winter reading

The Edible Garden Magazine

I came across a fantastic gardening magazine yesterday in Barnes and Noble. Published in the UK. I am leafing through it - sipping a pear martini with Christmas music playing.....

I'm getting so many new ideas for next year that I need to jot down a list. The cold frame structures are wonderful - at least 6 or 8 are photographed. I will have to think about possibly bricking the edges of mine. And I am considering a bit of a boxwood edge along my stone path. I bet this would look nice all year round.

The magazine has lots of photos of small espaliered fruit trees, terracotta forcers that look beautiful in the garden, creative paths and garden layouts, chickens and bees, polytunnels, ads for beautiful British garden tools, ahhh......

Their month-by-month of garden chores says December is time to lift celeriac, leeks, sunchokes, and the Christmas lunch potatoes. Next month we should clean the pots and garden tools (I always skip this...). In a cold greenhouse, sow leeks, broad beans, peas, lettuce. Under fleece, sow carrots and spinach. I think the British climate is milder than New England, but I always like to give new things a try. Soon the sun will be hitting my cold frame again and I bet early peas and broad beans would do well.

Midwinter is the perfect time for garden magazines.