It’s now got to the point in our renovation that there’s very little for me to do. There’s no point in cleaning something that’s about to be ripped out and equally little point in scrubbing something that’s about to be boarded over. So, I am able to take advantage of our ‘mature’ (sounds better than absolutely wild and overgrown) garden while the nice weather is with us.

There has been the prettiness of giant poppies, daffodils, bluebells and other lovely plants we can’t identify, along with the horror of the knotweed (don’t ask!!), but our latest change is the roses.

There are so many bushes in both the front and back gardens and we thought most wouldn’t bloom (and those with buds were covered in aphids). How wrong we were! The garden in currently a riot of colour and we have more roses that we could ever need so am looking for ideas on what to do with them.

There is, of course, the traditional pot pouri route but I was thinking something more unusual like these rose petal beads from Little House in the Suburbs.

Having learned the majority of my gardening knowledge from my grandparents when I was very young, I can confirm that it is something that not sticks with you but also provides a heap of wonderful memories. Children should be encouraged to get out into the garden and help grow fruit, flowers and vegetables.

It teaches them about nature and biology, gets them out in the fresh air and off the couch. Plus, they are more interested in tasting and trying new fruits and vegetables they have helped to grow.

There’s plenty of fun jobs to ease them in (before you get them stuck into the weeding! hehe) such as planting, watering, making a scare crow, writing seed labels…. You don’t even need to have a garden. Get them to grow a simple herb garden in a container or a lovely big sunflower.

Dorset Cereals are campaigning to encourage all schools to develop ‘edible playgrounds‘  to enable schools to teach pupils all aspects of gardening, along with preparing, serving and eating the food.

Their aim is to make it government policy that every school should have an Edible Playground so that all children can learn where food comes from and have an online petition. Add your support here: http://www.edibleplaygrounds.co.uk/

Hugh on Landshare from River Cottage on Vimeo.

We may still be in the first month of the A Home For All Seasons website, but I’m pretty sure you will already have realised how enthusiastic we are about gardening and the idea of growing our own vegetables. Someone who feels equally passionate about the subject is Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall who is fronting Landshare a scheme to link people who want to grow their own food to space where they can grow it.

Currently allotment waiting lists are massively over subscribed by a huge number of people keen to grow their own fruit and veg. However, there are also a number of people with land who have neither the time nor inclination to grow their own food but would welcome the vegetables.

More information can be found on the Landshare website where you can look for land available in your area, offer land in return for produce, identify land suitable for planting and become part of the grow your own community.

As previously mentioned, in addition to trying to get a crumbling old house to tow the line, we also have a large overgrown garden to whip into shape.

Having never owned a garden before and keen to get at least a few crops on the go, we are loving this great little tutorial over at the Little House in the Suburbs blog.

For a free plan on how to build a Beginner Garden in One Day hop on over and read a great little project for this coming Bank Holiday weekend.

Our current crop of lettuce seeds

If someone had told me just a couple of years ago that I’d be willing, let alone excited, to grow my own veg I would never have believed them. A former ‘are chips considered part of your 5-a-day’ type of eater, I am a relatively latecomer to the wonders of vegetables, especially homegrown ones.

Today marks the start of National Vegetarian Week here in the UK and to celebrate we planted yet another trough of lettuce seeds out at the house (the ones above were planted a couple of weeks ago). They seem to be quite the fail-safe vegetable and luckily for us can be grown even if you don’t have a garden.

Other easy to grow foods for indoors/window boxes include tomatoes, peppers and herbs – all of which can be grown for a fraction of the price they cost to buy at the supermarket. However, regardless of cost, vegetables also provide us with essential vitamins and minerals so, wether you grown your own or support your local growers, there’s plenty ofreasons to make sure you include lots of them in your diet.

For more information on National Vegetarian Week, including recipes and events in your area, visit the Vegetarian Society website.

Also, check out this great little article on 10 easy to grow vegetables.

Never has home composting been a more popular issue. It helps reduce waste, saves money and is something everyone with a garden should be doing.

Last week was National Compost Week here in Scotland with a wide range of talks and demonstrations taking place in most regions. However, home composting is a key issue for Waste Scotland all year round and their site has a wealth of information on how to get the most out of home composting including subsidised composters.

For more information and to buy your own compost bin for as little as £8 click on the link below.

http://www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk/html/compost.asp