2026/13 - Blisters on my thumbs

 March is the month where my garden wakes up from her winter slumber, and so must I! That means clearing, lots of clearing, and pruning, so much pruning. And this time making a dead hedge using the apple tree branches. In fact, it all came down to my thumb getting blistered, eventhough I always wear gardening gloves.

Don't get fooled by that lovely blue sky...the wind was icy. I started by cleaning up that border at the sides of my greenhouse. In Summer there are Verbena Bonariensis, Fennel and Hollyhocks there; lovely, but by March they are dried out, sad looking stems. So I cut them back. 

In the other border I pruned the 5 Hydrangeas I have there. They always struggle through the hot months, but in Spring they look fresh and green. The Acanthus seedling a friend gifted me still looked alive, so that was hopegiving.

This photo is from before I pruned...you can spot one of the Hydrangeas at the back, right? There were spent Asters there as well, self-seeded from the mess of the untended plot next to mine at that side. In front of my many Narcissi the Lilies and Iris are showing themselves, and I noticed the Foxgloves from last year have produced many babies (no flowers yet this year though).

Isn't this perfection? I actually prefer the smaller or double varieties to the classic trumpet shaped kind.

On the other side of my path, my other neighbour had already dug over his patch. He is old fashioned; gardening is digging, and plants should be in neat regimented rows. Mind you, he is very knowledgeable and a very nice bloke. The only colour in all that dug over earth is this: Speenkruid, or Weaning Herb (??? Honestly, Google? I am sure there's a different name for this in English) Very cheerful.

On my side of the path, the Periwinkle is taking her moment as queen of the purple bed. I have some white ones there as well, but this purple one is dominant, until it gets swamped by the pink Geraniums that are also there.

In Summer this 'hot' bed is dominated by the huge Artichokes, but right now it is a mess of grasses. That varigated Carex behind Buddha was supposed to be one well-behaved clump. Instead it walks all over the place, swamping the other plants. I really need to tackle this. That is gardening for you...you always get surprises.

One thing I did tackle was the start of my dead hedge. I used the metal sticks I found in my shed (I told you my predecessor left me a shed full of gardening...well...stuff), as I believe in using the things I have instead of buying new things. That huge pile of branches I cut off my apple trees toppling off my compost heap is now reduced to a modest hedge.

A hedge which got nibbled in the first day it was there! I suspect hares, I know they visit the allotment. I think that is wonderful. They are very welcome to nibble. I like hares a lot.

Mind you, yesterday I surprised a mouse in my raised veg bed in the greenhouse. It stared at me in shock, and then raced away. Now that I am not so pleased about...I am starting my sowing this week, and my last batch of seeds were eaten by perhaps THIS mouse? It looked glossy and healthy...

I will have to think of a way to protect my seeded pots. (Traps, my neighbour would say. But no...not my choice of mice discouragement). There is an allotment cat...perhaps I should leave my sliding door open?

I still need to take out the dead stems from my purple/pink bed. I will start this afternoon. I already finished the two tin raised beds. This year I'll try some cheerful annuals in the left one, next to the rose, as that huge Fennel in there has given up the ghost after three glorious years.

Okay, this is it for this week.

Do visit my website if you are interested in me blogging about writing-related things at Renée Grashoff Schrijft and have a great weekend wherever you are!

Renée Grashoff 

2026/12 - Misty March Mornings

 Here in the Dutch Delta we are used to moisture: rain, and fog. Especially in March misty mornings are no exception. You know the ones I mean, where you get wet eventhough it does not rain. In fact you sometimes get wetter from mist than from rain...honestly.

My daffodils are in full splendour, mist or no mist. But the rest of nature always goes very quiet. There is no wind, and even the moorhens are less noisy than usual. I took a quick peek to see if they have started their nestbuilding yet, and yes, they were busy dragging reeds and small branches to their favoured spots. The graceful swans, who also use the Veste to build their nests, were ignoring them. They think the feisty moorhens beneath them.

When I took this photo, I noticed some yob had dumped his beer cans in my garden. I mean to remove them next time I visit Hunky Dory. Why do people feel they can do things like that? As an author I am forever and endlessly fascinated by human behaviour, but that doesn't mean I like my garden being treated so carelessly!

 My roses are sprouting fresh leaves, this one is the Schneewitchen, a pure white climber. I like it so much, I have bought one for my balcony as well. 

The Helleborus, being very pretty next to the frog pond. I had promised it some friends, but did not see any in the nursery yet.

The Euphorbia is showing her lime green flowers next to the Artichokes. I had meant to divide this clump, as it is getting rather large, but the soil being cement-like until mid-november,  I did not get round to it. I'll have to see if I can still do it now.

For the last couple of days I have had a nasty cold...not bad enough for me to take to my bed, but going to Hunky Dory in the freezing wind was a bridge too far. So you will have to make do with what is currently showing colour on my balcony.

