Elderflower cordial
Today we hit the hedgerows picked some elderflower heads to make cordial. This cordial is great, it tastes […]
Building a Quail Run in the garden
We are getting quail for the garden – soooo excited about it! Apparently quail are great egg layers. […]
Kew Gardens
We visited Kew Gardens in London this weekend. Not what I expected. I loved it, but not what I […]
Oh camellia, your breaking my heart
Who knew camellias need acidic soil? Not me. James’ grandparents have a beautiful camellia in their tiny garden, […]
March… Retail therapy
I have been longing for some green in our garden. It looks so bare at the moment and […]
Squirrel buster review
Since putting up the bird feeders we have certainly had more visitors. Our grey squirrel population has never […]
Planning permission
We have spent the last year applying for planning permission for a double storey extension to our tiny Cambridgeshire […]
Dividing rhubarb
We have two lovely big rhubarb plants in our front garden that are 5 years old and getting […]
Beautiful garden birds
How beautiful and colourful are garden birds? I never really noticed how vivid and bright they are until […]
January week 2 – Blue Skies and Blackcurrant Propagation
This week I’ve noticed the days getting ever so slightly longer, it’s still dark when we leave work, but […]
Arrrgggggghhhhhhh a RAT!
I’ve just seen the biggest rat… yes I said RAT in the chicken run. It was munching on […]
Allotment excitement!
Happy New Year! Today we became official allotment holders. For a mere £15 a year, this half plot […]
Make a free Christmas wreath
‘Tis the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly! In our case we have been gathering […]
October week 1… Chicken tales
Blimey, has another week shot by already? We have had a week of organising, cleaning, sorting and most […]
Hedgerow Jelly
We have been wondering what to do with our piles of elderberries, blackberries and damsons. Then, I stumbled […]
Hey Pesto
It’s time to get harvesting your basil. It’s getting too cold in the garden for the basil to […]
Looking after chicks at home
Chicks hatch with an amazing instinct to find their food and water bowls and shelter somewhere warm and […]
September week 4… Rich pickings!
There is soooo much fruit out there at the moment, it’s everywhere, in our gardens, parks, road sides […]
Banana and poppy seed cake
I have been umming and arring as to whether to show you this recipe. It is the best […]
Homemade soap
Soap making is so satisfying – I am hooked! It’s a brilliant way of using some of the […]
Blackcurrant gin
You have to make this! It is totally delicious. Blackcurrant gin is brilliant mixed with sparkling water or […]
Homemade seed box
Until today my seed storage box was very old, cardboard, piled high with seed packets, with a thick […]
September week 2… the seasons change
This week it really has felt as if the seasons are changing – Autumn is coming. The ‘season […]
Our recipes
The best thing about growing your own fruit and veg is the satisfaction of eating it! I have […]
Hot, hot, hot green chilli sauce
James and I wanted to preserve our lovely green chillies (grown in my plant tent, bought from Cambridge […]
September week 1… Get seed collecting!
Hello September! It’s time to start collecting seeds from the garden to use in Spring. It will give […]
5 new additions to Damson Cottage Garden
THE CHICKS HAVE ARRIVED – yippee! They are sooooooooo cute. I have had a very eventful chick related […]
Blueberry cake
We have three blueberry bushes growing in big pots filled with ericaceous compost – this compost is acidic […]
August week 4… Growing cyclamen and a disaster
We bought these beautiful hardy cyclamen plants from Cambridge market on Saturday. I’ve never grown cyclamen before and […]
Making lavender candles
I love the smell of lavender and want my house to be filled with it! To this end […]
Chamomile (and tea!)
Chamomile is definitley a favourite in our garden. It has frilly leaves and grows low to the ground, […]
Blackboard paint plant pots
I wanted to try growing ginger as a house plant and bought a plain terrocotta pot for it. […]
August week 3… Drying mint and candling eggs
Hi friends! This week we have been drying mint from the garden. The small, timid looking mint plants […]
Lavender biscuits
Check these out! These biscuits are delicious – crumbly, sweet and buttery with a hint of lavender. They […]
Our front garden (AKA the veg plot!)
I love to see our front garden full of veg! It just makes sense to grow veggies at […]
August week 2… new eggs to hatch at home
Our lemon Pekin hatching eggs arrived this week – yippeeeeeee! Sadly our old Pekin, Dot, died a couple […]
Tin can plant pots
Today I decided to brighten up our cat run and give a home to some of our herbs. […]
Blackcurrant cupcakes
We have been making blackcurrant everything recently, as our blackcurrant bush seems to have exploded with buckets of […]
August week 1… Harvesting and sowing
Can you believe it’s August already! Where has this year gone? We spent the first week of August […]
Make a Sparrow Terrace
Our garden would be nothing without birdsong. It is the soundtrack to our garden and makes it feel […]
Quick gooseberry plate pie
My grandma always made wonderful shallow pies with the fruit grandad grew in his allotment. They had crispy […]
July week 4… butternut squash (in the lawn!)
Thank goodness for the rain this week. Our rain dances seem to have paid off!! You can see […]
Brilliant blackcurrant cordial
This is the best cordial I have ever tasted, and I am somewhat of a cordial connoisseur! I […]
July week 3… Bugs and radish pods
This week there have been loads of bug sightings in our garden. Our poor nasturtiums have been covered […]
Kale crisps
Kale is soooooooo good for you. It’s definitely a super food – packed with iron (per calorie more […]
Hatching eggs
This time last year we really wanted a bantam Araucana hen to join our little flock. This is […]
Nigella pancakes with blackcurrant sauce
Nigella is a genius. These pancakes are amazing – delicious and easy to make. You make a big […]
July week 2… Clumber park and blackcurrants
Can you believe how hot it’s been this week? If I had to sum this week up in […]
Paper flowers in trees
A beautiful wedding we recently attended had paper flowers hung in the trees and they looked gorgeous. Today […]
Rosemary chips
As promised, here is our fab chips recipe. These chips are addictive. I love the crispy, salty rosemary…. […]
July week 1… Basil, chillies and tomatoes
Summer really is here – it’s scorching outside today. This week has consisted of watering and harvesting. Every […]