Orto di Casa Cecconi

My first allotment, and then one thing leading to another…

L’orto di Casa Cecconi Plants Recipes Me & Kew One Year at Wisley

Tag: Kew

In 2013 I spent five months as an intern at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. An internship was supposed to last three months only, but I loved it so much I asked for mine to be extended. The posts in this section are my daily diary, sharing what I was learning.

  • Ashes to ashes (Week 4, Thursday)

    Today we found some ashes scattered under a Pyrus while weeding. And then again under another tree. I knew that ash spreading was allowed at Kew because as soon as I started working here a friend suggested I go and visit her mum in the conservation area (which, unfortunately, I have not been able to do yet).…

  • Two thirds of a day (Week 4, Wednesday)

    This morning I woke up with a headache… so not a great start and one that would not put you in a good mood, then I went out and all was frosty, including the car windscreen: back to winter? Luckily, gardening usually alleviates all my ailments and annoyances, so I headed into work rather full…

  • Cleaning up after the Romans (Week 4, Tuesday)

    Since I moved to the UK I get that a lot: where are you from? Italy? Oh, the Romans were great… or something like that, for example: do you see that weed, Smyrnium, the Roman introduced it to England… ;p It would be fair to point out that not all Italians feel they are descendants…

  • Kew Herbarium

    “Herbaria are collections of dried preserved specimens that document the identity of plants and fungi. They represent reference collections with many and varied functions including identification, research and education”. (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Herbarium Collections) Fascinating. Today we were taken on a tour of the herbarium by botanist David Goyder, who showed us some specimens and…

  • Pruning (Week 3, Friday)

    Pruning is something I have never done much for various reasons so I am keen to learn more. This early morning it was raining so we did not go out straight away, and I took the opportunity to try and sharpen my secateurs on my own.  I popped into the toolshed and observed a colleague…

  • Stripes and stars (Week 3, Thursday)

    Today I went back to the Japanese Landscape: it was a gorgeous sunny day and the grass is starting to grow fast, so we had to mow the lawn. There is a specific department that takes care of the sward at Kew with ride-ons, but for the smaller areas we use lawnmowers. My parents’ garden…

  • Fireblight (Week 3, Wednesday)

    The Rosaceae family of plants, and the sub-family Maloidae (those with pome fruits) in particular, are affected by fireblight, which is a disease caused by bacterium Erwinia amylovora; it affects blossom and shoots and may lead to the death of the plant. Fireblight used to be a notifiable disease, and governments are still trying to keep it in…

About Me

M.Paola M.Paola, that’s me

I got my first allotment in the UK in 2007 and started gI got my first allotment in the UK in 2007 and started growing my own food. Learning as I went along was not enough, so I studied horticulture. Faced with the horticultural warfare, I became a conscientious objector: I use no chemicals and support organic principles and regulations.

Brexit gave me a new life in the Netherlands, three new plots by a nature reserve and an MSc in sustainable food systems.

I write in my personal capacity and, as a language perfectionist and a non native speaker, I keep reviewing my entries’ text for clarity.

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