An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

  Sunshine has finally come our way after record breaking  rainfall and a so far dismal summer.Not much news from the allotment as we have not been there a lot of the time apart from watering the greenhouse.                             Today I had to go into the city, not a very lengthy journey ( 10 mins by car)but I am allergic to traffic jams, trying to get parking etc so only venture in when I have to!   The city fathers are dealing with cutbacks in funding from central  government but the flower displays around the city are stunning.These petunia towers looked fantastic near the river with our City hall in the background                               ...

 It is the third year we have been invited to make a garden for the Mallow festival, a big event on the gardeners calender in the south.We have had very heavy rains and our whole site had to be covered with bark mulch.It was not just a 'show' garden visitors came in and walked around and asked questions about the allotments and produce. Some of the veg which was grown in the garden school beds.  We had a shed, Angela cooked up some delicious food on a camping gas stove for us each day.We had nettle soup,banana bread, courgette cake, baked ham with new potatoes and this afternoon Zwena was making a nettle tea! One of the raised beds which were made,painted and filled onsite We  erected a picket fence to surround the garden, there were happy hens in an ark and they  laid eggs each day and  children were fascinated when we opened the nestbox to show them Rosie demonstrating how to wash spuds! As one of large family when there was no running water...