These grape hyacinths are into their 6th year now. Very hardy little bulbs.

And these huge grape hyacinths keep coming up faithfully as well. They start as rather alien looking things, but they straighten out, and last for ages.

This plant takes everything this winter has thrown at her into her stride! It is great for cut flowers as well, if you don't mind the wonky stems. I mistakenly told you it is Alsem (or absinthe), but it is actually an Anthemis maritima. Whatever the name, it is lovely this early in the year.

In the green pot in the background is my lettuce. I buy this at the supermarket (no lettuce yet in my greenhouse, but working on it!), with a plug of soil attached. I then eat the lettuce and plant the plug, and eh presto, a new lettuce grows. Great value for money!

This morning at 06.15. Well yes, head cold or not, my Puck needs to be walked! I can't tell how glad I am about it getting light in the early mornings!!

Right. Have a great weekend, wherever you are, and do visit my website at Renée Grashoff Schrijft or subscribe to my newsletter by leaving me your e-mail address.

Renée Grashoff
 

2026/11 - Peaceful Pruning

 Suddenly the weather has turned into practically perfect. Lovely! Everyone has started spring cleaning, my neighbourhood echoed with the sound of drills and power saws. All those boys have come out to play with their toys. So I fled to Hunky Dory for some peace and quiet, and for the pruning of my tiny orchard.

I have been brutal! Perhaps a little too brutal...we'll see what happens. The apples are so-so anyway, I cannot ruin much about those trees I inherited from the previous allotmenteer.

But it was great to be able to take off my coat and sweater, and chop for an hour. The birds were chirping away, wonderful.

I put half of the branches on my dwindling woodpile next to the frog pond, and the other half on the compost heap. I know the latter is not ideal, it will take years for those branches to disappear. But I simply have nowhere else to put them. Although...I am contemplating making a dead hedge from them. I do have space underneath my rickety wooden fence. And I know small mammals and birds love those hedges to hide in. Actually, now that I telling you my thoughts, I have decided: a dead hedge is what I will construct!

You know what a dead hedge is, right? No? It is a 'hedge' constructed from cut off branches, by ramming some stakes into the ground (my soil necessitates ramming!). And then you layer the branches in between, so you get a hedge-like structure.

Meanwhile I saw that some of the insects had woken up. A yellow butterfly danced past; they are always the first ones to appear. We  call it citroenvlinder (Gonepteryx rhamni) and for me the sight of it means yes, finally, winter is on its last legs!

But I spotted a few Ladybirds as well, a very welcome sight. I do have to be careful of their larvae though...last summer I turned out to be allergic to their bite/venom. My hand swelled up until it resembled a baseball glove.

Happy, happy. My many daffs make me very happy.

As do these primulas. They are a bit nibbled, but never mind. They brighten up this patch of border until the large swathes of daffs kick in, and the early bees love them.

I planted the tall stemmed variety next to the frog pond, but they have disappeared...You know, if I received a Euro for every plant I put in this garden which has simply disappeared, I would have no money problems anymore!

This Teucrium I took from my balcony to Hunky Dory last October, thinking hey ho, I will see what happens. And wow, not only did it survive those weeks of frost, but it is now starting to flower along with the bulbs! Absolutely fabulous!

 Oh, I do adore a blue sky!  I will have to do something about my greenhouse though...last Summer all my plants scorched in there. So either I will have to paint the windows with chalk, or I will have to put up shading nets. The latter is probably much more expensive.

It being the third day running with temperatures of 16°C yesterday (March 6th), I could not stop myself from clearing the rest of the balcony and putting the railing planters back up. So you can bin the top half of this blog post; sorry.

My wallflower backs me up! "Why wait", it is shouting, "good times are here!"

Just to put me back on my feet, today started misty with 4°C... Oh well.

Every time I look at my cheerful planters, I feel my spirit lift. Puck is happy as well, she knows that the months where she can wander onto the balcony at will are finally here again. Drinking out of the tiny pond, bliss for her, hahaha.

If you'd like to visit my website, here is the link: Renée Grashoff Schrijft

Take care, wherever you are!

Renée Grashoff 

2026/ maart - Zwaartekracht Interview Algemeen Dagblad 12-03-26

Interview Algemeen Dagblad 12 maart 2026

Helaas heb ik geen inscanmogelijkheid voor jullie, maar je moet me maar op mijn woord geloven als ik zeg dat het een heel positief artikel is.

Mijn boeken zijn verkrijgbaar bij Trichisboeken

Of bij je plaatselijke boekhandelaar.

Je kunt mijn verrichtingen volgen via mijn website Renée Grashoff Schrijft en uiteraard kan je me hier ook volgen.

Wil je je aanmelden voor mijn nieuwsbrief, laat dan of op de website, of hier in de comments je e-mailadres achter, dan houd ik je op de hoogte over alles wat mijn boeken betreft.

