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39 MINS AGO - We’re delighted to be starting a weekly interiors update, showcasing the latest design news. Be Expand
39 MINS AGO - We’re delighted to be starting a weekly interiors update, showcasing the latest design news. Be the first to hear about the hottest design location and trends by signing up at homesandproperty.co.uk, Collapse
Basement conversions – expect ideas for planning a basement conversion
1 DAY AGO - A basement conversion can offer a whole extra floor of space within your home’s existing footprint Expand
1 DAY AGO - A basement conversion can offer a whole extra floor of space within your home’s existing footprint and is perfectly placed for a generous extra room Collapse
A return to Plot 29 | Allan Jenkins
3 DAYS AGO - It’s dirty work, but the manure – and granddaughter – gives spring a helping handI rushed the Expand
3 DAYS AGO - It’s dirty work, but the manure – and granddaughter – gives spring a helping handI rushed the rehab. Regretting it now. It was the enforced helplessness I was fighting. Snowdrops are out. Crocuses, too. Jeffrey’s daylilies are a half a foot tall. His daffodils are in flower. Spring’s call is insistent. My exile is over.Baby steps were needed. The first couple of times I just sat and stood at the plot, soaking it all up. The third, I took out the hoe. A little light strimming of the bittercress and tufted grass. Fifteen minutes or so, resting in between. The next day I lifted the tired chard. It felt healing to connect with the land in a more intimate way. To be more useful. Continue reading... Collapse
Home grown: how exotic blooms can be guilt-free
4 DAYS AGO - You don’t have to import cut flowers – one grower’s blooms are sustainable as well as beautifulAn Expand
4 DAYS AGO - You don’t have to import cut flowers – one grower’s blooms are sustainable as well as beautifulAn overflowing vase of unseasonably fiery flowers is the perfect antidote to winter. But if you worry about how far imported blooms have travelled, and at what cost to the environment, brightening up your room needn’t be a guilty pleasure: a cut flower producer on the south coast may have the answer. Related: Grow your likes: the unstoppable rise of the Insta plant Continue reading... Collapse
CARE FOR CONTAINER PLANTS — Garden News
7 DAYS AGO - Now's the time to give them some late-winter love
This eclectic home in London is a mix of dark and dramatic furnishings
7 DAYS AGO - Drawing on their cinematic backgrounds, the homeowners have used a darkly brooding palette and Expand
7 DAYS AGO - Drawing on their cinematic backgrounds, the homeowners have used a darkly brooding palette and Mid-Century-modern furnishings. Collapse
Why Jerusalem artichokes pack a real punch
16/02/2020 - Neither an artichoke, nor from Jerusalem, these bulbous tubers are easy to grow and offer pretty Expand
16/02/2020 - Neither an artichoke, nor from Jerusalem, these bulbous tubers are easy to grow and offer pretty flowers and a delicious vegetableAs an ethnobotanist, I am forever fascinated by how we have come to eat the crops we do. Despite there being an estimated 50,000 edible plant species on Earth, most of us exist on the harvests from fewer than 100 species, meaning we are missing out on 99.8% of the options available. In fact, 60% of the calories that fuel humanity come from the seeds of just three grass species: wheat, rice and corn. Having grown and tasted hundreds of these alternative edibles, I can confirm that there are sometimes very good reasons why some just haven’t been popularised. “Edible”and “tasty” are often different things. However, once in a while there is an example of a crop that ticks all the boxes, yet remains totally undervalued. The Jerusalem artichoke is probably the easiest and most rewarding vegetable crop around – and now is a great time to get ordering them. Collapse
Gardening tips: plant a rose
15/02/2020 - Then visit Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden and force rhubarb, sea kale or a dandelion Expand
15/02/2020 - Then visit Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden and force rhubarb, sea kale or a dandelion rosettePlant this Take advantage of the current bare-root planting season to add a rose to your garden. ‘Starlight Symphony’ is a climber with clusters of single white blooms around a pink central boss of stamens. It’s compact, reaching 2.5m tall, and has good resistance to the usual diseases roses succumb to.Visit this If you love plants, but are more of a palm than a snowdrop when it comes to cold tolerance, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has more than an acre of glasshouses to wander around. This year, it is celebrating 350 years. Check the website for lots special of events: rbge.org.uk Continue reading... Collapse
This red lentil dhal recipe is perfect for batch cooking
11/02/2020 - MAKES TWO PORTIONS Ingredients *olive oil, for cooking *1 leek, green and all, chopped *3 garlic Expand
11/02/2020 - MAKES TWO PORTIONS Ingredients *olive oil, for cooking *1 leek, green and all, chopped *3 garlic cloves, chopped *2 medjool dates, torn into pieces *1 tablespoon turmeric *1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds Collapse
