I think I am potentially overly attached to my plants. I absolutely adore them, I honestly think they are one of the best things out there. There’s the obvious fact that without them we simply couldn’t survive – no plants = no oxygen etc. However, there are just so many other great things about them, and they are so versatile in all their uses! I have an appreciation for pretty much all plants, but I definitely favour growing fruits and vegetables as there’s so much happiness to be had in starting with a seed and ending up with a beautiful crop of something edible. Plus, home-grown produce is just absolutely delicious. 

I grew up in the countryside and attended a school (Steiner) where gardening/farming was part of the curriculum so moving up to University in London was a big shift. Growing up I was fortunate enough to be immersed in an environment where growing your own food was normal and there was an abundance of beautiful flowers, both wild and purposefully grown. Whereas in London, unless you are lucky enough to have an allotment, it’s pretty difficult to grow your own produce. I also hate how much plastic is used by supermarkets for packaging food, but, that’s a topic for another day… However, despite this lack of personal gardening space there are so many truly amazing gardens/parks in London and as I visit them I learn so much about new plants and horticulture. So in fact I actually feel grateful that I can experience two different ways of gardening and appreciating plants, rather than feeling bereft!

Currently I live in the top floor of a house which restricts my options slightly. However, my solution to this was just to turn my room into a bit of a jungle! I started my little room garden after rescuing two VERY sad looking supermarket herb pots selling off, which are now separated out and live on very happily on my windowsill. Tip -supermarket pots of herbs will generally die soon after purchasing due to the volume of plants crammed into the pot. If you want to keep your new herbs alive just get a few more pots, some compost and separate the stems to repot them. They’re fairly robust little things so don’t worry if the separating process feels aggressive!

After my herbs started to thrive, well, my planting escalated…. I was gifted a beautiful Tumbling Tomato plant so he (I have called him Terry) joined the rescued herb (parsley and basil, but unnamed) on the windowsill. Then came the mass planting! I ordered MANY seeds from a family favourite site (Tamar Organics) and proceeded to turn my room into a germination room for two types of squash, radishes, aubergine, two colours of courgette, beetroot, strawberries, basil and khol rabi. Not too excessive, right…? I was pretty excited about the beetroot as it’s was a variety named ‘Chioggia’ which has beautifully vibrant colouring through its white and red rings when cut open. Luckily, ‘Chioggia’ is doing well currently so hoping to get some beets from it soon! I then added to the collection after going on training camp to Varese and picking up some tomato seeds called ‘Golden Boy’ (too delightful) and some Physalis Peruviana (or ‘Cape Gooseberry’, the strange, fancy little orange berry encased in a cute little lantern normally served with desert). I also picked up a persimmon tree and managed to bring it (Percy) back in the truck, but sadly I had to take him home to my parents as I just couldn’t see him being happy in my flat – he’s super happy now though!

The germination process was THE BEST. Every morning I would wake up and check out what new things would be poking through, I think my favourites were the courgette and squash as they could do some SERIOUS amounts of growth over the day/night. I freely admit I got way, way too caught up in this process… A reality/sanity check happened when I was leaning out my window merrily chatting to my plants and realised my neighbour was directly below… looking up at me… Pretty sure they think I’m nuts now. Hey ho, can’t blame them. I found old egg boxes were great for starting the germination process, as were old coffee tins. The only issue with the egg boxes was as they were small they couldn’t hold much water, so I had to really keep an eye on them. I have started to run out of things to hold seeds, which probably isn’t a bad thing especially as over the summer I’ll be away a lot so I’ll have to move my plant collection to a friend’s house. My little seeds are now in their teenage stage and I’m hoping they stay content and happy, with no issues. Although having said this, Terry however is being slightly difficult and has started to play the ‘I don’t like my leaves’ game, so I’m trying to nip that in the bud (ha ha). 

I visited the Chelsea Physic Garden last week, and would strongly recommend it, it is BEAUTIFUL! I also wasn’t fully aware of how instrumental plants have been in most medicines, again, reiterating my earlier point that plants are just the best. Plus, the glasshouses there truly are architectural gems which I believe have been there since 1902. Out of the many different houses I think the best was the ‘Tropical Corridor’ which ran along the back of the other glasshouses. Not only did it grow edible plants like coffee and black pepper but also was home to a malaria cure, grown there for over 300 years. Aside from the uses of species, the exotic plants which were able to grow here really were quite stunning, making you feel almost transported to another country. Once I decided to head home, I spotted some seeds and I’m now the proud mum of four lovely little pea shoots which have just burst through their soil. 

I’m moving flats soon and have decided a garden is a MUST, especially as I have also just acquired an orange tree…! I can’t wait to see how all my little plants turn out, fingers crossed for some epic turnouts. Looking towards the future I would love to be predominantly self-sufficient in produce as I think it is a) super rewarding and b) a small thing that actually does a fair bit in supporting a more responsible lifestyle and c) I find it incredibly therapeutic and fun – but for now, I’m happy with my room allotment!