Author Archives: Helen

About Helen

I have always been interesting in living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle and used to do what I could. Now, I have come to realise that we have reached such a point in terms of environmental degradation that it is more important - perhaps - to focus on building resilience. I therefore do as much as I can to reuse, grow my own and encourage a supportive community, for example. I also keep reading and learning all the time.

Round the garden in 80 days #72

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Helen

This post has been a long time coming because…. It took the scaffolders three weeks to collect the scaffolding which had been gracing the back of the house after the solar panels had been installed. This not only dampened my … Continue reading →

Posted in Crafts, Days out, Gardening | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Round the garden in 80 days #71

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Helen

Since 11am today, my house has consumed no electricity from the grid. And why is that? On Friday, I got a surprise. The scaffolders had been expected yesterday but in their wisdom had turned up on the wrong day and … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Good for the environment | Tagged | 20 Comments

Round the garden in 80 days #70

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Helen

When I started my ‘Round the garden in 80 days’ series, I expected to finish it by New Year. Yet here we are hurtling towards the summer equinox and still eleven posts to go, including this one. One the plus … Continue reading →

Posted in Days out, edible flowers, Gardening, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Round the garden in 80 days #69

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Helen

It’s been a while since I wrote a post! Life has been chugging along but there was nothing particularly salient in the garden to comment on. One apple tree lost its blossom on a gusty day but the others are … Continue reading →

Posted in Crafts, Gardening, raised bed | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Round the garden in 80 days #68

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Helen

The last post I wrote on the garden featured snow. The weather couldn’t be more different now with bright sunshine and temperatures edging towards 20. We are also onto the next phase of spring flowers. The glory of the snow … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Medieval frescoes

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Helen

In a departure from musings about the environment and garden observations, today I’m going to show you the inside of Pickering Church. One of the Palm Sunday archers with Towton Battlefield Society had told me about medieval frescoes at St … Continue reading →

Posted in Days out | Tagged | 14 Comments

Collars instead of fences

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Helen

I received an interesting email from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust about using collars to keep cattle where they are wanted. These collars would replace electric fences. I don’t know anything about this subject to say more but I can see the … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, rewilding | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Round the garden in 80 days #67

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Helen

I am probably a bit late to the show here but yes! it did snow here on the last day of March. All told, this winter we’ve had much more frost than has been usual in the past few years … Continue reading →

Posted in dye garden, Pond and bog garden | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Round the garden in 80 days #66

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Helen

When I moved a purple sprouting broccoli bush from one location to another last autumn, it had been more wishful thinking than expectation that motivated me. However, I am pleased to report that fully grown PSB plants are amenable to … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, soil management | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Round the garden in 80 days #65

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Helen

I finally made it to a garden centre for dahlia tubers. In my mind, I had wanted the cactus variety but in the event I was taken by others, which I will no doubt report on in due course. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, raised bed | Tagged , | 6 Comments