A novella inspired by Yeats The Phases of the Moon. Continue reading

#newwriting, #amwriting, new writing, Yeats, The Phases of the Moon Continue reading

#newwriting, new writing, Yeats, The Phases 0f the Moon. Continue reading

The Author's Song Chapter Eight Continue reading

Chapter 7 - The Authors Song Continue reading

Today I issued an edict to my husband, Mike. "Thou shalt purchase no more supermarket salad. We now have our own crop on the roof top veg plot." My efforts to have salad all year round can't be said to... Continue reading

There is one aspect that all potagers have in common. Be they grand, or modest, as in my plot, they all have rectangular beds, surrounded or supported by something. Size The square foot garden, that is in my humble opinion, a rather anesthetised version of the classic potager, is divided... Continue reading

Chapter Six, of the online Novella, The Author's Song. Continue reading

Grow flowers in the veg plot, for colour, to attract bees and deter pests. Continue reading

Why should not you Who know it all ring at his door, What was I doing playing Tchaikovsky’s Romantic Sonata on a honkey-tonk pub piano, my foot pushing the sustain pedal like an accelerator in order to get maximum volume? My accompaniment was the ping of pint mugs and the... Continue reading

Sewing tomatoes, aubergines and peppers in heated propagators. Continue reading

potatoes, how to chit potatoes, chitting, tubers, Ratte, Bell de Fontenay, Rocket potatoes, BF15, potato blight, harvesting potatoes, grwwing potatoes, first early, second early, maincrop. Growing potatoes in pots. Continue reading

The Authors Song, The Author's Song, New writing, Novella, Wendy Shillam, Yeats, The Phases of the Moon Continue reading

How can something as simple as an onion skin save energy? Perhaps we forget just how much energy it has taken to grow, store and transport them to our kitchens. Don't throw them away. Many of us compost peelings, but... Continue reading

Aherne What made that sound? Robartes A rat or water-hen Splashed, or an otter slid into the stream. Prof. Masters was enthusiastic. He leapt up from his desk as I entered the room and shook my hand, enthusiastically. “How are you settling in?" "There's a problem about my roof." "The... Continue reading

He and his friend, their faces to the South, Had trod the uneven road. Their boots were soiled, Their Connemara cloth worn out of shape; They had kept a steady pace as though their beds, Despite a dwindling and late risen moon, Were distant. An old man cocked his ear.... Continue reading

How to protect your plot from frost. Slug prevention. Continue reading

Here is my pick of five of the best vegetable seeds to order now. It is a hard task; I can’t resist those seductive images. But here are five interesting and delicious vegetables that I can recommend. If you only buy five packets, these should be the ones to try.... Continue reading

How to get plants to thrive in low levels of winter light? What to do if seeds don't germinate, or grow weakly.. Continue reading

It is never too late, or too early to sew all year round Mesclun, or salad mixes. This page tells you how to do it, even in the depths of winter. Continue reading

I'm heartened by three new places that have sprung up in the last few months in our area. All of them serve good food and all of them are independents. The newest is cafe Gitane, 60 Great Titchfield Street. This... Continue reading

7th November 2012 will be recorded in my gardening annals as the first frost this year. A crisp layer of ice adorned patches of exposed vegetation in Regents Park as Rosa (the mini Schnauzer ) and I took the early... Continue reading

James Murrays interesting article in the website Businessgreen illustrates the disarray that a global financial shambles has brought to the green movement. http://touch.businessgreen.com/businessgreen/#!/entry/building-a-new-environmentalism-businessgreen-mobile,5089ce6dd7fc7b567031a03d He wants to divide the environmental camp, depending on how pro-growth we are. I don't think I... Continue reading

This is a picture of energy. You may ask what I mean. But in the light of the junior energy ministers ridiculous outburst against wind power yesterday. I feel I must comment. We are in the middle of an economic... Continue reading