BRIAN MEE ASSOCIATES LTD

Hello all

It's been some time since we last updated this blog but it was for a good reason. We have pooled all the best of BBC gardening into one new blog! The BBC Gardening Blog launched at the beginning of October 2010.

We hope you'll be as pleased as us to know that our regular bloggers will include Alys Fowler from Gardeners' World, Jim McColl from the Beechgrove Garden, and Bob Flowerdew from Gardeners' Question Time.

The time has come to bid farewell to the Gardeners' World blog. Why not head on over to the new gardening blog? We hope to see you there!

Saima

As a new gardening year arrives along with the most snow we've seen for 30 years, I've begun to realize that the challenges of being Greenacre's new garden manager are more than simply juggling camera crews and compost.

As with all gardens in this weather, Greenacre has been very quiet, in fact there are more fox tracks than human tracks in the snow - though it's nice to be reminded of the life in the garden when all of the plants are hidden by a huge frozen blanket. I am beginning to associate Greenacre with snow as when we started here (11 months ago) it snowed for the first 10 days! Here's hoping it starts to clear soon so we can get back out there working the ground ready for the coming seasons!

There's always work to be done here - even in these conditions: cleaning around the greenhouses; tidying the shed; checking over the condition of all the tools as well as, crucially, knocking the snow from laden branches of trees, hedges and other plants. At Greenacre the Chusan palm looked a lot happier once he had been unloaded of snow! Badly affected plants are usually evergreens such as conifers; especially those grown for their column-like shape such as Irish yew, but most plants appreciate having heavy snow shaken off.

This is, of course, our first full winter at Greenacre and we are still getting to know our new home and neighbours. We have a resident fox who digs his way in under the fence and in the warmer months spends his nights sitting in different plants (particular favourites were the cosmos and the dahlias); there is also a badger sett not far away and of course the rooks, who most nights circle over the garden when the sun begins to set.

Gardeners' World will be back on the 5th March. In the meantime, I'll be busy with the new polytunnel, propagating as many plants as possible from seed to stock the beds and borders here at Greenacre. From fruit and vegetables to perennials and bedding plants hopefully we'll have room for them all!

Decisions, decisions. At the moment I'm in rather a quandary. I'm contemplating digging up half of my now nicely matured garden and turning it over to a few choice edibles.

By choice I mean ones that are right there when you need them, outside the back door that you can pick and as eat fresh as you like. I'm thinking herbs, salads, dwarf beans, carrots, perpetual spinach, tomatoes and then maybe use the fences for some climbing peas and the like. Possibly some fruit in containers such as blueberries and strawberries?

So what's the dilemma you may ask? Well I've spent the last seven years pretty much sticking to my master plan and getting this garden looking good. The problem is that the allotment is great for larger crops, but I can't just nip up there for a handful of herbs and salads on an evening can I?

It's ten bloomin' miles away. To make my 'new initiative' productive and practical, I know I have to lose many of my much loved plants. There's no real space and I can't pussy foot around in between them, sowing seed here and there. The soil's great, the garden is south facing, but can I bring myself to actually do it?

I know gardens never sit still. I have the winter to decide. I have the fear. Watch this space and I'll let you know once I know!

Although the show is off-air for the winter it's business as usual here. I'm still going up to Greenacre every week marking out the new gardens and getting new plants going for next year. My autumn-sown broad beans are looking good and I potted up the spares that weren't planted out into buckets for forcing in the greenhouse which should give us crops by early May.

Truth is though, we don't have enough space in there for everything so I've decided it's time to get a polytunnel. I know that they look like simple structures to put up, at least compared to a greenhouse but believe me they're not. Ned, the location manager at Greenacre didn't believe it, but he does now! There are so many parts - each similar but not interchangeable and really confusing instructions. My only advice is get help, and expect to need it for some time. Anyway, after much dismantling, adjusting, swearing and general fiddling about our tunnel is up.

The big advantage of a tunnel over a greenhouse is that size is cheap to buy. Once the cost of the hoops and doors have been covered, you can go as large as you like for very little more. And let's face it, who has ever had a greenhouse or polytunnel that isn't brim-full in its first season?

