http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/12/christmas-tree-green-fairtrade-fair-tree
I bow to Lucy Siegle on ecological/green matters and I love her weekly column in the Observer; she seems to answer all those little niggling questions about ecology and it's great to have her detailed research for us 'trying our best to be green' public, so here's what she has to say about buying a Christmas tree.
mardi 28 décembre 2010
Fake or real?
I'm talking about Christmas trees! We always used to have a real Xmas tree when I lived with my parents. Mum used to clear up the fallen needles on a daily basis (I think there was a bit of heavy sighing to accompany this task) and I was always sad to see the tree disappear on 12th night. When it came to choosing a tree for my own family, we opted for a fake because we lived in a small flat with a very small baby who ate anything that fell on the floor (and Xmas tree needles weren't part of his reccomended diet). So we've stuck with our cute fake (quite real looking tree) for 8 yrs now and it's still going strong although I can see signs of ageing this year (can't we all?).
I love the smell, the look and authenticity of real Christmas trees but when I see them lying in their hundreds on the road in January, waiting for the dustbin men, I wonder about the sense of cutting down loads of trees and then 2 weeks later throwing them away. I'm not taking the moral high ground here, I know the trees are replaced in the forests and grown for that very reason, and I know that some households buy trees with roots that can be replanted, and many trees are pulped and used for other purposes, so in effect they are recycled, and I know that in France many households buy a special bag in which to dispose their tree and the proceeds go to charity, and yes, is it more damaging to the environment when we'll eventually dispose of our fake tree, but still I'm wondering.....
Here's a photo of a whole load of trees that form part of our town's Christmas display. I must admit it looks great now it's all covered in snow, but again, I think these trees will also be thrown out by the end of January...
Here's a photo of a whole load of trees that form part of our town's Christmas display. I must admit it looks great now it's all covered in snow, but again, I think these trees will also be thrown out by the end of January...
samedi 18 décembre 2010
Viva Espana!
Even the plants in the Alcazar had their own specially made containers. This fern looks particularly happy. Small versions of this pot are for sale in the souvenir shop.
Viva Espana!
Me and significant other took a trip to gorgeous Seville in November. Warm no-coat weather, bright sunshine made this city really come alive for us. What a vibrant wonderful place it is. And the mother of all gardens resides in this fair city - the Royal Palace of Alcazar. A historic, breathtaking spectacle....look at those photos!
The overwhelming sensation was of green and cool places to rest in what is the sweltering heat in summer. Many water gardens, spectacular fountains and so much symmetry. A beautiful fragrant white jasmine hedge, a moss covered folly in a fountain, unattainable except perhaps for a Queen? The sensation of being in another world, lost in green, the sheer beauty and vistas leading onto vistas, tree lined paths and sheer 'detente'.
vendredi 15 octobre 2010
Champs Elysees
Hidden treasures
It's bulb time again; those things that look like onions (and not very appetising ones at that) which poke up like green swords and burst into life with a neon multicoloured explosion just when you are thoroughly tired of the grey winter garden.
It's time to plant, NOW! Don't delay.
Bulbs look best in clumps so grab bundles of them in your local garden centre. You don't need to look for anything 'hard', or complicated or exotic. Even the simple daffodil brings joy to the eyes under the weak winter sun. Bulbs are great value and you can even cut the flowers to display in the home. There are few guarantees in the gardening business, but with bulbs you simply plant at the right time, add soil and water and off you go! I hear of people planting bulbs upside down and still being successful!
Choose what you like best. You have plenty of choice in colour.
Creamy white or orange or neon yellow daffodils. Choose dwarf versions for windy terraces so they don't get blown over before they're even showing their flowers.
Hyacinths planted in a pot next to your door give off a delicious heady scent better than any perfume. And the colours are great too - purples, bright pink, elegant white.....
Dainty snowdrops can even poke out of the snow.
And later, tulips in an array of shapes, sizes and colours bring us through to March and April. Choose your palette and don't forget to plant in clumps for effect. I've never liked that 'one flower per foot' attitude to gardening. Tulip planting can wait until November but why wait? Again,choose dwarf varieties for windy spots. Tulips have a tendancy to droop all too easily.
Seek out a freely drained, relatively sunny position for best effect and a bulb likes to be buried no less than two times its own depth. Planting advice tells us to take out and store tulip bulbs over the summer but I leave mine in the ground and they have been reliably coming back to see us every year since. Bulb can also peep through other foilage like ivy in a windowbox or even on the lawn - again, plant in numbers and in clumps for best effect.
Some favourites:'February Silver', 'February Gold', 'Peeping Tom', 'Jack Snipe', narcissus 'Pipit' too, but don't get hung up on varieties; normally bulbs do what they say on the packet so choose colours that you like and off you go painting a wonderful winter picture.
It's time to plant, NOW! Don't delay.
Bulbs look best in clumps so grab bundles of them in your local garden centre. You don't need to look for anything 'hard', or complicated or exotic. Even the simple daffodil brings joy to the eyes under the weak winter sun. Bulbs are great value and you can even cut the flowers to display in the home. There are few guarantees in the gardening business, but with bulbs you simply plant at the right time, add soil and water and off you go! I hear of people planting bulbs upside down and still being successful!
Choose what you like best. You have plenty of choice in colour.
Creamy white or orange or neon yellow daffodils. Choose dwarf versions for windy terraces so they don't get blown over before they're even showing their flowers.
Hyacinths planted in a pot next to your door give off a delicious heady scent better than any perfume. And the colours are great too - purples, bright pink, elegant white.....
Dainty snowdrops can even poke out of the snow.
