Fresh herbs are a great way to add flavour to meals and they are easy to grow from seed at home. Now is the time to sow seeds of lots of culinary herbs including basil, rosemary and thyme. Keep them on a warm windowsill or propagator until they germinate then prick the seedlings out and…
Category: vegetables
Edible Gardening Guide for Beginners
Gardening is a fantastic past time and spending time outdoors is a great way to keep mind, body and soul in great shape. Planting from scratch is incredibly rewarding and you’ll be treated to a riot of colour in your garden come summer. If you are interested in food and cookery then you should try…
Scotland’s gardens open to the public
Plantaholics, wildlife lovers and grow-your-own newbies are in for a treat this year as over 450 gardens open to the public for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme to help raise money for charity. Gardens of all sizes – in cities and villages, islands and lochs – will unlatch their gates to welcome visitors throughout the year. Fifty-seven outdoor spaces will…
Guide to companion planting
Companion planting is a subject which has always interested me since I first started gardening in an allotment. Whether you plant onions with carrots to prevent carrot fly or nasturtiums with courgettes to encourage pollination, it makes far more sense to plant in a natural way than to use chemicals and other unnatural deterrents to…
Garden jobs for Autumn
It definitely feels as if Autumn has arrived and for many people the dark nights and chilly days mean there’s a temptation to spend less time in the garden. However, there’s plenty still to do and it’s important to make sure you find the time to get on with the Autumn jobs – for the…
September kale harvest – some top recipes
September is an exciting month in the allotment, not least because it’s the perfect time to start harvesting kale. While 2015 may not have been the most productive for Scottish fruit and veg growers, kale, which is often described as Scotland’s national vegetable, is still thriving, and brassicas overall appear to have not done too…
From classical music to superfoods – plants are just like us
2015 hasn’t been a show stopping year on the vegetable patch. Lots of rain and muggy conditions led to a serious infestation of slugs which not only ate most of my seedlings, but appear to have had a field day demolishing some of the more established cabbage and kale on the plot. On top of…
Scotland’s Gardens – exploring the magical world of other people’s gardens
Nothing beats a weekend wander around a beautiful garden. Whether it’s a stately home, a National Trust property or a community growing space, I always find it the best form of inspiration, as well as an educational experience in different garden layouts, designs and exciting new plants and cultivars. That’s why I’m a big fan…
Grow-your-own-gin masterclass
The Bonnie Gardner has teamed up with creative drinks consultancy Liquor to Lips to devise a very fun and informative drinks workshop ‘GrowYourOwnGin pdf‘ for up to 50 people. Designed to be on trend with gin’s modern renaissance and green fingered foodies growing their own botanicals, liquor to lips deliver the facts on the gin, while the…
The benefits of growing veggies, vertically!
Vertical gardening – a great way to squeeze a lot of plants into a small space.
Read my new Scot’s Magazine gardening blog
I’m very privileged to feature in Scot’s Magazine this month and to be writing a weekly blog on the magazine’s website throughout July. My first entry offers some top tips on how to grow lettuce leaves, and the second entry – up today – is about how to encourage wildlife into your garden to help it thrive…
My favourite rhubarb cordial recipes
If you’re anything like me you’ll have a glut of rhubarb in the garden that needs to be used up this month. I’m a big fan of a rhubarb crumble, but it is summer and a crumble isn’t the lightest of desserts. A nice light rhubarb fool like this one from BBC Good Food can,…