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A beautifully converted monastery in southern France | Homes & Gardens
1 HR AGO - Explore this converted monastery. At a long–neglected abbey Lorenzo and Mariarosa Pellicioli have Expand
1 HR AGO - Explore this converted monastery. At a long–neglected abbey Lorenzo and Mariarosa Pellicioli have created a welcoming family home with zeal and passion. Collapse
Kitchen extensions – expert ideas for planning a kitchen extension
1 DAY AGO - Adding a kitchen extension can dramatically add value to your home. Whether you’re based in the Expand
1 DAY AGO - Adding a kitchen extension can dramatically add value to your home. Whether you’re based in the town or country, these kitchen extensions will inspire you Collapse
How to grow Vietnamese herbs | Alys Fowler
4 DAYS AGO - Culantro and kinh gioi freshen up summer salads and rolls, with a coriander kick or lemon zestIt Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Culantro and kinh gioi freshen up summer salads and rolls, with a coriander kick or lemon zestIt was late and there were still further trains to catch, so it was supper at the station: steaming bowls of pho and, to my joy, big fat leaves of culantro (Eryngium foetidum), floating in the broth. Culantro looks a bit like a dandelion in leaf, and has a powerful coriander kick. It’s much loved in many cuisines, hence its many names: Mexican coriander, chadon beni, long coriander, recao, Thai parsley and sawtooth herb. A few years ago, you’d have to hunt high and low to get the seeds, but not today – there are numerous online offers. Related: How to grow crab apple trees | Alys Fowler Continue reading... Collapse
How to bring houseplants and gardens back to life before spring
5 DAYS AGO - Looking out at all those soggy pots and dead, brown stems, it’s hard to believe that the daffodils Expand
5 DAYS AGO - Looking out at all those soggy pots and dead, brown stems, it’s hard to believe that the daffodils will soon be out, prompting that itch to get planting. Now, before the craziness of spring growth Collapse
Get rid of plastic in the garden — Garden News
7 DAYS AGO - Since I last wrote about this last year, there have been even bigger strides taken to reduce Expand
7 DAYS AGO - Since I last wrote about this last year, there have been even bigger strides taken to reduce plastic in the gardening industry – we’ve always used so much of it, of course, and largely it’s unnecessary. It seems ironic that such a thrifty and nature-loving bunch as gardeners should use so much of a Collapse
An elegant and handsome 21st-century listed house in London
17/02/2020 - What began as the renovation of a listed house in London where the owner could display and live Expand
17/02/2020 - What began as the renovation of a listed house in London where the owner could display and live with his art collection has become an exquisite work of art. Collapse
Missing Plot 29’s healing powers | Allan Jenkins
16/02/2020 - After enforced rest for garden and gardener, it’s time to (slowly) start springI have been exiled Expand
16/02/2020 - After enforced rest for garden and gardener, it’s time to (slowly) start springI have been exiled from the allotment for a few weeks now in a smaller world of pain. The plot is at the top of a hill and walking steep slopes has been beyond me. The meditation medication it brings me has been unavailable. This weekend I think all that will change. Though it may involve taxis.A garden, I think, responds to constancy and attention. Fidelity, regularity and care are what works, as in any relationship. It doesn’t do so well when these are withdrawn, no matter the sound reason or intention. Continue reading... Collapse
Country diary: mistletoe's moon pearls are full of marvellous jelly
12/02/2020 - Marshwood Vale, Dorset: On a sunny day three Februarys ago, I squashed the berries on to an apple Expand
12/02/2020 - Marshwood Vale, Dorset: On a sunny day three Februarys ago, I squashed the berries on to an apple branch. That March, crooked shoots emergedIt was a shock to see green where I thought all had failed. There it was – a tiny wishbone with a pair of propeller-shaped leaf blades reaching up and out towards the sun. The first shoot of a new mistletoe plant.Mistletoe (Viscum album) takes a long time to establish. Four Christmases ago, I saved some berries to ripen, a handful of rubbery moon pearls salvaged from the darkest days of winter. They need light or they die, so I put them in a jam jar next to the spider-webbed window of the garden shed. Continue reading... Collapse
This simple vegan dessert is a great choice for a dinner party
11/02/2020 - MAKES TWO TO FOUR PORTIONS Ingredients *2 avocados *200 g coconut yoghurt *2 tablespoons maple Expand
11/02/2020 - MAKES TWO TO FOUR PORTIONS Ingredients *2 avocados *200 g coconut yoghurt *2 tablespoons maple syrup *1 teaspoon vanilla paste *zest and juice of 4 limes *1 handful of raspberries For the crust *100 Collapse
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If I put washing up water on my vegetable patch will my vegetables taste soapy?
