Left alone to do its thing, nature creates the most extraordinarily biodiverse ecosystems. One of the world’s most respected biologists, E O Wilson, said that we needed to set aside half the world for nature so that it could support and regenerate enough biodiversity to support all life on earth.     Check out just what nature is capable …

  Last night we had the most delicious buckwheat pasta with parsley pesto and caramelized pumpkin. While we usually associate pesto with basil and summer, pesto’s lusciousness can be created with many different greens and nuts. You can make pesto with parsley, oregano, mint or many other edible greens … why not experiment with combining a few. I don’t, however, …

  It’s late Autumn in Blackheath and this morning I enjoyed figs and raspberries from the garden for breakfast. I’m currently picking both red and apricot raspberries. What’s great about the apricot ones is that so far I still haven’t had to net them … unlike the red ones!     I’m growing two varieties of figs – Brown Turkey …

May Blackheath Local News. You can download this month’s Local News here: Blackheath Local News May 2020    

During Lockdown the gift of time has been inspiring many to try their hand at art. They’re finding that colouring books are an excellent entry point for doing that because ‘colouring in’ offers an opportunity to play with colour and pattern and work ‘with’ the book artist to complete an artwork flavoured with their own unique creative input. We all …

Deidre Ikin wearing a home-made mask while out shopping How quickly (and understandably) people’s positions are changing in this volatile world we currently find ourselves in! It’s only been a matter of weeks since the WHO and many global leaders said there was no need for anyone, other than health workers, to wear masks during this pandemic. We now know …

Almond Biscotti from Margaret at Glenella Guesthouse   This morning a container of what’s turned out to be the most delicious almond biscotti I’ve ever tasted appeared on my doorstep – a trade for a bag of jerusalem artichokes and a raspberry plant. Thank you so much Margaret from Glenella Guesthouse.   Freshly harvested Jerusalem Artichokes   Suddenly jerusalem artichokes …

  There’s nothing like a warming cuppa when the wind howls and snow threatens. Even better is filling the house with the fragrance of a summer garden. With frost forecast for Monday, I braved the elements in my backyard and harvested large bunches of lemon verbena, lemon balm, mint, sage, and my remaining fennel seeds to ensure I had enough …

Our main Lockdown Project at home has been to build a Greenhouse to tide us (and Blackheath Community Farm) over winter. We are totally in love with it!   Our new greenhouse   In an ideal world we would have used recycled materials but, given how difficult it was to access them in Lockdown, we decided that supporting our local …

This autumn has been such a great season for foraging in Blackheath. We harvested our first saffron milk cap and slippery jack mushrooms on February 26 and have still been finding more this week … that’s over 2 months.     At Blackheath Community Farm, perhaps because we’ve put down so much woodchip for our paths, we’ve had a wider …