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We have been busy preparing for a photoshoot this week and everything is now looking lovely with the hedges trimmed into shape and lots of weeding and tidying done. It is very satisfying to look round the garden and see what has been achieved with all our hard work.

The weeds have loved the recent weather and it was time to have a blitz in the kitchen garden with lots of weeding to make the garden look at its best for the upcoming photo shoots.

This week we have started our autumnal jobs around the garden. The beds have been weeded, the lawns have been scarified and some areas re-seeded and the lavender and roses have had their autumn prune.

There's no denying that I'm at my happiest when I'm digging, planting sowing or harvesting - even weeding - in the garden

Well the weather this week has been a complete change, with us having the warmest valentine's day in 21 years. I have seen out in the garden a butterfly, a very large bumble bee, other solitary bees and numerous other bugs and flies, the weather is really teasing us.

Looking for the perfect gift for the gardening enthusiast in your life? You’ve come to the right place! We’ve got everything from gardening accessories to decorative plant supports that are bound to put a smile on their face this Christmas!

It has been a very good week in the kitchen garden everything is growing well and yielding lots of produce. We have red currents, spinach, courgettes, broad beans, rhubarb, sprouting broccoli, and cucumbers and the shallots are ready to be lifted and dried.

May started with refreshing rain but that did not last long. It was a hot and dry month, so much so that it was the driest since 1896!

Raised bed gardening is becoming more popular than ever before with increasing numbers of people opting to grow their own food and live a more sustainable lifestyle. With the variations in height, size, potential higher yield and aesthetic value, raised bed gardening should be on your mind for gardening success.

Asparagus is a favourite crop in Stephanie's kitchen garden. It is such a delicious crop and is available for such a short period of time that it is a real treat. If you have the space, grow it!

Although the week started very dry and warm, towards the end of the week and into the weekend we had some very welcome rain in the Kitchen Garden.

The temperatures have dropped, the days are getting shorter, and the lawn is covered by a blanket of golden yellow and rich orange hues. Autumn has arrived. Now is the perfect time to prepare your garden for the cold, dark weather that lies ahead. Here's everything you should do to ensure your garden remains in tip-top condition ready for a vibrant spring

Beetroot is a favourite with us at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden and we enjoy experimenting with different recipes. It has had bad press in the past and is often not very popular however it is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and ideal for anyone new to vegetable gardening

Our blackcurrants are looking black, fat and juicy and about ready for picking. I'll choose a nice sunny morning to head off into the fruit cage armed with a trug and some snips to harvest them before heading back into the kitchen to make some jam.

It's been lovely in the kitchen garden this week plenty of blue skies and sunshine, this of course means no rain and an awful lot of watering, as this has been a week of planting.

This week the main job in the kitchen garden was cutting and shaping the box hedging. It is normally done in the autumn, but this year with the rain we had over the winter period and the heat we have had recently, the box hedging was getting rather long.

We interviewed Brigitte Girling (Creator of Moss and Stone) who teaches an array of flower classes which will allow you to develop ‘naturally artful, animated designs creating a visual story within your work’.

Broccoli has had a resurgence in popularity mainly due to it's high vitamin content and anti-cancer agents. It is a fast-growing and easy-to-grow crop, producing bluish-green heads that are harvested in the summer or autumn, depending on the time it is sown.

Brussel Sprouts are a must-grow crop in the Harrod Kitchen garden. It is highly nutritious vegetable and an essential ingredient in a good Christmas Dinner.

It has almost been like summer, not spring, with the warm weather we have been experiencing. Most days there has been full sun and blue skies which has been brilliant as that has given me the opportunity to get out and really start clearing the flower borders and beds.

It has been a busy week in the kitchen garden. Because of the lock down one of the gardeners who works mainly in the kitchen garden is now being furloughed and Louise is taking over most of the gardening jobs. We do hope Heidy will be back with us soon.

From new innovations to tried and tested favourites, enjoy this quick trip through our festive range and get some inspiration for the gardener in your life!

This week has been a short one as we have enjoyed the last bank holiday before, dare I say it, Christmas. But there has been no let up in the warm weather if anything we suffered 4 days of constant hot dry conditions and 3 days of temperatures getting up to 30 degrees.

Removing weeds from the vegetable patch is easily the least glamorous and time consuming job of the lot. It's not all bad news as there are plenty of ways to make it easy on yourself so you can spend more time on the fun bits of growing your own!

A great guest blog from Elementa Design using a 5 step guide to prepare your garden for Summer. Nick Dickinson, a much sought after plantsman and garden designer and offers some great advice in the article.

