Humans have flavoured food with herbs and spices for thousands of years.
The word herb is generally used to denote the leaves of plants, while spices are made from roots, bark, fruit, stems, seeds or berries. But both terms can be used interchangeably.
Some herbs and spices are native to Britain, but many are more exotic and were brought here during the spice trade between Europe, Asia and Africa.
A huge number of herbs and spices are now in everyday use in our cooking. But how well do you know them?
One of the great things about the garden is that it’s miles away from the technology that distracts us inside the home.
It’s a great place for the family to reconnect with each other and with nature. Plus, there is nothing worse than a house full of kids complaining that they are bored.
So I’ve come up with some easy garden projects to do with the kids this summer.
Get the kids to fill up the troughs with the compost. Use general-purpose compost for containers. Make a hole in the centre of the compost with your hands for the first plant.
Start with the centrepiece plant for structure. Pull the plastic pot off and put the plant in the hole. Try and plant the root ball to the right depth, so the top of it sits at the surface of the compost. Backfill with compost to cover the root ball.
Add smaller bedding plants around the outside for colour. You can buy these on trays for a range of colours to plant up a rainbow, or keep everything in one or two colours for a themed container.
Put the plants into the soil in the same way: make a small hole, bury the root ball and fill in any gaps with compost.
Press the compost down gently to hold everything in. My top tip is to try and leave an inch gap between the compost and the top of the container. If it’s too full, compost will spill out everywhere when you try and water it!
Move the containers into position before you water them. Deadhead the flowers of bedding plants to keep them producing more blooms.
The kids can watch their containers grow and continue to flower. And in autumn, you can replace the plants with evergreens and winter-flowering varieties.
Tip! You can also choose plants with fun scents like herbs, or plant soft fruit like strawberries among the flowers.
How to make fat balls for the birds
You will need:
Lard
Muesli
Dried Fruit
Mixed seeds
String
This is a great project to make your own rich, tasty food for garden birds. Plus it’s a fun, messy job. Many fat ball or suet cake recipes need you to heat everything but this no-cook version is perfect to do with kids.
Give each child a bowl and put a blob of lard into it. Add muesli, dried fruit, mixed seeds or mixed bird feed. You should aim for one part lard to two parts feed.
Then get the kids to use their hands to mush everything together. Try to push the feed right through the lard until the two are really well mixed.
Shape the mixture into a ball. Push your thumbs into the top of the ball and gently break it in half. Add a loop of string in the middle and squish the ball back together. It should make a ‘bauble’ for the birds!
Hang the fat balls up on a tree or shrub for the birds. And make sure to provide a shallow dish of fresh water too for the birds to drink.
Tip! Put up bird boxes and nesting pouches to get birds to move into your garden.
I was very lucky as a child. My parents loved gardening and encouraged me and my siblings by giving us our own patches to look after.
And they taught us practical skills, like how to mow the lawn, dig a border, clear weeds and plant up pots. Not forgetting how to use a drill and hammer and nails.
These skills have stood me in good stead and I hope I’ll pass them onto my children.
I think it’s important that people don’t shy away from looking after their garden, and while you may not want to start growing, doing some basic tasks will make your garden a nice place to enjoy.
Here’s some tips to get you up to speed with common garden jobs.
1 Boost the lawn
Getting a lush green lawn is not as difficult as people think. Feeding a lawn is the key to strong green grass. Feed in spring and summer to boost the leafy growth and in autumn for strong root growth.
Lawns can go brown when they don’t get enough water, but you can keep them looking fresh without turning on the sprinkler. Simply, don’t cut the lawn too short. If long periods of dry weather are forecast, raise the blades on your lawnmower to about 2 inches high.
2 Dig over the soil
The secret to a successful garden is to look after your soil. Dig it over with a fork or spade before you plant anything new to help its structure. Turn over the soil to a spade’s depth and add some compost for extra goodness.
3 Water well
Properly hydrated plants will give you a rich and colourful display, so watering the garden properly is vital.
Make sure all the plants are fully hydrated. A good trick is to aim the shower spray at the base of the plant and count to 20 – deep watering is better than little and often.
4 Grow evergreens
Keep your garden low-maintenance with evergreens. These are plants that keep their leaves through the winter, making sure the garden doesn’t look bare.
Try euonymus, escallonia, photinia and pyracantha. I also love conifers, which come in a huge range of colours from blues and greens to gold.
5 Clean garden furniture
Keep your patio furniture in good condition by cleaning it in spring. It’s simple. Put a bit of washing-up liquid in a bowl with some warm water and wipe down the furniture to get rid of dirt build-up.
6 Pull weeds young
two labour worn man hands weeding the weeds outdoor close shot
Pull out any weeds by hand, making sure to keep the roots as intact as possible. You can use a trowel to help lift the weeds out or water the soil before weeding to make it easier to pull them out. Throw them away or burn them – don’t put weeds on the compost heap.
If you’re planting a new border, give plants a boost with a general-purpose fertiliser. It contains extra nutrients to encourage plants to get established. Fork some Growmore fertiliser granules into the soil before planting.
8 Pots and containers
Get bright, colourful pots and containers with seasonal bedding, such as geraniums and petunias. They are inexpensive plants that flower for months on end. Fill a pot with compost and plant them. Remember to water regularly, especially in warm weather.
9 Pruning
Pruning plants can’t be easier. We prune plants to keep them in shape and to encourage strong new growth. The simple rule is to cut out the three Ds: dead, damaged and diseased branches. Also, remove any branches that cross over each other, and aim for a symmetrical, balanced shape.
10 Clean the patio
Clean the patio before you start using it regularly in summer. Simply brush in a patio cleaner and disinfectant and spray it off with a strong jet of water to lift any dirt and algae. Then brush some kiln-dried sand over the top to fill any cracks and stop weeds from taking over.
You can master practical gardening tasks for yourself, and it gives you such a good feeling of accomplishment!
Press the compost down gently to hold everything in. My top tip is to try and leave an inch gap between the compost and the top of the container. If it’s too full, compost will spill out everywhere when you try and water it!
