One of our Kale ‘Nero di toscana’ plants is enormous. So enormous, in fact, that it is growing across the tiny path running through our vegetable patch, and I have had to harvest a number of the strap-like, green-black leaves. This is obviously a terrible hardship. ——————————————————————————————————————————- Fennel & Fern readers can get 10% off [...]

It’s that time of year again. When your fruit bushes are so overflowing with produce you scarcely know what to do. And when your kitchen worktops are covered in gleaming jars, ready to be filled with damsons and gooseberries. It’s jam-making time. ——————————————————————————————————————————- Fennel & Fern readers can get 10% off on flower, vegetable and [...]

Not everything in the garden is happy with this rain. I’m sure we have had more than our fair share of Smith Periods (the humid conditions which bring dreaded tomato and potato blight), and the aubergine was looking so grumpy I brought it inside. But under the raspberry canes, a frog has set up camp, [...]

When I’m not digging, I love baking. Just love it. I don’t think there is a more lovely way of showing a visitor how pleased you are to see them than by baking a nice big cake. And when special visitors come, I bake them a nice big Kitsch Cake. The most important thing about [...]

This week has been a real disappointment for July. Visits to the plot have more or less been to harvest in between showers. Heavy rain has pounded the soil, and once the sun has dried the clay surface, it can crack and become hard and lumpy. However, the crops are growing well ——————————————————————————————————————————- Fennel & [...]

These Bristol onions, Allium sphaerocephalon, have been threatening to flower for weeks. When they unwrap themselves, the flower buds are still resolutely green. And they remain so for a while until slowly a gentle blush appears at the tip. For a few weeks more the flower looks more like a make-up brush until eventually the [...]

Guest blogger Ali bagged her allotment two years ago. She shares her tips for novice allotmenteers here. Don’t despair Once you have acquired your coveted plot, don’t despair if it is a jungle of weeds of every shape and form. My current plot was thick with brambles, bindweed, six trees, and lots of rubbish including [...]

I’m so glad I grew cornflowers this year. Especially the ‘Black Ball’ cornflowers, which are port-dark and ever-so chic. I’ve grown them in thick drifts in different parts of the border, which increases their visual impact. They are such perfect plants for filling awkward spaces in borders, or seeding over the dying foliage of spring [...]

When we started househunting last April, I never imagined we were going to have a garden. I envisaged growing a few lettuces in a window box, and maybe even some herbs on the kitchen windowsill. So when we found a house with a large fire escape and small balcony, I was thrilled that I would [...]

How can you resist a plant whose flowers are the colour of a crushed strawberry? I bought two Digitalis x mertonensis plants this year, and I’m hooked. They have softer gloves, and they are such a lovely vintage colour. The petals have a faint checkerboard pattern on the outside. ——————————————————————————————————————————- Fennel & Fern readers can [...]

One of the things I really adore about Buddleia x weyeriana is that the globose blooms look like scoops of thick, rich cornish ice cream. You can’t actually eat these flowers, but they really are irresistible, especially for bees. ——————————————————————————————————————————- Fennel & Fern readers can get 10% off on flower, vegetable and fruit seeds and [...]

Squash flowers are truly beautiful. If I didn’t enjoy eating pumpkins and courgettes so much, I’d probably just grow these plants for their huge cheese-coloured flowers. This is a female flower on my ‘Delica’ pumpkin. How do I know it is a female flower? Because it has a little tummy. ——————————————————————————————————————————- Fennel & Fern readers [...]