Category: Uncategorised
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Nothoscordum borbonicum
Nothoscordum borbonicum Only one weed is considered obnoxious at RHS Garden Wisley, and that is honeybells or onion weed (Nothoscordum borbonicum). It is spreading in the fan borders and the fruit garden, so I have had the opportunity to weed it out a few times in the last couple of weeks, so I’ve become familiar with it.…
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Crop of the week: grapes
As part of our coursework our teams ask us trainees to study specific crops in more details, so that we learn: some general information about the plant and how it is grown; available and recommended cultivars, including any with an Award of Garden Merit (AGM); common pest and diseases and how to deal with them. As the…
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An area all of my own in the Model Fruit Garden
I was offered to take charge of an area in the Model Fruit Garden that needs some redevelopment as a cottage garden. It is an exciting, though slightly daunting (as I have never done a large scale design before), project! My manager will offer me a small budget to acquire some plants and one day a…
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The London Harvest Festival
All the team went up to London in shifts over the last couple of days to showcase our apples at the London Harvest Festival, held at the RHS Lindley Hall. The Festival revolves around the RHS Fruit & Vegetable Competition, which everyone can enter with their lovingly tended produce, and compete on the traditional criteria of size and…
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Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)
One of the plugs we planted I have never tasted chervil, not consciously (although I read it is the main ingredient of French fines herbes and bouquet garni). Nor have I ever tried to grow it, so it would be fair to say I had no knowledge of the plant at all when I was…
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The reciprocating mower
I had never used a sickle mower with reciprocating blades before, and as they were cutting a small patch of meadow grass my team leader briefly showed me how to use it and let me have a go: an impromptu learning opportunity that I really appreciated. As most mowers, this one was also a four…
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Trained apples and pears
This has been an unusual summer, dry and warm and apples and pears have not started growing until very recently, that is why summer pruning had not been done before in the fruit garden. But as it’s now October, and the new shoots have stiffened at their tips (previously sappy growth), it was finally time to…
About Me
M.Paola Andreoni
I got the first allotment in 2007 (in the UK) and started growing my own food for the first time. Learning as I went along was not enough, so I studied some horticulture. I am striving to abide by organic principles. Brexit gave me a new life in the Netherlands, and two new plots by a nature reserve.
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