One of the great pleasures of gardening is to grow your own plants from seed. Unfortunately the exhilaration of planting out can quickly be followed by the anguish of seeing plants nibbled by wildlife or blasted by unseasonal weather if not covered with garden netting or plant protection.

Spring cleaning has a 1950s housewife image. Not many people open up their houses and clean them from top to bottom in March any more. But a garden spring clean will make a big difference to your gardening later on in the year.

Sneeboer make their tools with long handles, not solely for the benefit of six-foot-two blokes. These longer handles alleviate pressure on the spine and create a lot more digging power in the garden by creating a longer lever to work with.

It’s not surprising to discover that in the past three years more and more people have been struggling with their mental health and general well-being. And while gardening isn’t for everyone, it’s proven to be an effective way to boost mental and emotional health. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got a sprawling garden, a concrete yard, or even just a balcony – you can still reap the benefits that getting green-fingered can bring.

With brighter, sunnier days on the horizon and rules on socialising easing, you will no doubt be thinking of dusting off that BBQ and organising a few garden gatherings with six of your nearest and dearest. From cleaning your garden furniture, to mowing the lawn, here is a few things you can do to get your garden ready.

There is nothing better than picking - and of course eating - fresh strawberries from your own garden and with Wimbledon approaching it is strawberries and cream all round!

Most of the month has been grey, windy and wet with only the occasional sunny crisp day to lift the mood. It would be so easy to hibernate indoors and leave the gardening jobs until fairer weather, but work done around the garden now will pay us back later in the year when spare time is more precious

Flaming June is living up to its reputation this year with wall-to-wall sunshine for most of the month. As I write we have had no rainfall for four weeks and the scorching sun and drying winds of a heatwave are causing challenges all around the garden. 2018 has certainly been a year of extreme weather so far!

Fifteen years ago our garden was a very large grassy area with the soil full of flint and clay. I had little knowledge of gardening at the time, but had been told that if I wanted to grow a healthy and happy garden I should pay very special attention to the soil.

A lot of tidying in the Kitchen Garden this week, lots of leaves thanks to the high winds, a Greenhouse to clean and lots of tools that need some cleaning.

These delicious Mediterranean fruits have grown in popularity and are now widely found in many kitchens across the UK. Despite the challenges, aubergines are definitely worth the effort and make for a delicious addition in curries, lasagne, bakes and risottos.

Parsnips are a hardy winter vegetable that are easy to grow, require little maintenance and can be used in just about any dish. Find out more about this versatile vegetable in our latest blog...

It has been a short week after the long Easter bank holiday, a very different Easter to what we are use to as we are still in lockdown. As we still have not had any decent rain it meant this week a lot of watering especially in the kitchen garden.

We have definitely been making the most of our waterproofs this week we have had lots of rain and a few thundery downpours. We have a few peppers that are still showing promise of ripening but it's pretty much the end of the summer greenhouse plants.

May has been a busy month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. Lots of sowing and planting out has been done and the garden has gradually transformed from brown to green as the month has gone on. We are still waiting for the hot sunny days of spring to arrive in our part of East Anglia and the cold nights have caused us some problems, but our crops look healthy and the new harvesting year has begun.

With March signalling the arrival of spring, I had high expectations for the weather. However, mother nature had other ideas. Aside from three bright, warm days the rest of the month was cold.

The past two weeks of glorious sunshine has been a wonderful relief from the excessive rain and gale-force winds that battered the gardens throughout May.

Well last week was a real scorcher with the UK seeing a mini heatwave and the mercury exceeding 30 degrees celsius at time, meaning lots of watering again in the kitchen garden.

It has been another week where the heat has built up, peaking on Friday in the 30's, and still no decent rainfall. The water butts are empty again. So, it was more days of what seemed like endless watering!

Some welcome rain over last weekend gave us a rest from the watering, for a few days at least!

October has been a busy and very wet month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. With the days getting shorter and autumn making its appearance known, tidying has been at the top of the agenda this month, particularly the past week

It has been an exciting week in the kitchen garden as we have been doing the photography for our upcoming catalogue. We have had our raised beds, obelisks and plant supports re-photographed and some new product ranges still to be announced.

The last of the cauliflower (Romanesco) has now been planted out under the cover of butterfly netting to protect them from the butterflies, and the caterpillars that will eventually follow.

