2 years living in the Forest of Dean This is our second year of living in the Forest of Dean. Time has certainly flown. Both Vanda and I agree it was a brilliant move. Life is slower out in the country, we are surrounded by the most wonderful countryside, and the Forest of Dean town we chose to live in, …
The garden in December
The garden in December After all the snow our garden is looking fairly tatty. We are still harvesting leeks, carrots and a few other bits and pieces, but this year is not a patch on last year. Our sprouts are pathetic. They were well and truly attacked earlier by the dreaded cabbage white and never really recovered. Last year we …
A big thank you to our visitors
Thank you to our visitors We moved to Cinderford in the Forest of Dean in April 2016 and set up this blog. One of the first things I set up here was our Free Forest of Dean Directory as Both Vanda and I are passionate about supporting local, whether that is local business or local charities and social enterprises. The directory lists …
The end of the summer garden
Summer garden nearly over Not quite of course, but you can see the changes. We are still eating beans. The runner beans are producing bumper harvests. We also tried some french climbing beans. The purple ones are delicious and grow well, but the white and yellow are just not as nice, so I’ll give them a miss next year. Other …
Growing your own vegetables
Growing your own vegetables Last year we moved into our little cottage here in the forest of dean. About half the garden was down to a scruffy lawn. We rotovated the lawn, felled a large horrid pine tree and created 4 deep beds. As we only started planting in the 3rd week of July we didn’t expect much at all, …
Enjoying the summer harvest
The summer harvest We have had a very good year so far. We are eating strawberries new potatoes peas carrots and beetroot. The rewards for growing your own are many and various. It is a great hobby, saves you money and promotes feelings of peace and tranquility. Yesterday I sowed winter vegetable seeds like parsnips swedes turnips and kale. Last …
The vegetable Garden
The Vegetable Garden in June Despite the peculiar weather the vegetable garden is doing very well. We have been eating lettuce, new potatoes, strawberries, spring onions and carrots for the last few weeks. Today I have planted aubergines and sown 3 rows of swedes and some turnips. The tomatoes are now flowering well. This year as an experiment we have …
Planting more greens and root veg
New Planting I have been planning to plant more this weekend, but I need a bit of space. We had already planned to start digging up the new potatoes and after last nights winds here in the forest of dean they are looking a mite dishevelled so we will be starting on Friday to harvest them. We have broccoli ready …
Planting the pretty bits
Gardening in the Forest of Dean May Plantings I have been concentrating on the vegetable garden up until now, but the warm weather has encouraged us to get the planters filled up with the pretty flowers. We have planted impatiens , begonias , geraniums and most of the usual garden plants. The garden is certainly changing a lot now the …
A great time for gardeners
Gardening in the Forest of Dean This time of year is fantastic for gardening and gardeners. Last weeks cold snap has been replaced with warm sunny weather and we have been busy planting out in the garden. Our sweet peas and climbing fuchsias are big enough and as you can see we now have them out in various places in …