Winter Jasmine

Winter Jasmine

This is one of my favourite plants. It's profuse, yellow flowers are a tonic during the short, dull, grey days of winter - and when the winter sun shines they almost glow. I love their cheerful vibrancy and when they first appear I find myself welcoming them aloud! 

Luckily I know I'm not alone in speaking to plants......which reminds me, I need to get up to the allotment and have a stiff word with the cauliflowers; when I last looked they were all 'cauli' and no 'flower'.

Unknown Abundant Apple

Neighbouring Apple Tree

This apple tree leans over the fence from our neighbour's garden and is covered in fruit every year. I don't know the apple variety but this old tree produces an abundant harvest. I pick those I can reach and the blackbirds are provided for well into the winter. The windfalls are enjoyed by our dog - part of her 5 a day??

I'll have a browse through these apple variety images and see if I can identify it.

Parsley and Bay

I've cleared the salad plot in the garden and discovered a lovely new parsley plant. I've taken away the weeds so now the parsley can grow without competition.

It's not a brilliant photo, I went into the garden a minute ago and snapped the parsley in the dark! Hurray for digital and flash.


Parsley recipes


I replenished my stock of bay leaves in the kitchen from the bay tree too. I read somewhere that bay leaves are best used after they have dried for 4 days because then the oils are more concentrated and the flavour will be good. This twig will hang on the cupboard door until it's been used up, when I will cut another one.

Our garden bay tree came from a Farmer's Market where I got it at a bargain price. It had been meant to be a standard with pretty, twisted stems but it had been forgotten and, as plants will, had carried on growing. So I snapped it up, put it in the garden and I can now supply family and friends with all the bay leaves they need. It was a couple of feet tall when I bought it and is now about 10 feet tall. So nice to wander down the garden for free bay leaves!

Bay leaf recipes

Decorative Gourds

I found a use for some of the gourds we accidentally grew this summer! They brighten up my Advent wreath and everything reflects in the old mirror that was gathering dust under a cupboard..... 

Planning for Next Year

It's cold and windy and wet.... time to plan for next year from the warmth of home! 


My jobs:

• draw plot on paper and decide on crops
• check dates on existing seed packets and replace where necessary
• clean plant pots ready for sowing next year
• clear the salad plot behind the house (don't want to trek to the allotment for a few salad leaves!)
• make some fleece tunnels
• make bird scarers - try and copy my neighbour's design using large plastic drink bottle - very effective as they whirl round and make a sound.
• find an effective bird-scarer to put in my cherry tree so the pesky pigeons leave next year's cherry crop alone!

Planting Strawberries

Potted Strawberry Runners

I had planned to plant out strawberry plants on the allotment today but it was cold and damp and I wondered whether this was the best time to make a new strawberry bed. 

Perhaps it would be better in the spring when the soil is warmer? Or can strawberry plants be planted out at any time?

There is some useful information on the garden organic website.

Spring Heroes are Growing

These Spring Heroes...

...are growing well.

I'm looking forward to eating them next Spring, when they'll be much bigger! I've read some good things about this variety and its overwintering capabilities.