Have you ever mentioned something you thought was run of the mill to someone only to see a light come on in their eyes because it was completely new to them? Or is it just me?

I love that feeling, both being the mentionee and mentioner, both having a lightbulb moment, and watching one, knowing it was me who flipped the switch.

A year before I retired from General Practice, and with a 30 year obsession with plants and gardening I did a foundation course in permaculture and was captivated. I'd done various horticulture and garden design courses, through the years and and read books on everything green and growing, but nothing prepared me for how right this felt.

I got my permaculture design certificate from Brighton Permaculture Trust the month I retired. Fast forward almost 2 years of post-retirement recovery, and I want to write about how I garden. I think what I do is often a bit unconventional, but it usually works, but until I share, how will I know if there could be lightbulbs?

This site is a home to my first blog, where I aim to describe the successes and failures of my experimental and unashamedly unconventional approach to gardening, and what I learn as I go along.

Everything from my shed obsession, to rampaging grapevines and hugelkultur beds in the greenhouse, to sourcing and growing Appalachian heritage beans, tomatoes and squash, to composting (almost) everything, and preserving or fermenting the rest, to wilding my lawn then changing my mind.

There will be quite a lot about permaculture, sustainability and resilient gardening, some reflection on life as I see it (not too much and not too pretentious, I hope) and of course, how to look after the stars of the show- the Henitentiary inmates.

Everything I'll write about will be my own experience. Anyone I mention will be because they impress me and I want to, and not because they paid me to, and all the pictures are mine.

I believe gardening should be fun, creative, empowering, and above all, not taken too seriously. I also believe the previous sentence contains way too many commas, but at 58 I think I should be warmly congratulated just for attempting to create my own website so I have no intention of sweating the little stuff.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading the blog as much as I do writing it. If not, thanks for giving it a go and better luck with your next reading choice.