Veg Plotting

It seems I really do have a heart of stone - found on holiday in Ireland in 2013.   It's a special time of year not only for lovers, but for marketeers as well; who can forget last year's storm over the Ultimate Love Bouquet? This year's creativity reached new heights, with the following efforts deserving a special mention by  The PR Files.  NB names and website links have been removed to protect the innocent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I admit our postage stamp sized front lawn needs some tlc, but I don't think the Robomow will be  much help Don’t be ‘lovelawn’ this Valentine’s Day… let Robomow match you with the perfect gift!  This Valentine’s Day give your loved one the gift of never having to mow the lawn again with Robomow, the world’s leading automatic lawnmower. If you’re struggling for a gift idea then help is at hand from Robomow’s range of robotic lawnmowers. A premium gift for all those who find mowing a chore or those who...

Easter is when many gardens open their gates for the season and at last we're spoilt for choice on where to go. To help you decide at this most special of times, I've coaxed Madame Zelda out of her sherry soaked dreams to predict the very one to suit you - I feel there's slightly more chance of a successful outcome this way than my original idea of using a map and her hat pin. To obtain the very best result she has cast aside her usual blue ball and is using her all-powerful magic blue mushrooms. I fear I may have woken her a little too sharply as she's seeing stars and has chosen to couch her reply using the signs of the zodiac ;) Oh my dear, the impenetrable clouds part to reveal a whirling firmament - a galaxy of possibilities only the deeper mysteries can resolve. [she pauses to poke at the largest toadstool with her gnarled finger which promptly falls over] Ooooh, such pretties and colours and lush green vegetation you can only dream about my lovely. But ...

Yesterday I caused Susan at Bike Garden some confusion when I said: Hurrah! The road round the corner is getting a grit bin. Too bad it's not in time for my expensive prang last week. I wonder if she had something like the picture below in mind: I fondly remember breakfast style grits (which we know as polenta here in the UK) from various holidays we've taken in the USA... Image courtesy of sashafatcat via Wikimedia Commons . However, the grit I was talking about comes in one of these... Being in the nether regions of a modern housing estate means not only are our roads not gritted when our wintry weather gets bad, we're also too far away to get the benefit of any salty runoff coming from the roads which are. I usually walk when that happens, but I overslept after last week's GMG Awards excitement . So an undue haste to get to my beginners pilates class despite the snow whirling down at the time, meant I literally took my car for a spin. The road round ...

Previously on Veg Plotting when referring to cranes I've meant these: Which confused quite a few people because they thought I meant this: And the confusion will probably remain because I'm likely to write about either nowadays because the Common Crane ( Grus grus ) is in the process of being restored to the Somerset Levels and Moors here in south western England via The Great Crane Project . The above picture is courtesy of Simon at Serendipity , who took this photo on a recent trip to the fantastic London Wetlands Centre . Great spot Simon and many thanks for sending me the picture :) The YAWA Dictionary : adding meaning to your garden blogging

Whenever I write about my jam making activities, there's always a bit of a stir (ha ha!) because it's a term not very well known across the pond. There jelly is the main preserve, which for us here usually means a very wibbly wobbly pudding instead. My opus on damsons confused matters still further by referring to cheese , which in this context has absolutely nothing to do with milk products. It also seems anything I write about jam becomes a massive hit with search engines (see the Popular Posts section on the right sidebar), therefore it was only a matter of time before the You Ask, We Answer team tackled this topic. The picture shows some of the latest produce from my preserving activities: from left to right we have damson cheese, damson jam, apple cheese and apple jelly. This was an attempt to show you some of the visual differences between the products. It's worked better with the apple as you can see the cheese is much darker than the clear, almost jewel-like j...

A little while back, Monica confessed she was having a craving for mushy peas and wondered whether she would be able to make them in the USA. She'd found a recipe, but as it specified using Marrowfat peas, she wasn't sure if these were available in her local shops. This of course, is right up the You Ask, We Answer team's street, even if they have been a little tardy in responding to Monica's plea for help. As you can see, extensive research has been undertaken so you get an idea of what mushy peas look like. They're a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips (as sampled by George W when he visited Tony Blair) and if you also hear of someone eating pie and peas , that's the other main way they're served. When I lived in the north-east of England I found mint sauce is usually provided to go with the peas. Yum. That's all very well, but it doesn't really tell you whether you can get hold of the right kind of pea to cook muy autentico...

The darkest days of the year are upon us here in the Northern hemisphere, so our thoughts turn to Christmas and our hopes and dreams for the perfect garden and plot next year. However, if you're fed up of curling up in front of the fire and fancy something a bit more outdoorsy, then the You Ask, We Answer team have found the following gems to whet your appetite. Anytime: Want to blow away those winter blues and cobwebs? Getting out for a brisk walk during the daylight hours, particularly on a cold, crisp, clear morning could be the perfect antidote. Here's some ideas of where to go. Throughout December - Christmas Markets, Fairs and Fayres. Many of our towns and cities hold some kind of Christmas market, usually in early December. I've had the pleasure of attending events in Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, York and the Eden Project so far. This website has details of all of these, plus all others in the UK and much further afield in Europe and the USA. A great way to ge...