There are a few extras worth putting your hand in your pocket for when buying. Thick polythene with good insulation qualities and a four-year guarantee for starters. Ours is 180 microns thick and what's called 'luminescent' so looks opaque from the outside but the light that passes through bounces around making for better growth. Other extras include double doors at both ends - essential to allow air to blow through the tunnel to cool the insides in summer and stop fungal spores settling on plants in winter. Insulation tape to keep the plastic clear of the metal hoops (without it the heat causes the cover to crack) is a must and (a personal preference for me) an anti-drip coating on the plastic so condensation doesn't fall down the back of your neck while potting up plants.

At Greenacre, we're using it for all our cuttings and to house tender pots through winter but I've got big plans for spring, starting off all our summer bedding and annual veg in it. If you're thinking of getting one now, I say go for it. It'll bring spring to your plot six weeks early, guarantee crops of salads right through winter and make growing tender veg like peppers, aubergines and toms a breeze. Just make sure you get an extra pair of hands or two to help you put it up!

I can hardly believe that on my birthday I was harvesting Mexican ground cherries. This wonderful warm autumn brought all sorts of surprise extra harvests.

Chillies got a chance to turn properly red, seed collecting has been heaven and I have had plenty of autumn lettuces, far beyond their usual quality. But I know that the minute my birthday comes, the temperature will drop.

Many lettuces will make it through to December before botrytis or frost gets them as will the hardier stuff such as oriental mustards, Swiss chard, kales and cabbages. However, as they soldier on their flavour will become more intense as the days become colder.

By February many of the oriental mustards, such as Giant Red Mustard, becomes so hot that they blow your head off if you eat them raw. At this point it's best to flash cook them; 60 seconds in boiling water or swirl them round a wok of hot oil, just enough to wilt them. Then off the heat as the chemicals that make them hot quickly become bitter if cooked for too long. Drizzle on some groundnut oil and a little soy, perhaps add a little friendly garlic, some toasted sesame seeds, a handful of noodles and you have lunch!

Anyhow, I shouldn't be thinking about noodles as I have a small mountain of ground cherries to de-husk and do something with. These are cousins to the larger more common and slightly more sour-tasting tomatillos which definitely need to be cooked. Ground cherries are good enough to eat raw, but their delicious pineapple taste is almost better in a pie or crumble. You can tell when a ground cherry is ripe because the inside is a lovely pale golden orange and the husks are papery. If the inside is still green it will be very sour.

I've been experimenting making clafoutis, which is a kind of egg-cooked custard dish where you can use any fruit you like. It's basically eggs, sugar, milk and a little flour. You line the dish with whatever fruit, in my case ground cherries, and pour over the batter and bake in a hot oven for about 20mins. When it puffs up take it out, pour on a little more sugar and place under the grill. You're aiming for a soufflé consistency which is kind of eggy, so if that's not your thing, stick to crumbles.

I have to say I was entirely neglectful of the ground cherries. I planted them out towards the end of May and did little all summer other than bemoan the fact that I had misunderstood what ground cherries were, thinking they were just a synonym of tomatillos. They're not, they are a different species, tomatillos are Physalis ixocarpa and Mexican Ground Cherry is Physalis prunosa. They have furrier leaves and smaller fruit, and I think they probably like slightly warmer weather - not that I didn't get a good harvest, they just seem very small.

My Design Made Easy programme went out on Friday. It was a compilation of my Gardeners' World strand helping Mark and Suzanne redesign and build their already mature garden by breaking it down into manageable pieces and ending up with something that is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts.

That's what I think good design is all about. It was interesting to see all of my visits put together into a single programme. It certainly had a makeover feel to it, but as it was executed over a five month period, it was a realistic and achievable thing to do. And it certainly wasn't all about throwing money into a project for a quick solution.

I think that a gardens success is down to knowing where you're heading and making sure it works for whoever ultimately lives with it and maintains it. Call it planning, call it looking ahead, call it design, call it practicality, call it whatever you want, but without it I know that creating a garden can become frustrating.

