This year, I’ve decided to switch things up a little with my pea growing. Instead of the usual varieties, I’m focusing on mangetout, along with another favourite returning for a second year — the purple magnolia sugar snap peas, grown again from my own saved seed. There’s something especially satisfying about sowing seeds you’ve saved yourself. It feels like the allotment coming full circle, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this year’s plants perform. To give everything

In March 2011, a small, nervous dog came into our lives and quietly became one of the most important members of our family. Her name is Tally. When we first met her, she was around two years old and a rescue dog who clearly hadn’t had the easiest start in life. She was timid, unsure of people, and easily frightened. You could see it in the way she moved cautiously, always watching and waiting before deciding whether things were safe. We didn’t know much about her past, but it

There’s a fresh mound of chocolate-brown earth right in the middle of my allotment, as neat and round as a cottage loaf. Another one appeared overnight, and then a third by the freshly planted Swiss chard seeds. It seems I have acquired a new tenant — a mole — and while I admire its industry, I can’t pretend I’m thrilled about the redecorating. Now, I’ve nothing against the little fellow. In fact, I rather like the idea of him tunnelling away beneath the soil like a tiny, vel

There is a particular kind of magic reserved for Easter Sunday. It isn’t the chocolate eggs (though they certainly help), nor the hopeful arrival of spring sunshine through freshly cleaned windows. No, the real magic is the slow, joyful gathering of family under one roof — the sound of the front door opening again and again, coats piling up, hugs overlapping, and the kettle never quite making it back to the cupboard. Easter in our home has become the day when the whole family