1 DAY AGO - The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from Expand
1 DAY AGO - The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsIf I put washing up water on my vegetable patch, will my vegetables taste of washing up water?Peter Hanson, Whitestone, Exeter Continue reading... Collapse
Break the garlic rules for a big surprise | James Wong
3 DAYS AGO - Garden lore dictates you must plant garlic in the cold months. Here’s why that doesn’t always Expand
3 DAYS AGO - Garden lore dictates you must plant garlic in the cold months. Here’s why that doesn’t always apply“In gardening there are no mistakes, only experiments.” This quote by gardener Janet Kilburn Phillips has to be my favourite horticultural saying ever, for the simple truth it tells.As someone with a lifelong fixation with plants, I can’t help but feel that the rigid rules that underpin much of our traditional gardening wisdom are often a huge – and entirely unnecessary – barrier to timid first timers starting out on their own gardening adventure. Continue reading... Collapse
Gardening tips: plant a mock orange
4 DAYS AGO - Then visit a Victorian glasshouse and make a trellisPlant this As winter draws to a close, now is Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Then visit a Victorian glasshouse and make a trellisPlant this As winter draws to a close, now is the time to invest in something gorgeous for your borders. Mock orange (philadelphus) is a hardy shrub that produces scented white flowers in early summer, if planted in a sunny spot. Choose ‘Manteau d’Hermine’ if space is limited.Visit this If you are looking for glasshouse growing at its finest (and somewhere to escape on a chilly day), West Dean gardens near Chichester, West Sussex has 13 impeccably maintained Victorian glasshouses. See how they grow everything from ferns and exotics to nectarines. Continue reading... Collapse
The best house renovation Instagram accounts you need to be following
5 DAYS AGO - Best for budget: @renovating_a_nightmare The Allens are transforming their Edwardian house in Expand
5 DAYS AGO - Best for budget: @renovating_a_nightmare The Allens are transforming their Edwardian house in south London, on a budget. The account is ideal to follow for clever auction tips – they've snapped up Collapse
‘You can feel the love of generations of gardeners’ — Garden News
7 DAYS AGO - Garden historian and co-author of The Galanthophiles (Orphans Publishing), Jennifer Harmer loves Expand
7 DAYS AGO - Garden historian and co-author of The Galanthophiles (Orphans Publishing), Jennifer Harmer loves to escape to the pristine snowdrop woods at Cambo Gardens in Scotland. Collapse
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE - FEBRUARY 22 — Garden News
17/02/2020 - Our rosters of brilliant gardening writers includes Carol Klein, Nick Bailey, Rob Smith, Medwyn Expand
17/02/2020 - Our rosters of brilliant gardening writers includes Carol Klein, Nick Bailey, Rob Smith, Medwyn Williams, Terry Walton, Naomi Slade, Ian Hodgson and Karen Murphy. Every week they will bring readers the very best gardening advice as well as answering your questions. More jobs to do in your garden Collapse
Use warming mats to heat your seeds | Alys Fowler
15/02/2020 - Rubberised pads are a cheap, compact alternative to a greenhouseAll my current fantasies are about Expand
15/02/2020 - Rubberised pads are a cheap, compact alternative to a greenhouseAll my current fantasies are about greenhouses. I am tortured by emails from fancy manufacturers seducing me with modern glass cubes and cute-as-a-button wooden structures. Imagine standing in a greenhouse, I think, as I play Tetris with seedling trays on countertops at home. What starts off on windowsills quickly sprawls on to any flat surface. So, for a fraction of the price of a greenhouse, I’ve been trying out BioGreen’s rubberised warming pads as a new solution. You sit the seed trays on flat plastic mats that heat the soil to 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature. If you stick a bit of recycled polystyrene underneath, and add in some cheap LED grow lights with a timer, you’ve got a pretty good propagation unit. Related: Which plants are the best bird feeders? | Alys Fowler Continue reading... Collapse
This Mexican nacho plate can be made in ten minutes
11/02/2020 - MAKES TWO PORTIONS Ingredients *240 g drained tinned black beans *1 tablespoon fajita spice mix Expand
11/02/2020 - MAKES TWO PORTIONS Ingredients *240 g drained tinned black beans *1 tablespoon fajita spice mix *1 splash of Plant Cream *1 avocado, peeled and pitted *1 squeeze of lemon juice *salt *corn chips, to Collapse
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