Author Archives: midlifegardener

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About midlifegardener

A new house and a new garden. Having spent the past 5 years mainting my father's garden I am now taking on my own gardening project down the road in a new single store dwelling. The Old Man has passed on but he remains in my thoughts as I develop the new patch

The Destructive Gardener

Posted on May 14, 2018 by midlifegardener

A burst water main in town meant that school was closed last Thursday.  So instead of nurturing the young minds of tomorrow’s generation I was forced to spend a little more time on the more pressing task of nurturing the … Continue reading →

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Some People Say a Man is Made Outta Mud

Posted on May 9, 2018 by midlifegardener

The song Sixteen Tons was playing in my head the weekend before last.  The original dates from 1946 by Merle Travis, about a coal miner in Kentucky.   The version I know is from the strike-torn 80s and is by The … Continue reading →

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“Oh The Summertime is Coming..”

Posted on April 26, 2018 by midlifegardener

What a difference a month makes. In the space of what feels like a few brief days we have gone from a cold spring to the heat of midsummer. The Beast from the East has departed, with last month’s snowy … Continue reading →

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Isn’t It Grand Boys

Posted on April 22, 2018 by midlifegardener

The Old Man was laid to rest this week with all four of his sons getting together to contribute to the send off. We took turns to deliver something in church, with Hugh reading a poem and Nick selecting a … Continue reading →

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Green Shoots

Posted on April 13, 2018 by midlifegardener

Back to a new term and the new garden as we prepare to put my father to rest on Monday. It has, of course, been a strange time – the combination of funeral arrangements, sorting The Old Man’s estate and … Continue reading →

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End of an Era

Posted on March 30, 2018 by midlifegardener

The snow returned on the weekend of the 17th / 18th March. This time it fell benignly and softly, covering everything overnight in a thick white insulating layer. And overnight my father finally passed away: quietly and peacefully in his … Continue reading →

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Putting Your Back Into It

Posted on February 25, 2018 by midlifegardener

Back to school after a half term break of mixed fortunes. I started out with a burning desire to get the veg patch properly started with visions of raised beds marked out next to what promised to be a dazzlingly … Continue reading →

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Staying Positive

Posted on February 19, 2018 by midlifegardener

It’s half term and the weather has continued with its succession of weather fronts providing torrential rain to leave the earth  sodden.  Yesterday it did not stop all day although this made little difference to me as I had ricked … Continue reading →

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The Road to Caryford

Posted on January 23, 2018 by midlifegardener

A wet West Country Weekend might, on the face of it, have promised little in the way of gardening opportunities, but Sunday was Potato Day, the Horticultural Hajj for the gardeners of Cary.  It is that time of the year … Continue reading →

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Catalogue ordering to banish the blues

Posted on January 16, 2018 by midlifegardener

Dark wet days post-Christmas and we all need a bit of cheering up.  Now is the time to plan for those longer summer days so I ditched the travel supplements, holiday brochures and flight planners and went and ordered my … Continue reading →

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