Photo via Pexels.com

We weren’t able to see the wonderful interior but the outside of this church, near us, was the starting point for a lovely Father’s Day walk.

On this date in 2017, during our second visit to New Zealand, the day began in Wanaka, where we looked out from our apartment and saw this morning mountain clad with a cloud: Later that day we reached what ended up being one of my favorite places in New Zealand: Lake Wakatipu. The shore between […]

New Zealand: February 21, 2017

National Collections are vital. Without them untold numbers of cultivars, and the skills required to grow them, would disappear every year as different trends fall in and out of favour with the gardening public and commercial growers cease production of certain plants. Here at Winterbourne, supported by Plant Heritage, we hope to save some of…

Plant spotlight – Anthemis

https://wp.me/p1Cnae-c3l

Beautifully fresh, flavoursome and sweet! We also had some raspberries and first early potatoes the other day…joys of home grown!

Had a lovely walk around the Bishop of Norwich’s garden yesterday…very well organised and some fascinating and beautiful spaces. Oh, and I picked up a few special Dahlias and a Tetrapanax….now have I got somewhere to plant it?

It’s Monday morning and recent history tells us that somewhere in the world kids are returning to school for the first time in weeks, or months. As the day gets underway, parents, students and teachers are trying to chart their way through a maelstrom of colliding emotions – excitement, anticipation, uncertainty and anxiety. This morning, […]

School Awakenings — PlayGroundology