Cheltenham & District Allotment Holders Association
Encouraged by the boisterous mix of weather across August, we stumble ragged in to September. The beans took a hammering battered and bruised by sun, wind and rain they somehow still managed to produce a crop, early spuds sulked, but do look as they are bulking up a bit and all sorts of pests cameRead More
Well, that was a little testing, was it not? Days and days of blistering heat and hardly a cloud in the sky, quite extraordinary, nature does know how to play with the mind. Of course it’s been wonderful if you had nothing to do and didn’t have a garden to watch over. The transition fromRead More
Here we are again, turning the corner and heading back in the direction of winter. It’s crazy, the days really have raced. The gardens took forever to come alive and then a few sunny days kicked everything to life and in recent weeks conditions and plant growth have been tropical. Many a machete has beenRead More
So the weather continued to confound in the early days of May and weeks that were forecast as settled delivered surprises, with several frosts landing from nowhere. The shops and centres had been full of plants for weeks, but the public confidence waived. Then suddenly in the middle of the month there was an urgencyRead More
And the craziness continues… What a frustrating season, with gardens and gardeners all out of step. In mid-April the consensus was that we were three weeks behind with our planting and before much could be planted there was still the preparatory stuff. Every hole filled with water, so many of us have only just putRead More
Hooray, the clocks have changed and we can garden in the evening (if it stops raining). It’s actually good to see the back of March, what a month that was. The snow was totally disarming and the cold nights have been a test. Of course the thaw and the heavy rain has made the groundRead More
The spring draws ever closer and hopefully we leave behind the bleakness of recent weeks. It has been a curious winter, with some very precious sunlit days, but the treacherous scything wind has never been faraway and the cold has bullied joint and muscle. How I ached some days. Still we are on the turn,Read More
Hooray, I can see the light. With January behind us, the spirit starts to rise, the extended days just 8 weeks away. The winter has been, well, wintry with a treacherous mix of conditions, changing by the hour. Every second person nursed a cough or a sore throat and whilst there were outdoor jobs thatRead More
Happy New Year! Yep, it’s the start of another one. December was a bit of a mischief wasn’t it? A few thumping cold nights and the first end of year snow for a while. Our big Christmas seller was fleece. It was at close, an interesting year. I always think January is an exciting month,Read More
The darkness crushed down on us and the month moved on. There were wet and gloomy days and a clear sense of winter moving in. Murky damp days and then bitterly cold moments, with one or two cracking frosts. The lawn continued to grow, but no window opened to run the mower out one lastRead More