Tag: Kew
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Squaring the circle – reprise (Week 3, Tuesday)
Our teamwork today was again planting trees, something which I really looked forward to: 1. I had enjoyed it the last time 2. wanted to refresh my memory on the technique 3. the weather was good… You can see the square hole, the planting hole, and the planted tree clearly in the pictures. This time…
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Kew’s library (Week 3, Monday)
The highlight of the day today was a visit to Kew’s library, which was born out of the Herbarium (which we will visit next week) and which is actually known as “Library, Art & Archives” because it does not manage only books… have you ever visited the Marianne North Gallery? I usually prefer the outside,…
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Zen and the art of leaf gathering (Week 2, Friday)
It was with some hesitation that this morning I made my way to the Japanese Landscape. It is a rather formal garden, and working on it felt pretty daunting. Edging, which by now I can do fairly well, and picking up the magnolia leaves that the inclement weather has scattered all over the place the…
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Going about one’s business (Week 2, Thursday)
Another day of bed maintenance, which is what we are here to do! I am now mostly self-sufficient in getting the tools together before starting the day, such a relief! 🙂 When I first joined I had a locker assigned to me with a standard kit, then, over the last two weeks, I have collected…
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Weedy Wednesday (Week 2, Wednesday)
A day that was mostly about weeding and edging. My progress in edging consists in having learned how to straighten beds using a string. Also, I am becoming better at using my foot behind the half-moon when lifting soil. There are two main movements you have to learn with the half-moon. First, it’s pressing down…
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Tree circles (Week 2, Tuesday)
Today was team working again, and we did tree rings on the Pagoda vista. No, not the tree rings inside a tree trunk, which can be used to identify the age of a tree. I mean we weeded, edged and mulched the circular, grass-free areas around the pairs of trees that flank the heritage walk…
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Day five: sharpening up
One of the things I had never done was to sharpen a pair of secateurs, so when a colleague said he was going to fix his and offered me to tag along I took the opportunity straight away. After disassembling the nuts, bolts and the spring, we cleaned and sharpened the blade using oil and…
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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