... Secateurs Secateurs (aka pruners, pruning shears) are probably the tool which I use most frequently when out in the garden or up at the allotment. I'd previously not given much thought in choosing a pair and as a result, I've needed to buy a new one every couple of years. More recently I've resorted to the gear assisted type, such as those developed by Wilkinson Sword (now rebranded as Fiskars ) as I've found my increased usage has led to a rather painful elbow at times. However, earlier this year I decided that constantly replacing my secateurs was a waste and I should go for the kind where the parts can be replaced. Thus I decided to finally bite the bullet and buy me a pair of Felcos to celebrate my birthday [she really knows how to party eh? - Ed ]. I even had a nice stash of garden gift vouchers, courtesy of Gardeners' World magazine , to cushion the expense: we're talking about the Rolls Royce version of garden tools after all. So I wended my way do...

Staying with yesterday's quirky theme, today seems to be a good one for saying something about one of the more unusual items in our British cuisine. You either love it, or hate it: can you tell which one I am? The clue's in the amount I put on the knife... ...yes, I hate it. My mum still proudly tells the tale of how she put Marmite on my bread soldiers when I was little and I immediately threw them on the floor whilst pulling the most screwed up baby face you could ever imagine. NAH of course loves it, so I have to bear the sight and smell of this muck spread most lunchtimes :( I find it surprising how such a lovely product such as beer results in jars of yeast extract. Well, I suppose I shouldn't be really because the yeast used for beer making has enough at the end of the brewing process to start another 5 batches of beer. Thus a home has to be found for the other four fifths, otherwise over time our breweries wouldn't have enough room to produce any more beer...

We're enjoying an Indian summer during the last days of October here in England, but the heavy weather forecast for Sunday means that we should get out tomorrow to places like Westonbirt Arboretum (pictured above) and enjoy the last of autumn's fiery leaves before they're all blown away. Once the storm's over, you might like to seek out one of the events the You Ask, We Answer team have found to help while away the darker days of November. All month: A couple of writing events - you can either release your inner novelist by signing up for National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), or if that sounds a bit like too much hard work, you could elect to post something on your blog every day this month instead. It's called National Blog Posting Month , aka NaBloPoMo and you can write about anything and make it as long or short as you like! 2nd-8th November : British Sausage Week . A celebration of all things banger and rather apt in view of the other events sc...

Early readers of this blog might recall the confusion I caused over the pond when referring to my butt . It led to my publishing the above picture and explaining how I use it to store water on my plot - you can have a look here if you'd like to see the original post. However, sometimes the different meanings are deliciously combined and the word becomes completely irresistible to the You Ask, We Answer team ;) You can see this and the other YAWA dictionary entries here . NB Mr. McGregor's Daughter and Gail @ Clay and Limestone , I've added Marmite to the list after your comments last week :) If you have something which you think the YAWA Dictionary team should be investigating to improve international garden blogging understanding and fun, do add your suggestions in the Comments below. The YAWA Dictionary: adding meaning to your garden blogging

September's sunshine and lack of rain means the flowers are still going strong - just like my new Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' above - though the trees look like they're suffering from the lack of water. Now October's here, autumn's threatening to kick in properly, so I've had the You Ask, We Answer team hunkered down to find the best seasonal treats on offer this month: 4th : Mangold Hurling Championships, Sherston. Unusual sport with vegetables doesn't get any better than this traditional game from Somerset. The Mangold Hurling website tells you everything you need to know and more. However, Wiltshire is leading the way and the Gazette and Herald reports there's a bumper crop this year. Glutbuster recipes have been devised by the local chutney company (soup) and the pub formerly frequented by Prince Harry has mangold crisps on the menu. 8th : National Poetry Day . As last year, Flighty will be collating blogging contributions. This year's t...

September sees us slowly slipping and sliding into Autumn, but I'm ever hopeful for an Indian summer this year to make up for some of the dull days we've had over the past weeks. In a few days I'll be launching this quarter's Out on the Streets , to explore what's in your neighbourhood re public planting. But before that gets started, let's see what the You Ask, We Answer team have found in the way of events to tempt us outdoors this month. 4-6th: The Gardening Show - the closest national show to me and based at the Royal Bath & West showground at Shepton Mallet. It includes the National Dahlia and National Giant Vegetable championships. 5th : Chippenham Gardening & Allotment Society Annual Show. Our very own produce, cookery and handicrafts show which I entered for the first time last year . It's also the annual Gardeners' Question Time garden party at Harlow Carr . 5 or 6th : Dig Together Day . Lots of awareness raising events fo...

