You have a new garden. It is modest but no smaller than most. You had access to a garden during the lockdown months and, especially in that glorious spring two years ago, the garden was a godsend. You didn't so much get the bug as saw the possibilities. This was something that you could do, would bring pleasure and a palpable sense of wellbeing. Now you can make your own paradise exactly as you want it. But here you are, faced with a February plot, as you watch the garden dissolve beyond the rain hammering onto the windows, and it's almost entirely devoid of all the things that got you interested in gardening in the first place. So, take it from me - the most important horticultural job lining up for you this spring is to work out where you want to sit and eat outside.
In the end, there is no greater gardening pleasure than sharing a meal outside or the stolen moments from life's endless business sitting in the sun whilst drinking a cup of coffee. So, sorting out where you eat is the key to all garden design. But where you sit is directly connected to when you sit and the only certainty is that no one place will be right, or often even any good, for every time of day.
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A new plot for tasty crops
Taking on a new allotment needn't be hard work. By simply following a few easy tips you can have bumper crops in no time, just like Alessandro Vitale
We love July
July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!
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