Doing the bees’ work on cucumbers

Bees are in short supply round the gardens of West London, as my neighbour was remarking yesterday. ‘Do you think I need to pollinate my marrows?’ she asked. 
 
I really didn’t know, but it made me scurry off to the internet to see whether I should be pollinating my…

A greenhouse in the making

I don’t have a greenhouse yet. But I’m getting one, and the process started this week. An old fence was replaced with a new one, and a concrete base for the greenhouse was built alongside it by three chaps who spent a day on the fence and the greenhouse base.

The mysterious allure of gardening

I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with my greenhouse — although others might. But I have to admit that in…

And here it is

The man came yesterday afternoon and put it together. By the time I got home, it was done.

I suppose I could have done it myself, but there are stories online about it being a mind-boggling puzzle. Even the greenhouse company said it would take me two days. They have a list…

From greenhouse to… gut?

I hate that phrase you hear on food programmes on the radio: ‘from farm to fork’. But what would the greenhouse equivalent be: ‘from greenhouse to gut’? ‘From greenhouse to gustatory experience’? ‘From greenhouse to getting supper’?
 
 Well anyway, if we had a suitable phrase, we…

At last: this is what a greenhouse should be doing

The caulis are coming

Yesterday my eye was drawn to the window by a sudden bright light in the garden. The sun had come out on January 30th.

Parsnip surprise

This is the first time I’ve grown parsnips. They seem to be doing well, although I probably haven’t given them enough space, letting them squeeze together in a couple of pots.

Getting out into the sun

It’s May 7th, the sun is out, and it’s hot too.

Last weekend, I did a bit of ‘landscaping’ around my greenhouse. Well, I built a little path to the door and turned a small square around it that wasn’t quite lawn or flowerbed, into flowerbed. This was thanks…