Fijne dag!

Renée Grashoff 

2026/10 - When Will Spring Arrive Syndrome (and other stuff)

 And here I am: the yearly Whenwillspringarrive-Syndrome has struck again.

At least the Narcissi bloom in Hunky Dory

My balcony garden looks a fright, and I am itching to clear the dead Pelargoniums and other sad debris of winter away, empty the planters and plant some fresh, cheerful flowering beauties in them.

But experience has taught me that it will be silly to do so (put fresh flowers in)  before at least the middle of April.

Firstly there are always spring gales. Secondly all that fresh earth will wash out of the planters. A waste of money.

Thirdly my new plants will take a battering by the cold winds, also a

     waste of money.

Yeah, yeah, the sky is blue...but that is for the first time in a fortnight. My balcony is in deep shade until 15.30...

Still. There is some compensation.

Until I can get them in their proper planter, these Cyclamen are doing their utmost to cheer me up. And I noticed my purple Clematis is showing new buds, yay!

And here you are!

Much better, eh? You can see the muck on the floor...always the case after the winter months.

I know, I know, it looks an utter mess. But I have cleared 3 planters already, carted the dead Pelargoniums to the compost heap in Hunky Dory, and will do the rest tomorrow.

Zwaartekracht 

Totally off-topic (yes folks, it is one of those blogs yet again, sorry), my book has arrived, physically.

Am I proud? I certainly am! Next Saturday, in two days time that is, I will be taking up my chair again in Hoofdstuk Een, the most wonderful bookshop of Voorne. (By the time you'll read this blogpost, that day has passed)

Where last year I was still slightly suffering from Impostors Syndrome, this year I feel totally validated. That is due to so many people telling me that I am 'actually a very good writer'. Mind you, quite a few of those sounded surprised, hahaha, those are the best! And they are even better for buying part 2 of the trilogy.

If you would like to read about that meet-and-greet, do visit my website at Renée Grashoff Schrijft , where I will tell you all the juicy stuff in the latest blog.

Santos

Off-topic as well, I visited the newly moved Fotomuseum Rotterdam, which is now housed in the old Santos warehouse at Rijnhaven. I was taken with the building, especially with those extremely sturdy wooden doors,  so took a few photos to show you.

I love that there is a cat door in that old door (middle photo). They used to store Brasilian coffee in this warehouse (shipped from the port Santos, hence the name) and apparently mice were an issue. I can see a big black and white cat in my mind's eye, prowling the 6 floors.

Right. I'll leave you with a photo of the front of my greenhouse, where the mini Narcisii are blooming amongst the fresh Fennel now. Better gardening times are coming!

Have a lovely week, wherever you are!

Renée Grashoff 

 

2026/9 - Too cold/wet outside? Visit a greenhouse!

 Leiden is one of my favourite cities. Not only does it have in common that it was liberated from the Spaniards in 1574, with my own home town Brielle (we were first though: 1572). But it also has two of my favourite places to visit: the Museum voor Oudheidkunde and the Hortus Botanicus. But fìrst two photos I took today, at 6 a.m. and at 2 p.m.

The view from the ferry landing near my house. I think it is so utterly ugly that it has a beauty of its own.

My Narcisii are blooming, yay! Apart from them, all is still sodden and brown. But we are going in the right direction! Right, Leiden here we go.

This wooden casket is only one of many I saw this week.

The painted detail is simple but exquisite at the same time.

If the mummy of that woman found inside is anything near as gorgeous as this receptible, that woman must have been beautiful.

Now I do know that beautiful is not a correct word to describe mummies...but you know what I mean, right?

I'll give you some impressions of other exhibits, before reverting to plants.

Large, flat feet! But so sweet, this sculpture.

Okay, back to my not so secret pleasure! The winter garden of the Hortus Botanicus was the same as my winter garden, that is to say some bulbs and other very early plants, but mostly bare earth and withered stems.

Still, the anticipation of Spring was palpable!

The Helleborus were looking amazing already!

And this gorse bush ignored the cold drizzle. But we quickly took ourselves into the large hothouses, where there always are lots of blooms to enjoy.

Is there anything more beautiful than what nature produces? No, of course not! We try, and sometimes come near, but never completely.

Leiden is lovely, so put it on your list if you ever visit the Netherlands!

Okay. This is it for this week. I'll leave you with the good news that the 2nd part of my murder trilogy has been published. You can find it in the web shop of Trichisboeken.nl, under the name Zwaartekracht. It is in Dutch, but these days that is no problem, as the friends of my Taalcafé show me each week. They simply point their phone at the Dutch text and it gets translated into Chinese, Farsi, or whatever 😊

Trichisboeken

Renée Grashoff Schrijft

Have a great week, wherever you are!

Renée Grashoff