Author Archives: midlifegardener

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

Lockdown: You’ve Got to Roll With It

Posted on March 27, 2020

When I was young, quarantine was for dogs.  Specifically, those coming from abroad.  A stay of six months was the norm, although that was increased to twelve months for a while when a dog named Sessan died of rabies in … Continue reading →

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Trees of Life

Posted on March 19, 2020

Two years ago this week it snowed. I know that because it was the day my father died. It was the final freeze in a bitterly cold winter.  The Old Man had survived the Beast from the East but not … Continue reading →

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Sowing the Seeds

Posted on March 13, 2020

When I started this post a week ago the immediate concerns surrounded the aftermath of another weekend bringing another storm – Jorge.  It seemed that our post-Brexit freedoms did not extend to naming our own storms with those Europeans coming … Continue reading →

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Bedding In

Posted on February 15, 2020

January and early February have seen an upturn in postive thoughts around here.  The early morning walks are punctuated by the sound of thrushes singing their hearts out from the tops of trees while woodpeckers drum on hollow branches and … Continue reading →

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Potato Daze

Posted on January 26, 2020

The gardening year – or more pertinently the planning thereof – starts for me with Potato Day at Caryford Hall.  The marquee event of January, Jules and I delayed the start of our golf round to make sure we could … Continue reading →

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A Country Walk

Posted on December 31, 2019

On Saturday we wake up back in Somerset after Christmas in Liverpool.  It is still mercifully dry overhead as I take the dog out for her walk.  She seems as happy to be wandering the lanes as I am.  Once … Continue reading →

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A Town Walk

Posted on December 31, 2019

The day after boxing day and everyone is feeling a little woozy and bloated – even the dog.  It has been a relaxing and comforting Christmas in Liverpool in which the presence of Ella in VB’s city centre apartment has … Continue reading →

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The Long Days are Coming

Posted on December 21, 2019

The soundtrack for the past few weeks has been a combination of the Eurythmics and Bob Dylan:  Here Comes The Rain Again, and it’s gonna be hard.  The rain fell again in the night, like gravel thrown against the window. … Continue reading →

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Food for thought

Posted on December 8, 2019

This week I finally managed to process my chillis and peppers. Most of the chillis went into a batch of sweet chilli jam with the rest being dried in the oven and then a radiator.  The green peppers were roasted … Continue reading →

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Action Before Motivation

Posted on November 16, 2019

Last Saturday I tried to get out in the garden but the weather intervened.  We barely had enough time to drag ourselves out of bed and get the dog walked before the rain set in.  To be fair, if it … Continue reading →

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