No doubt that a certain food writer was a part inspiration in the name of this blog. It’s been a constant reminder of my intention to live a more balanced life and be as much a home-maker as a working professional. Almost six years on my “domestic” ambitions have become increasingly important as far as [...]
In my imagination I have a victorian walled kitchen garden that swaddles my crops and keeps them safe. In reality I have a patch that is exposed to the Wellington winds which on a bad day wreaks havoc and causes ruin. And if it’s not the wind that batters your precious berries it’s the birds [...]
I was invited to be a #veggiegeek on twitter a couple of weeks ago. I was first flattered then shocked at my realisation that yes indeed I have become serious about growing fruit and vegetables. I’m not expert by any means, I’m still learning and experimenting but this is the fourth year I’ve worked a [...]
Friends of mine would rather leave the country than spend time in Wellington in October and November. It’s this time of year that Wellington most earns it’s weather reputation as being wild and windy. It’s a worrying time of year if you’re growing fruit trees since there is a high probability of the fruit tree [...]
For all the idiosyncrasy of the English summer this year (not much of a summer) the British orchards seem to be weighted down with their seasonal bounty. Whether it’s the orchards of Herefordshire or the country lanes of the Midlands I’ve noticed vast amounts of fruit, ripe for picking. I admit I was very tempted [...]
One of the great luxuries of having a kitchen garden is being able to be generous with the herbs you use in cooking. My herb garden is just a few steps away from the back door which is just as well as his lordship is always requesting herbs for his culinary extravaganzas at the last [...]
As if the trumpeting of Spring’s official arrival today (1 September) wasn’t enough the garden is making its own declaration of intent. These Asparagus spears are from plants I grew from seed three years ago. This year we should be able to harvest for eating but I’m feeling very nervous about doing that. Perhaps I’ll [...]
It’s been slim pickings for the birds since the snow arrived. These Plovers were distinctly put out to be wading through inches of snow to find something to eat. The little birds of course were turning loop the loops as they feasted on the chicken food and then snuggled up inside the eaves of the [...]
Today was like waking up on a Christmas Day and hoping for a snowy festive scene. I was so excited to pull back the curtains to see if the snow dump forecast had given us a southern hemisphere winter wonderland. Imagine my delight the snow had indeed arrived. Even in the pre-dawn light I knew [...]
Lulled into a false sense of unseasonably warm temperatures it was a shock to the system for winter to bite back this week. The thermals have been dusted off, gloves dug out from the back of the cupboard and just to be sure I’ve had the possum fur ear flaps down on my hat. No [...]
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