It’s been a freakishly mild, wet winter – in fact the warmest since records began in 1659! This explains the confused flowers and trees that don’t know if its winter or Spring. We’ve had daffodils flowering together with snowdrops and crocuses as early as February, and even the cherry blossom is in bloom despite the late cold snap.

I’m excited for a new growing season, which will be my second year at St. Ann’s Allotments in Nottingham, UK. So decided to start this blog to keep track of my progress, log observations, share useful tips and the mistakes I’ve learnt from, as a beginner gardener. I’m also a photographer, so expect to see lots of photograph of people I’ve met, the seedlings sprouting, and gallery posts of my plot – 152a where I’ll be growing all kinds of fruits, vegetables, flowers and shrubs.

I feel very lucky to have my allotment at the renowned site at St. Ann’s because it’s thought to be the biggest and oldest in all of Europe. It’s an incredibly beautiful space, with around 500 plots set over 75 acres of land, over a hill that’s right in the city centre – not that you would believe it. The Grade II listed site holds a lot of history and hidden treasures that I look forward to sharing.

How are things on my allotment now? Well it’s not very pretty as I’ve got a lots of odd-jobs to be done and wooden debris to remove. What’s kept me busy is all the digging! Not just turning over the soil, but preparing new areas from ground that was not preciously used. I’m going to have a lot more growing space than I did last year – since it was my first year I was busy clearing all the debris and weeds. But I’m feeling pretty organised and keen to get growing!