August is the time for events, travelling and holidays, so the You Ask, We Answer team have had some difficulty in editing this month's choices into a bitesize chunk for your delectation. Therefore, I'm not doing my usual preliminary preamble about the month, but handing over to them straight away... 1-31st: Pershore Plum Festival. A month long celebration from the heart of Worcestershire's plum country, culminating in the Pershore Plum Fayre on Bank Holiday Monday. 4th: Egton Bridge Gooseberry Show . Dating from 1800, this is the country's oldest gooseberry contest, where the heaviest takes the prize! 7th: Don't forget to take your entry for my 12:34:56 on 7/8/9 meme and to let me know how you got on 8th : Chilli Fiesta , West Dean Gardens, Chichester. West Dean have a number of good events throughout the year, but with over 200 different chillis grown there, this one's their hottest ticket by far 10-16th: National Allotments Week. Lots of sites will be ...

Lately I've been glutbusting by making some mangetout* and mint soup and I'm delighted The Guardian Gardening blog has published my delicious invented recipe today. Of course it'll work just as well if you have a glut of the usual kind of peas. My recipe also uses some of my new potatoes which got damaged whilst harvesting - and therefore need eating up pretty quickly - plus a nice large freshly harvested onion. Don't worry if you haven't grown any peas, or you don't have a glut of them or indeed you don't have the potatoes or onion. I've also found a very simple recipe using store cupboard and freezer ingredients which means you can make this lovely soup pretty much whenever you want. I found it a while ago in A Celebration of Soup by Lindsey Bareham and it serves 6 . Ingredients 900g/2lb frozen peas 900ml/1.5 pints chicken stock or 1 chicken stock-cube and 570ml/1 pint water 1 tsp concentrated mint sauce salt and pepper 275ml/0.5 pint si...

It's been a bit topsy turvy since our return from holiday: things are flowering when they shouldn't and we're eating autumn raspberries already. I'm also going through a period of loathing my garden at the moment - apart from the Clematis of course. Threadspider asked me recently what was looking good apart from them and I struggled to find an answer. Perhaps my restlessness is because the garden's on the wane from its late spring/early summer look and the later season plants haven't really started to strut their stuff yet. On the other hand, I'm totally in love with my allotment after hating it for most of the year. Various injuries have meant I've been in catch up mode since last Autumn and I've finally accepted it'll stay that way for the rest of the year. At last I'm feeling relaxed about it and really enjoying my visits. Harvesting lots of produce has also helped to change how I feel! The hot weather recently has found me outdoors whe...

We often think of the phrase Flaming June to mean a period of good weather resulting in a great show of growth and flowers. As a gardener I feel it has a double meaning: the aforesaid good weather, or a polite way of swearing about the opposite reality. Of course, we should now be in that lovely period of frost-free gardening where tender plants can be left out without fear of punishment and the Clematis are really showing themselves off in my garden as pictured. It's also a month of many and varied events, so let's see what the You Ask, We Answer team have found for us: 1-7: National volunteer week . Lots of information available for you to find a voluntary activity to suit you. Happily my post last year inspired several of you to get out there and do something rewarding :) 5th until October: Future Gardens opens to the public. This is an exciting new garden festival which continues until 4th October. You'll find lots more information over at Zoe's plus...

It might be the month of Maying (see last year's Muse Day for picture and poem/song), but it's also the month of Clematis in my view. Already I have vast swathes of Clematis montana clothing the fence and this pictured Clematis alpina 'Francis Rivis' is threatening to overwhelm the contorted hazel supporting it. Looking like that though, I can forgive it entirely. Elsewhere there are fat buds of other Clematis bursting forth everywhere - if our mix of fair weather and rain keeps up over the next week or so, I'm sure they'll be the main feature for May's Blooms Day . Without further ado, here's May's events as assembled by the ever diligent You Ask, We Answer team: 1st: May Day - traditionally the day when Britain's men get out their handkerchiefs and sticks and wave them at each other in a spot of Morris Dancing. There's also very quaint dancing round the maypole and the Queen of the May is chosen in each village. Sadly not ever...

The You Ask We Answer team have been hard at work investigating Chia and Chia Pets after Mr. McGregor's Daughter likened them to the plastic topiary I found recently. We don't have these in Britain, though we do have something a bit similar: usually around Christmas as a garden centre gift line, which then quickly enters the drastically reduced section in January. However, for all non-American YAWA readers who don't know what we're missing, this rather helpful clip from YouTube reveals all: But who would have thought something so innocuous could be quite so controversial ? And not only that, it would appear that Chia Pets might have some of the same issues as their live counterparts, with a potential environmental disaster in New Mexico resulting from the dumping of unwanted pets . So do remember you owners out there: a Chia Pet is for life, not just Christmas ;)

READER! Does intercontinental misunderstanding get you down? Convinced your gardening buddy across the pond is talking in gibberish or tongues? Does the mention of hoar frost make you want to snigger? Then look no further, the team at You Ask We Answer has just the thing for you! A companion volume to the wildly successful You Ask We Answer series , The YAWA Dictionary will steadily build into a must-read tome, to vastly increase your daily reading pleasure. From Aubergine to Zucchini, you will always have to hand the meaning of all those tricky little words your blogging friends toss into their posts with gay abandon and nary a thought regarding cross-border communication and international relations. Already the mysteries of butt, bramley apples, hoar frost, parsnips, verges and zones have been explained in great detail and to international acclaim. However, we've found some explanations can be more bitesize than our standard service and that...