2026/18 - Naturalistic gardening

After 4 years of blogging about the same two gardens, there is a tendency to repeat myself. The foundation of the gardens stays the same, obviously, as in both I cannot change it. A balcony stays a balcony, and on an allotment you are bound to rules.

 But still, I do try to renew and rewild.

On the balcony, I have changed around the climbers in two of the planters, from cucumbers and tomatoes to roses and Achillea. I have decided to keep the veg to the allotment.

I've told you the frog pond is a failed project, right? So I have given up refilling it weekly, and now let it get naturally soggy by occasional rainshowers. It means the plants in there will change as well...I will miss my Waterlily, but I hope the Papyrus will stay. I have removed the two gutters I used to direct the waterflow from my water butt to the pond. At least I will not stumble across them anymore... always a good idea not to break my neck.

This is no more...

I'll see how it evolves now, and wish my salamander good luck!

 I promised you a better photo of the orange Broom, and here it is. A lovely colour, I think!

Its white sister has grown into quite a large bush.

One of the strong, healthy plants that provide colour alongside the Broom and Tulips, is the Centaurea. I started with just a single plant, and by now it has spread all through the garden. Bumblebees love it, and so do I. 

Another 'spreader' is the Euphorbia. Again, it started with just one plant, and by now it is slowly marching away from the Artichoke patch (and who can blame it?) towards the dead hedge. My Rosemary is in flower, but my neighbour has a Rosemary bush that makes my pretty one look like a dwarf!

How about this one then! The photo does not do it justice, it is as large as a Toyota Aygo.

The last of my Narcissi to offset the new Tulips I planted in November. The yellow flowers are two cabbages I left in that border last Autumn, to give some nectar to the bees this Spring. There is a mass of Aquilegia in this border as well, that's new too, originating from the plants near the greenhouse door.

Some more Tulips, Apeldoorns Elite.

The Bergenia is doing its best to stick its head above the grass that is trying to take over this border.

This Tulip is called Miranda.

And this one should be Apeldoorns Elite, but frankly I think they put the wrong bulb in the sack, as A&E is orange with yellow edges...

Now, off-topic, look what Puck and I walked into...The entire harbour was filled with these small fish, approx 3" long, and leisurely swimming around in circles. I was amazed. So many fish, it must have been thousands! My fish knowledge does not reach far enough to be able to tell you the name, sorry.

You'd think the seagulls that are always hanging around the harbour would have a party, a rave, but funnily enough there was not a gull in sight.

I'll leave you with a photo of Brielse Meer, just before sunrise. We stumbled across four hares who were chasing eachother, and who were so into eachother that they only spotted Puck right at the last minute. They raced off, but one got so confused it ran in the wrong direction and crashed into Puck. My dog (always on leash because of the nesting waterfowl and the beavers) was so flabbergasted she just stood and stared. Well, she'll have something to dream about today!

Puck and I wish you a good week, wherever you are!

Renée Grashoff 

2026/17 - Blooming balcony garden

 After some chilly weeks, the weather turned mild, so I could cheer up my balcony garden with some less hardy annuals.

Every year there simply has to be Lobelia, as I love both the colour blue and the shape of the flowers, Lamiaceae. But I also got some Petunia and some yellow ....Hm, I will have to look up its name. There was no label. They look like yellow Daisies. Anyway, I buy them in a small plug and they grow into a satisfying pot-full within weeks, flowering their little hearts out until late October. As long as you water them, that is. They are thirsty plants.

There they are, in the large planter, in front of the Schneewitchen Rose that is getting its leaves, and together with the Lobelia in the hanging basket.

The other two (reddish) plants in the left planter are Gaura, another favourite of mine.

My Puck is always happy when the weather turns mild enough for the sliding doors to be open all day. She wanders in and out, slobbering water from the tiny pond, and keeping an eye out for other dogs and cats to bark at. She loves a good bark, but she never barks when indoors, which is a thing to be very thankful for. It makes me laugh, for I can see the dogs three floors down in the street look around them bewildered...where is that bark coming from?