The last of the Brussel sprouts have been dug up and the surrounding cage taken down. The cauliflowers and savoy cabbages which were planted in the same area have now been covered with a a popadome crop cover. If left uncovered even at this time of year the pigeons will make as tasty meal of what brassicas are growing.

It has been another busy week in the kitchen garden planting out all the brassicas in our newly built cage, with sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower all being planted out.

Three of the major pest groups likely to cause havoc in any vegetable garden or allotment are animals, birds and weeds

I have finally had a dry, bright day to remove the fruit cage roof netting. This will prevent any damage to the cage frame from any heavy snowfall that may lie ahead. A lot of the tie wraps that were used to put the netting up were easy quick release ties, but after a time the fingers do start to go numb in the cold.

Root Aphids are one of the most common garden pests, appearing on leaves and stems of flowers and vegetables in vast quantities but it's not just the foliage they like to feed on...

The seasonality of gardening and understanding what needs to be done throughout the seasons is key to a successful garden.

The arrival of Spring should now be in evidence, with daffodils in flower and blossom adorning the trees. Frequent sunnier days and rising temperatures make it perfect gardening weather but expect to be caught out by the inevitable ‘April showers’.

Climatic experts have long been insisting that global warming is inevitable, and in the next few years we are likely to see changes in our weather

At last things are warming up in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden - but the improved weather brings new problems to solve. Meet my new assistant and discover my plans for the Chelsea Flower Show...

No excuses for combining two months again - read on and you'll find out just how busy I've been! The film crew are back for 'Stephanie's Kitchen Garden 2'; I've invited 8 leading garden journalists for a Press Day and there's the usual summer gardening jobs to complete...

Christmas hullaballo doesn't mean the garden grinds to a halt. There's leeks to harvest, bushes to prune and leaves to collect - all before the weather turns really nasty...

Harrod Horticultural receives a commendation at the World's premier Gardening Show

An Oasis of green in the Kitchen Garden

It's been another distinctly underwhelming month weatherwise in the Kitchen Garden although the beans and potatoes in particular have defied the weather and are looking good! Unfortunately we will have to insist on some sun for our squashes and the wet and windy spring has left its legacy too - find out why and more...

A bi-monthly update this time around as I'm out and about, hunting down new products - but that hasn't stopped me developing a solution to mice, raising my vegetable cage and creating a support frame for my Stephanie's Kitchen Garden tomatoes ...

Greenhouse crops are flourishing and the A-Tom frame plants thrive

Spring strolls into the Kitchen Garden armed with the deadly combination of warm, sunny days and cold, frosty nights - just the kind of extremes of conditions the trays and trays of seedlings in the greenhouse don't want. And it's the greenhouse where 90% of our March garden time has been spent, with a few trips outside to weed, feed and plant. Find out more about how we've coped with spring in the Kitchen Garden below...

As usual, May has been a very busy time in the garden. I've been at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we have new raised beds to build and Kate's got hedges to trim

Depending on where you live in the country, Spring has usually arrived by mid-March. The milder weather means it’s time to get busy sowing seeds, cutting back winter shrubs and generally tidying up around the garden preparing for the busy growing season ahead!

Strawberries are easy to grow and even a few plants can give a plentiful supply of sweet fruits in the summer months which are appreciated by children.

It has been another warm and dry week in the Kitchen Garden so once again watering has become a priority. Its a big job trying to keep the plants hydrated through this particularly dry spell.

The kale and early sprouting broccoli are growing well we are continuing to add feed to soil around them in the form of seaweed meal, a little sprinkle every few weeks. This seems to be working well, liquid feeds this time of year just don't really get the job done as we have had so much wet weather.

The kitchen garden is thriving and a lot of work has been done this week, the celery and celeriac have been planted in their final positions and seem to be very happy. The last of the courgette plants have been planted now too

We have had our first taste of spring weather over the weekend; a welcome sign that the winter will not last forever! It was but a brief reprieve and the grey skies and cold winds have returned. As February approaches, it is time to start off some early crops in the greenhouse. Impatient as ever, we sowed ours last week and now have tiny shoots of green appearing in the seeds trays in our heated propagator.

Summer is almost upon us and the garden is reveling in the warm temperatures and long daylight hours. Unfortunately, the weeds seem to be reveling in it too and are popping up all over the garden literally growing overnight. It is important to keep on top of them while they are small and before they have the chance to set seed.

With no decent rainfall and higher than average temperatures across the last week, the main job has been watering, watering and more watering!

We're off to the Chelsea Flower Show for a few days, so will need to leave our plants in good shape for our absence.