I've always been passionate about design and tried to get across that this planning stage is so important in gardening in order to avoid wasted effort and expense, which in turn can lead to a sense of failure. Playing around with ideas on paper is free, but as soon as you start to buy materials and plants it starts to get a little more serious.

I hope that I showed how simple and accessible this process can be whether you're thinking of designing a garden from scratch or simply tweaking one you already have.

November already! I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering where the summer went. I think that late burst of heat fooled me into thinking we'd rewound the clock back to July. But Halloween arrived this weekend and with it, the first autumn storm that stripped the leaves from the trees so there's no denying that autumn is truly here.

In my garden in Devon the dahlias and zinnia are starting to look bedraggled but the nerines, which I planted as bulbs back in March are still holding strong. They're Cadillac-pink when they open, about 18in tall and brilliant planted on top of raised beds or next to a warm wall where the drainage is good.

N. bowdenii is the hardiest but the larger 'Zeal Giant' has been a revelation. It's usually grown in a greenhouse but I thought I'd take a chance with it outdoors, in the gravelly sun-soaked border next to my greenhouse. Since September, it's been in flower with larger, taller trumpets than the species, up to 60cm high. I love the colour - a stronger cerise-pink which really glows even amongst the serious competition of tangerine coloured zinnia and the raspberry cactus dahlia 'Matilda Huston'.

The key to keeping them through the winter is to keep the bulbs on the dry side, so my plan is to cover the died-down clump with a heavy glass cloche to shed the rain and ensure these floral fireworks make a return next autumn.

Hi All

On tonight's action packed finale Toby will be clearing out the summer bedding, transplanting wallflowers and potting up plants for winter.

Earlier this year we visited Dean Peckett at RHS Harlow Carr who had planted a fantastic display of tulips and, despite the rainy day, the wonderful varieties cannot fail to inspire you to get planting your own! Hugh Macalister has a particular passion for the native Rowan or Mountain Ash and, last autumn, we went to see him at Ness Botanics where he showed us the wealth of berry colours available in this wonderful tree.

Alys will be joined by Colin Crosbie from the RHS and they'll both be giving the low down on the latest tree and shrub planting techniques and Joe will be demonstrating the best methods for sharpening your garden tools. We'll also be revealing the winner of this year's BBC Gardener of the Year.

Now even though the main run of Gardeners' World comes to an end tonight we have some exciting shows coming your way over the coming months. Two to watch out for are Women in Gardening, due to air on 27th November and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, due to be aired on 4th December.

Women in Gardening with Carol Klein will be looking back at those special women who defied convention in order to follow their passion for horticulture. Her journey includes interviews with some of our most influential gardening figures of the past 50 years including: Beth Chatto, garden writer and designer, Marina Christopher, pioneering nursery woman, Mary Spiller, the first female presenter on Gardeners' World and Inga Grimsby, who was the first woman to be appointed head of the Royal Horticultural Society between 2006 and 2009.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen tells the story of seven disparate gentlemen, brought together for the first time in 1804 above a bookshop in Piccadilly to form a society dedicated to the one and only thing they all agreed on - a love of horticulture. They were all extreme personalities; a domineering aristocrat, a womanising MP and an accused fraudster to name but a few. As individuals they were far more likely to fall out than collaborate but their love of gardening was so strong that together, against all the odds, they formed a society which was to become the most celebrated in the gardening world - The Royal Horticultural Society.

That's all from me for this run, enjoy your winter gardening.

Hi All

On tonight's show Toby will be continuing the winter garden preparations at Greenacre and making an underground subterranean vegetable store. He will also be forward planning and creating an ad hoc winter screen for the apricot he planted last week - this is to protect the flowers from frost when it starts to flower in February/March next year.

