The Overgrown Life

27/05/2026

Sadly I lost my over Winter as did many other but after clearing the hive, I left it in place to try and attract a swarm, we spotted some scout bees checking it out just before the weekend and when I came down this evening to work in the polytunnel, we had new residents! Absolutely delighted to see them, I’d been so missing them in the garden even though I had planned to have a year off.

14/05/2026

In Manchester for a work conference and it’s right next to Vimto park - as every Northerner knows Vimto is the only proper fruit cordial & our house would collapse without it!

05/05/2026

Bindweed! All that just from one tiny little bed! It is my absolute nemesis and entirely my own fault as I managed to bring it in with some horse manure from a local field many years ago, it’s absolutely rampant in parts of the garden and a constant battle to keep under control! If only it was edible!

27/04/2026

Loving the .app that Stephanie from mentioned on her blog. Used it tonight to make a gorgeous salad inspired by a Persiana recipe for Barley Salad with griddled broccoli & za’atar. Whilst I didn’t quite make it from scratch, it was very much the inspiration. I used a pre-cooked bag of mixed grains and roasted a head of calabrese and a tin of chickpeas with the red onion to make it more substantial. We also added some plant-based veggie balls in to bump the protein levels a bit higher.

However, it was the flavours that came through the most. The roasted cherry tomatoes gave a delicious sweet slightly smoky flavour and the za’atar was just delicious.

Definitely adding this to my repertoire!

15/04/2026

So pleased with my bulb lasagnes this year - first time they’ve really worked this well.

12/04/2026

So… it’s time.

After more than 10 years as Druid’s Garden (& Kitchen), I’ve finally made the change.

This space is now The Overgrown Life 🌿

I’ve shared a bit more about why over on YouTube (it felt easier to say it properly there).

If you want the full explanation, the video is linked in my bio.

Thank you for being here especially if you’ve been around for a while

After more than 10 years as Druid’s Garden & Kitchen, I’ve finally decided it’s time for a change.This video is a bit of an explanation of why and hopefully ...

10/04/2026