Stephanie's Garden 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.

What a change in weather this week. We seem to have had weeks of cold wind and cloud, but now the wind has shifted to the south and finally the sun is gracing us with its presence and warmth.

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.

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.

Work is continuing as normal in the kitchen garden despite the coronavirus. We do have the benefit of being quite isolated here and now is certainly a good time to be out in the garden and growing more of your own food.

Growing in raised planters is a real boom area in gardening right now and it's little wonder when you realise just how easy it can be and how many delicious vegetables you can cram into such a small space. Let's take a look at how one of our attractive Manger Raised Planters - all 8ft of it - can transform a barren patio into a vegetable oasis.

It has been a lovely spring like week in the kitchen garden with lots of sunshine and it is really starting to feel that the warmer days are on the way.

Planning is key to a successful vegetable garden and we take a lot into consideration when planning the Kitchen Garden planting each year. Incorporating new products, trialing new varieties while still observing crop rotation can make it a bit tricky, but the design looks great and we can't wait to bring it to life!

The new metal raised beds that have been located in the peak roof fruit cage have now all been filled with new soil and the autumn raspberries and blueberries have been replanted in their new homes.