In the northern hemisphere Spring is coming.  The snowdrops and crocuses have in many places already burst out into flower.  Maybe this has set your mind working, and you’re wondering what to do with that spare plot of earth at the back of your house.  Well how about a vegetable garden?

Vegetable gardening for flavour

I’m not sure whether it really is true, in any scientifically provable way, that my home-grown veggies from the kitchen garden taste better than what my wife buys in the local store, but I know it feels that way.  There’s certainly something special about eating what you’ve grown yourself.  What’s more, you know it’s fresh; you picked it yourself just an hour or so ago.  And if you have children in the household they will know that food does not come from a plastic bag but from God’s good earth.

How was it grown?

Personally I’m not opposed to chemicals.  Why?  Because everything we eat is chemical.  Even the cleanest air we breath is chemical.  The freshest, most unpolluted water we drink is chemical.  The materials of our bodies are chemical. The green leaves of a plant are chemical.  It’s not that chemicals are bad in themselves, otherwise everything around us would be bad, but it’s a question of what kinds of chemicals.  Plants need food, and they often need protection from pests and diseases. When you grow your food yourself you know exactly what has been used to fertilise the soil, what has been used to guard the growing crops from insect damage and plant disease.  The uncertainties are removed.  You know what you’re giving your family to eat.

Good food and good exercise

For many of us our modern lifestyle does not make it easy to keep our bodies in good condition.  Obesity and slack muscles are all too common these days.  Half an hour a day looking after a kitchen garden can make a major difference to a person’s physical fitness.  The variety of movement involved exercises many different muscular groups including legs, arms, back and more.  It won’t be long before you start to feel the difference.

So why not?

Whether you’re looking for more flavourful food, trying to save the planet or aspiring after a better-toned body, a vegetable garden could do you good. Spring is coming. It’s time to be clearing the earth and sowing the seed. You’ll not regret it.

Tags: Kitchen Garden, Spring, vegetable garden

When I wrote my blog piece earlier today I did not expect to be writing again tonight.

However, things have moved faster than I expected, and our new page on US gardening magazines has just been uploaded to our bookselling site. This means that both British and North American visitors can now subscribe at very attractive rates to some of the leading gardening periodicals in their parts of the world.

Don’t miss visiting our BrunleaBooks site for:

• UK Gardening Magazines

• USA Gardening Magazines

Subscribe now, and get reading in preparation for the coming gardening season.

- David -

Hello again,

Since last writing here there have been a number of additions to our rapidly increasing mix of gardening resources on the web, and I thought this morning that it was time I listed them here.

On the main Gardening-Notes site there are three new gardening articles:

Fuchsias in Great Variety - a response from a fuchsia enthusiast (myself) to people who claim that fuchsias are boring because they’re “all the same”

Garden Paths - a concise look at the benefits from having good paths around your garden

Safety in the Garden - an important topic, especially as most accidents to individuals happen in home and garden; without becoming paranoid and chasing after an illusory risk-free environment it makes good sense to minimise the dangers which inevitably lurk in our gardens.

Returning to the subject of fuchsias, further varieties and photographs are gradually being added to our new specialist site on fuchsias: the-fuchsia-file. As I think I said in a previous posting on this blog, I did wonder whether to hold this site back until it was in a more finished form, but decided rather to let it grow and develop while on public display. Take a look at what we have so far. By the way, I am still very enthusiastic about the Thompson & Morgan DVD on fuchsias which was given to me by a friend as a Christmas present.

Finally, I’ve revised the UK Garden Magazines page on our BrunleaBooks site, and the US magazines page is almost ready for launch.

That’s all for today,

- David -

I don’t have an actual gardening entry today. I’ve been working on a project at the screen rather than outside. Most of it has had nothing at all to do with gardens (life does include other things!) but there is one update to report.

Last night I updated our page from which you can buy garden magazine subscriptions. At present it covers UK magazines only, although many of them can be delivered internationally. We have, however, started on a parallel page of garden mags in the USA and it should go live shortly.

Don’t forget that a magazine subscription is an excellent gift. It doesn’t only express your friendship and affection once; it continues to repeat its message month after month, or in some cases week after week. Think now to whom you might like to send a year-long gift, and head over to the magazines page on our bookselling site. There are some very attractive discounts available.

Best wishes,

- David -