The yellow upright plant on the bench is a Daphne, covered in sweet smelling flowers and very attractive to the early bumblebees. We have had three heavy storms lately, and I got up twice in the middle of the night to make certain it would not be blown to smithereens.

Meanwhile in Hunky Dory the first Calendula are enjoying the sun, when it is out. I have sown a new batch, as last years got all eaten by my mouse. These ones next to my mound have sown themselves out from last Summer's.

I told you I had planted quite a lot of various Tulips, right? These ones I have not had before, their stems are quite short, and the flowers very spikey. Hm. I like the colour, but am not sure if I really like that shape. Their name is Tulipa 'Dolls Minuet'. 

The frog pond to the left is unrecognizable by now, almost completely swamped by vegetation. It has a leak, and basically I have given up. Even the torrential rain we've had has not managed to fill it up, it is like carrying water to the sea! So I will leave it to do what it wants to do naturally. The frogs I hoped for have never come, and the salamander that does live there will hopefully migrate to the ditch. Obviously there is a hollow there, so moisture loving plants will like the occasional wet feet. Sometimes you will have to simply give over to nature.

I'll leave you with a view of the town's ramparts near my house. Old Brielle fortress is surrounded by ramparts in a star shape, this is part of the star's leg. It is a lovely place to take a walk, especially now with the yellow Rapeseed. The waterways are the domain of feisty moorhens, blasé blue herons and huge carp, and are covered with large patches of Waterlilies in summer.

Do take a look at my monthly blog about Brielle at Renée Grashoff Schrijft and have a lovely weekend, wherever you are!

Renée Grashoff 

2026/16 - Murphy's Law in Gardening

 We Dutch don't have an equivalent of Murphy's Law. We do have the saying 'an accident sits in a small corner' (yeah, I know, ponder on that for a while), but having one thing go wrong, and then the rest will go to pot...nope. And yet that is exactly what happened to me this week.

The day started very well. I had planned to go mow my grass paths in Hunky Dory for the first time this year, so had thought to recharge the battery for the trimmer. Preparation is all, right? It would not be the first time that it died on me within a few minutes. Nor the second time, come to that.

So. Freshly charged trimmer, no need to go home again (no electricity on our allotment).

I got as far as my rocking chair, so let's say I had trimmed merrily away for...two minutes? And with a whrrrrrr sound my spool was empty. Now this means a car ride to the next village, to get a full spool plus the strong hands of a guy in the farming equipment shop, as my artrosis fingers will not get the bloody thing undone.

Always looking for the bright side (whilst fuming), will you just look at my Kiwi, which has survived the transplant and the frost?!

The struggling Honeysuckle next to it is sort of alive...but I will have to do something about it. Anyway, I'm hoping the Kiwi will solve the problem for me and cover that fence.

Meanwhile the second thing that could go wrong had already done so. The latest storm (two weeks in a row) had again blown down one of my obelisks, and this time had destroyed the Latyrus it had spared the first time.

In the greenhouse my Rettich had grown well. But so had Monster (read post 15), now totally covering my newly planted Broccoli completely.

I dug up the Broccoli and moved them to a new, better, place. Did I pull out Monster, you ask? I did not. It is about to burst into flower. I know...I'm a pussy.

The bee on the Wallflower was in my balcony garden, totally off topic, but so sweet.

Anyway. I removed the algae from the frog pond, did some other small jobs and then prepared one of my tin beds for the wildflower patch I have decided to grow there.

In the one there are some Tulips, and a mass of just about to come up Monarda.

In the second there is my beloved Desdemona Rose, and there used to be a huge Fennel for three years, but that had blown over by another storm, and passed away.

I had been given a few small bags of wildflower seed, by various people. My experience with these bags is that the result is disappointing. Hunky Dory is definitely 'wild', but mainly because of my tolerance for wild plants that blow in. Wild plants that I sow...hardly ever come up. They are out competed by the real wild ones.

So this time, I decided to give it a go in this bed. If the wildflowers are yet again a disaster, I can always plant something else in it. This soil will not turn into concrete. There are some perennial Nettles and Asters in there, but they can stay.

I promised you my orange Broom. It has been cold this last week, so it has not got very far, but you get the picture. Bear with me, there will be better photos soon. 

