New lessons on the old plot

It’s never too late to try something new, whether it is ‘super plugs’ or wire tunnels…

It seems you are never too old to try new gardening thinking. For the first time I have veered from seed, succumbed to an email ad and bought Organic Gardening Catalogue ‘super plugs’. Specifically: 10 Winter Density lettuce, 20 Bright Lights rainbow chard and 20 Nero di Toscana kale.

All organically grown, of course, and all replanted now on the plot in space opened by fallen sunflowers – felled at last by the first heavy rain and winds – and by lifting the last of the beetroots.

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New lessons on the old plot

It’s never too late to try something new, whether it is ‘super plugs’ or wire tunnels…

It seems you are never too old to try new gardening thinking. For the first time I have veered from seed, succumbed to an email ad and bought Organic Gardening Catalogue ‘super plugs’. Specifically: 10 Winter Density lettuce, 20 Bright Lights rainbow chard and 20 Nero di Toscana kale.

All organically grown, of course, and all replanted now on the plot in space opened by fallen sunflowers – felled at last by the first heavy rain and winds – and by lifting the last of the beetroots.

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Our forever home on the Kent coast

Remodelling an old house by the sea gave this family the chance to shape their future – and meet the community

Marine Parade is a dead-straight road that faces the cliff-top lawns of Tankerton Slopes just outside Whitstable on the north coast of Kent. The grassy slopes, popular with cyclists, dog walkers and joggers, lead down to a row of wooden beach huts and a quiet, shingle beach divided by wooden groynes. At low tide, a natural causeway known as the Street appears, making it possible to walk along the shingle spit with the estuary’s waters on either side. Six miles out to sea, the turbines of the Kentish Flats wind farm are just about visible. This is the view from Mel Payne’s first floor.

“We were looking for something that was a bit life-changing,” she explains. “We’d lived on an island for quite a long time. Autism and twins will do that to a family, I think. You can be accidentally isolated, and this house takes us off that island.” Mel lives with her husband, Steve, a project manager for the NHS, their 11-year-old son Gus, who is autistic, and their seven-year-old twins, Tess and Elsa.

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Our forever home on the Kent coast

Remodelling an old house by the sea gave this family the chance to shape their future – and meet the community

Marine Parade is a dead-straight road that faces the cliff-top lawns of Tankerton Slopes just outside Whitstable on the north coast of Kent. The grassy slopes, popular with cyclists, dog walkers and joggers, lead down to a row of wooden beach huts and a quiet, shingle beach divided by wooden groynes. At low tide, a natural causeway known as the Street appears, making it possible to walk along the shingle spit with the estuary’s waters on either side. Six miles out to sea, the turbines of the Kentish Flats wind farm are just about visible. This is the view from Mel Payne’s first floor.

“We were looking for something that was a bit life-changing,” she explains. “We’d lived on an island for quite a long time. Autism and twins will do that to a family, I think. You can be accidentally isolated, and this house takes us off that island.” Mel lives with her husband, Steve, a project manager for the NHS, their 11-year-old son Gus, who is autistic, and their seven-year-old twins, Tess and Elsa.

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The Berlin apartment: living with the ghosts of the past

Architect Gisbert Pöppler’s home is a shrine to the city’s past – and a collection he’s built up over the 30 years since the Wall came down

Whenever Gisbert Pöppler has people over for dinner, the ghosts of Berlin’s past are guests of honour. Grouped around the dining table in his apartment in Berlin’s central Mitte district are three velvet armchairs the interior architect salvaged from what he calls the “Honecker lounge” at East Germany’s State Council Building, moulded over time by the well-nourished bottoms of Soviet apparatchiks. The table itself was formerly a conference table at Berlin’s Evangelical Academy, and if you look under the table top you realise the short legs are propped up on some old-fashioned metal money boxes, like a piece of concept art. “I’ve always wondered why this table is so low,” Pöppler says as he strolls through his apartment on sunny autumn morning. “One theory is that the Protestant church didn’t want people in important meetings to be able to hide behind the furniture. Isn’t that a beautiful idea?”

Pöppler, whose practice usually designs and builds living spaces for other people, lives in an apartment that not only speaks of his love for the ideas behind everyday objects, but also doubles as a museum of the German capital’s tumultuous history.

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How to grow oyster mushrooms at home | Alys Fowler

Growing mushrooms from scratch requires care, so start with a kit and go from there, says our gardening expert

Whether it’s microdosing with psychedelic mushrooms, seeking biodegradable alternatives to polystyrene, or mycologist Paul Stamets’ TED talk (over 5m views on ted.com), fungi is a hot topic. Mushroom gardens are spaces to grow gourmet delights such as oyster or shiitake mushrooms: think elegant woodland dwellings with logs and woodchip beds. Fungi are the perfect solution for slightly damp, shady city gardens, or that spot under a tree where nothing grows. Instead of battling to get plants to take hold, inoculate your ground with mushrooms instead.

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Gardening tips: leave fallen leaves for hedgehogs and insects

Then plant euphorbias and visit Beth Chatto’s garden

Plant this I love Euphorbia characias, and it loves me – or at least my garden. I love the cream and green cultivar ‘Tasmanian Tiger’, which has an award of garden merit from the RHS; it thrives in full sun and well-drained soil. Height and spread: 55cm x 80cm.

Leaf this The urge to tidy is strong at this time of year, but remember that wildlife needs plant debris for winter hidey-holes. Clear fallen leaves from paths, and rake them up from the lawn, but leave borders untouched (aside from removing any diseased leaves) to benefit hedgehogs and insects.

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