It’s a bright winter’s day, 7°C, a little chilly, but the sunlight brightens the spirit. It has been a mild winter and our first daffodils are in bloom in an apple tree tub at the rear of the garden. Other daffs are close to flowering, and we’ll have quite a few blooms by the weekend. Next week, we can call …

The pond is full to the brim, and surely spills over in the rain. Wheelbarrows are heaped on our twin compost heaps. They will not compost, nor add warmth this time of year, but they give us a little more space, and tell anyone: *No more on the heaps, please. They are full.* It’s chilly with a biting wind. Surprisingly, …

A chilly morning, which often follows a clear night, but the day warms by the time I get to the garden. Leaves are still hanging on in the trees, but they are yellow and crinkly with those on the cherry trees having patches of red. The buds for next year’s foliage are already there in the axil of the leaf, …

It has rained hard since noon, and is still raining when I arrive. We have had so much rain this month that it must be a record breaker for October. The pond is full and so are our barrels. In spite of the rain, the roof is being put on the back stage. When completed, the area will house plants …

A chilly day to begin with, and raining when we came into the garden, to be greeted by Dean, a senior site officer for Hill, the contractor for the next door site. He has, he tells us, good news and bad. The good news is there is often material available on their site. They use lots of wood for instance. …

A very autumn day, overcast, about 15ºC, when I first arrive. We have few visitors until four o’clock, and then we get mothers and toddlers, and some primary schoolboys who play with our Duplo. Five girls come from Forest Gate Community School. They settle down at a table and have a very civilised picnic. We leave them to themselves, as …

It’s a dull autumn day. Almost all the buddleia has been cut back, and the wild flower bed has been cleared completely. I shall miss the latter. It was the most colourful area of the garden in midsummer with pink campion, blue cornflowers, yellow California poppies, bright red poppies and white wild carrot flowers. When most of the flowers had …

Two judges for London in Bloom came to assess our garden on July 5th, a beautiful summer’s day. There was quite a crowd as Bumps & Babies were there, as well as a number of well-wishers. All that week, we’d been sprucing up the garden, finishing with a fresh layer of woodchip. Sophie and Steve spoke to the two judges …

This weekend is the Autumn Equinox when we have 12 hours day and 12 hours night. After the equinox, night wins out until the shortest day in late December. The already longer nights give us chilly mornings, although it is very pleasant when I arrive at 2pm. Waiting for me is a wheelbarrow of grass and other weeds pulled out …

It’s a warm day, hot even when the sun is in the clouds. We are overlooked by two huge cranes on the building site next to us. One was built yesterday and the other this morning. I know this as I went out to get a paper at 7.30 am and there was only one crane on site. There was …