The same applies to the Apple blossom. Just about to really show. I pruned very brutally, so I am pleased 3 out of my 4 trees are showing blossoms.

My willow branch planter is falling apart, a total waste of money, but the Raspberry in there is looking good. And that Artichoke, which had been devastated by an autumn storm, is happily doing its best to dominate that corner of the garden again.

Anyway, back to that trimmer and effing Murphy! I got a new spool attached by a nice guy in Oostvoorne, and when I started trimming the grass it broke within the first 5 minutes. This time I swore at it, loudly, and repaired it with duct tape. Sod you, Murphy, you will not beat me!

Here is the proof that duct tape works.

Look me up at my website at Renée Grashoff Schrijft , where my latest blog tells you about the mysterious dicks that appeared all over Brielle on March 31st. Have a good weekend!

Renée Grashoff 

2026/15 - First Harvest!

 Well, sort of...I have been eating my own Endive all Winter...But now it was possible to harvest the first Rhubarb (recipe below), and that is a festive moment every year, as for me it means the start of the months of plenty.

Plenty of veggies, plenty of fruit, absolutely fabulous!

Also plenty of watering, plenty of battles with slugs, and plenty of tiny disappointments, as there are always those as well.

Still, today I was chuffed. The sun was shining, the storm had only blown over one of my obelisks, but it was fine and hurray, my resident mouse had not been able to get at my fresh batch of sown seeds.

I looked at my shiny, fresh Broccoli and Paksoi, and wondered at the huge plant that Really Likes my veg bed.

It works! Ha!

The first seedlings coming up are the Physaelia, which I have sown especially for my bees. The Candula and Wild Carrot are not showing yet.

Do you see that monster? It is a Ganzenbloem, or Glebonis coronaria. And no, I did not invite it to my veg patch, it gate crashed. Me being me (read: unable to banish a perfectly healthy plant that is full of flower buds), it can stay.

The first of my tulips. It is Tulipa 'Pallada'.

The rest are all still in bud. We've had a very chilly couple of weeks. Which is normal for this time of year. The citizens donning their shorts just because the sun is out, are MAD.

You can see by my garden they are. It is very much an early Spring garden. And the air is definitely chilly! I am still in my thick winter coat.

I pruned half of my Buddleias, still have to do the other half, and it is time I trim my grass paths as well.

Nothing says 'allotment' better than stakes waiting for the climbers, right? There are roses against these. The Broad Beans there last year were a disaster, so I will stick to flowery climbers.

Oh, by the way, here is my recipe for Rhubarb compote:

- as much Rhubarb as you like

- wash, then cut into 1cm thick slices

- add some water (some!)

- add some sugar (it's up to you how much...I try to be careful with the stuff)

- add a small handful of dried fruit (to make up for the sugar)

- boil, then simmer until all the Rhubarb is soft

- add cinnamon if you like that

This time I used some raisins, cranberries and apricots. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but in my house it never lasts that long!

Oh...you'll have noticed I am a very nonchalant cook! Meaning I assume you know the basics, and know something about measurements. Mind you, people that eat my food are always extremely happy to do so.

This, for instance, I prepared to share at our April 1st celebration, to commemorate the town's liberation from the Spanish oppressor in 1572.

Many Brielle residents dress in 1572 garb, and re-enact a battle between the Spaniards and the Gueux (Geuzen), ending with the public hanging of the Spanish commander, but mainly it is a great day to eat and drink and be merry with your neighbours. I think it is great!

This golden retriever sat in that window for hours! It watched the parade, but mostly it watched his human having snacks on the pavement below.

Two of my friends and me, eating my wraps. It is tradition to 'chalk' the windows in the night of March 31st, keeping out of reach of the police, as it is forbidden, but that's the fun of it. Traditionally the young would write funny local political statements, but lately it has turned to personal stuff. For example, on this window, which belongs to my friend who was a teacher, it reads 'learn your sums'. But I also saw so many dicks, visibly drawn by the same hand! I swear, there is some young man in our town who is extremely frustrated, poor guy.

This is it for this week. Have a good weekend!

You can access my website by this link Renée Grashoff Schrijft

Renée Grashoff