Please Yourself While Pleasing the Children This last week I’ve been stepping out into the garden a lot more as the weather has become pleasantly warm. It’s no secret that I work 8-6 every weekday writing so when I do have any time off I’m usually surrounded by my three adorable children (*cough). This of […]
Category Archives: Our Blog
How to Teach Children the Value of Money
I don’t mind admitting that I’ve always been hopeless with money. I was brought up with parents who owed their own businesses. My dad was an antiques dealer (along with selling second hand junk) and my mum was the manager of Yorkshire Bank, yet she often launched businesses on my dad’s behalf. Ice cream shops, […]
How to Teach Toddlers to Garden
I’ve always loved gardening and have encouraged my older two to join in with my passion as much as possible. They grow their own vegetables and know their way around popular plants which is great. When my youngest started to walk I realised I’d need some super power skills to be able to weed, plant […]
Jobs We May Have Missed this Spring
What We’ve Missed with an Extended Winter Usually by February I’m dashing outside ready to take in the limited sunshine. In previous years, occasionally, February has thrown up some unseasonal days where the sun has shone brightly leaving gardeners feeling pretty smug. Unfortunately this didn’t happen this year and just as we thought it was […]
Lavender Animals Add Colour to the Garden!
It’s been a busy month at the North Yorkshire Manor House, as we made the decision to stay. Suddenly as the sun came out we were overwhelmed with the beauty of our home and the extortionate outgoings seemed to be worth living in this Moors retreat. Once we made up our mind it was all […]
Vegetables for Border Beauty
Vegetables for Border Beauty I started planting vegetables in my flower borders when I had a tiny garden and wanted to maximise the space. However I now have a rather large acre with a substantial vegetable patch yet I still choose to integrate vegetables into the flower borders. Nothing beats the thrill of watching a […]
Gardening on a Grand Scale
Gardening on a Grand Scale Week one in the Manor House and already we’re quite frazzled. It seems our favourite telecommunications company have lost the ability to communicate between themselves leaving this flummoxed journalist with no broadband for days. Panic does not cover the first twenty four hours, however after this I decided to use […]
The Secrets of the Silkie Bantam
The Secrets of the Silkie Bantam! A noble bantam the Silkie is a fantastic addition to any brood of chickens. In a variety of colours, the Silkie will strut proudly across any paddock giving a fabulous display of their fashionable feathers. With fluffy feet and tiny beak the Silkie Bantam could be mistaken for being […]
The Big Garden Makeover – Week 1
We’ve moved, from the Manor House to a farm and now we have a Herculean task on our hands but we’re not complaining! The farm is really a smallholding yet it is completely overgrown, which seems a shame as every job is fraught with bramble and nettle danger. Here’s a little look at it before […]