And later, tulips in an array of shapes, sizes and colours bring us through to March and April. Choose your palette and don't forget to plant in clumps for effect. I've never liked that 'one flower per foot' attitude to gardening. Tulip planting can wait until November but why wait? Again,choose dwarf varieties for windy spots. Tulips have a tendancy to droop all too easily.
Seek out a freely drained, relatively sunny position for best effect and a bulb likes to be buried no less than two times its own depth. Planting advice tells us to take out and store tulip bulbs over the summer but I leave mine in the ground and they have been reliably coming back to see us every year since. Bulb can also peep through other foilage like ivy in a windowbox or even on the lawn - again, plant in numbers and in clumps for best effect.
Some favourites:'February Silver', 'February Gold', 'Peeping Tom', 'Jack Snipe', narcissus 'Pipit' too, but don't get hung up on varieties; normally bulbs do what they say on the packet so choose colours that you like and off you go painting a wonderful winter picture.
mercredi 6 octobre 2010
Global warming produce
http://www.bbccountryfilemagazine.com/feature/country-matters/british-olive
Acting on an urge to grow his own food, Mark Diacono purchased a 17 acre smallholding in Devon, (Otter Farm) England. Banking on a changing climate and global warming, he decided to plant warmer-weather produce. There's a long article about him on the link above.
In an article in the Observer, he gives his advice on how to grow remarkable fruit and vegetables:-
1. Choosing what to grow: Make a wishlist. Dream. Forget limitations. Let flavour be your guide.
2. Grow what you most like to eat: Follow that wishlist. That's why we grow cherry tomatoes in the main - we love eating them, they are delicious and expensive in the shops.
3. Grow what you can't buy: Supermarket peaches, nectarines and apricots are picked early to keep them firm so their sugars stop developing. They never have the taste of one just picked from the tree at the right moment. Equally, asparagus, sweetcorn, peas and carrots taste sublime from the garden.
4. Grow something unexpected. Mulberries, salsify and quinces don't do well in the supermarket system. He also suggests a subterranean pear (yacon), sweet lemony oca or Egyptian walking onions.
5. Challenge your tastebuds. If you don't like something in the shops, you might find the home grown version delicious.
6. Grow food that's expensive to buy (hence our cherry toms) or asparagus, purple broccoli. You'll save plenty of money.
7. Think seasonally. Don't ignore fruit, greens, salads and nuts from other parts of the year.
8. Quick return. Enjoy quick and easy successes with cut and come again salad leaves for example to give you confidence.
9. Go for diversity. Don't plant too much of one food. Go for a broad range and a mixture of varities. You'll find a big difference between varieties of the same fruit or veg. Some might be easier to repeat next year for example.
10. Aesthetics. Foster your own sense of the beautiful, give your patch importance. Park your chair and have your morning coffee near your crops, feel the pride!
11. Get catalogues. Look through all the catalogues you can find, go to someone who knows what they are doing (a neigbour for example). Remember what you are reading is a menu, just that the service is a bit slower than in a restaurant!
12. Be realistic about your time. Start slow, don't take on too much. There's a lot of difference between four tomato plants and six crops. Take on what you can cope with and add more crops when you get more experienced.
Thank you mark Diacono for those words of wisdom! If you'd like some more of that wisdom in book form, buy 'Veg Patch: River Cottage Handbook No 4' from Amazon.
Acting on an urge to grow his own food, Mark Diacono purchased a 17 acre smallholding in Devon, (Otter Farm) England. Banking on a changing climate and global warming, he decided to plant warmer-weather produce. There's a long article about him on the link above.
In an article in the Observer, he gives his advice on how to grow remarkable fruit and vegetables:-
1. Choosing what to grow: Make a wishlist. Dream. Forget limitations. Let flavour be your guide.
2. Grow what you most like to eat: Follow that wishlist. That's why we grow cherry tomatoes in the main - we love eating them, they are delicious and expensive in the shops.
3. Grow what you can't buy: Supermarket peaches, nectarines and apricots are picked early to keep them firm so their sugars stop developing. They never have the taste of one just picked from the tree at the right moment. Equally, asparagus, sweetcorn, peas and carrots taste sublime from the garden.
4. Grow something unexpected. Mulberries, salsify and quinces don't do well in the supermarket system. He also suggests a subterranean pear (yacon), sweet lemony oca or Egyptian walking onions.
5. Challenge your tastebuds. If you don't like something in the shops, you might find the home grown version delicious.
6. Grow food that's expensive to buy (hence our cherry toms) or asparagus, purple broccoli. You'll save plenty of money.
7. Think seasonally. Don't ignore fruit, greens, salads and nuts from other parts of the year.
8. Quick return. Enjoy quick and easy successes with cut and come again salad leaves for example to give you confidence.
9. Go for diversity. Don't plant too much of one food. Go for a broad range and a mixture of varities. You'll find a big difference between varieties of the same fruit or veg. Some might be easier to repeat next year for example.
10. Aesthetics. Foster your own sense of the beautiful, give your patch importance. Park your chair and have your morning coffee near your crops, feel the pride!
11. Get catalogues. Look through all the catalogues you can find, go to someone who knows what they are doing (a neigbour for example). Remember what you are reading is a menu, just that the service is a bit slower than in a restaurant!
12. Be realistic about your time. Start slow, don't take on too much. There's a lot of difference between four tomato plants and six crops. Take on what you can cope with and add more crops when you get more experienced.
Thank you mark Diacono for those words of wisdom! If you'd like some more of that wisdom in book form, buy 'Veg Patch: River Cottage Handbook No 4' from Amazon.
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