Joe will be providing tips on how to protect tender tropical plants over the winter and we'll be visiting Carol at Glebe Cottage where she'll be showing off the autumnal glow from the foliage of trees and shrubs.
Tonight we'll also be showing a clip of the late pumpkin growing enthusiast, Ralph Upton. Ralph had been growing pumpkins for 45 years and had perfected his gourd and squash growing skills into an art form. He was once nick-named The Pumpkin King - a title that I'm sure you'll agree he truly deserved.
We'll be visiting a couple who have transformed their Devonshire plot into a grass and restio plantation and we'll be heading to Audley End in Essex for some more traditional tips on fruit and veg storage over the winter.
If you'd like a full list of all the techniques and plants featured on tonight's show, please visit our episode guide and if you're looking to start the winter prep in your garden this weekend, here are several tasks that will help you get ahead of yourself for the fast approaching winter months:

• Clean greenhouse glass to make sure as much light gets in as possible for all overwintering plants.
• Shorten long growth on any shrubs which might be blasted by autumn/winter gales (shrub roses are the usual victims).
• Give the lawn a final cut, not too short, then clean and drain the lawnmower before putting it away.
• Buy all the materials that you are likely to need for winter protection tasks (fleece, wire, vine eyes, pegs etc.) and keep them on standby.
• Move doubtfully hardy plants, in pots, near to a frost-free greenhouse, porch or light windowsill so that they can be brought in as soon as frost is forecast.
• Check that all greenhouse supplementary heating is in working order before you have to use it. Invest in a max/min thermometer if you don't have one already.

That's all for now, enjoy your gardening weekend.

My garden is too small for pumpkins, or put another way, they've fallen off the most desirable vegetables to eat list. I went for everything but reasoning that the best spot for pumpkins would be the loss of globe artichokes, cucumbers, Mexican ground cherries, parsnips, kales, sprouting broccolis . . . I think you begin to get the picture.

I do love pumpkins and winter squash and now that I am A PROUD OWNER of an allotment they will dutifully be back on the menu (mainly Crown Prince and Uchi Kuri squash), but this year I hankered after greens more. Still I married an American and last year I ambitiously took on Thanksgiving for far too many people (and the list seems to have grown). This means I must find a pumpkin and a good tasty one at that. The latter is really important as I used a very large pumpkin last year and it was so watery that it took two days to strain to the required consistency for pie (I use the recipe from Sophie Grigson 'Eat your Greens').
I might take a controversial route this year and not make pumpkin pie. Partly because although it's good, I don't think it has anything on a good tarte tatin or for that matter a great chocolate tart.
No, pumpkin pie is fun and a good excuse for too much whipped cream but the recipe that has stolen my heart this month can be found here. It stole my heart for two reasons: the writing and the wonderful varied recipes... I love this blog and have to admit that I have spent too many hours lost in this tale. I've brought you in near to the beginning of this story with a suitably (if loosely) garden related entry to wet your appetite. If you are easily won over by fantastic photography, butter dripping recipes and a great yarn of love story block out - it is truly all consuming.
As for the actual recipe, well it is perfect with a good strong coffee, better still I've found on the allotment between bouts of digging out couch grass (I made it with winter squash first time round). I would dispute that this is a recipe for bread; it's a cake (a cake that is equally as good with some chocolate chips thrown in).
It's very easy to make (hence why it's going into this years thanksgiving menu). If it gets a little stale, cook it like toast and slather butter on it. You can also substitute the hazelnuts for walnuts particularly if you're lucky enough to have fresh ones that the squirrels haven't stolen.
Oh for those that came here looking for gardening...
Most pumpkins and squashes will need to be brought in farily soon, you don't want them to become frosted. You want to leave them on for as long as possible so that the skins can harden naturally. You can tell when the skin is ready as you won't be able to leave an impression with your thumb nail. Cut the fruit with a piece of stem attached either side to the stalk. You do this because it is very easy to damage the stalk and rot set in quickly. Many winter squash and some pumpkins do better for a period of curing. You need to bring them into a warm (20-25 °C) room for two weeks to concentrate the sugars and then store them somewhere cool (7-10 °C), dry and airy. The smaller witner squash such as Uchi Kuri or Hunter will store for three months or more.