It’s shaping up to have been a pretty good year at The Secret Acre, despite the very dry weather.
Where crops simply failed in last year’s unseasonable rain, at least the gardener has the chance to water things, especially, if like us, you live in a well-managed area like Severn Tent Water, which rarely needs a hosepipe ban.
So most things are back to growing reasonably well, even if the fruits are a bit undersized from the lack of rain.
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While we were enjoying our spring equinox BBQ earlier in the year, we were also getting round to starting the final transformation of our rebuilt ‘lean to love shack’ into a new outdoor kitchen.
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The rotavator man cometh!
Since moving to The Secret Acre, on the principal of cash poor, time rich, Paul has dug over the veg patches each spring, having never quite managed yet to get our ‘no dig’ act together sufficiently.
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Following our unexpectedly early ‘three seasons’ spring equinox BBQ, the UK weather delivered a prolonged heatwave.
Thanks to the growing climate crisis, after last year’s continuously unseasonable cold and wet spring and summer, causing England’s England second worst harvest on record, spring 2025 could prove to be one of the hottest and driest on record. We are already suffering the most extreme marine heatwave since satellite monitoring began.
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Last week saw the arrival of the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. The UK enjoyed an unseasonably warm day, including Wales’ warmest spring equinox on record, as the early impacts of the coming climate chaos continue to make themselves felt.
Naturally, here at The Secret Acre, we took the opportunity for a summer BBQ. Our earliest on record, after none at all in last year’s continuously unseasonable cold and wet.
We ended up enjoying three seasons in one day! A summer BBQ on the warmest spring equinox, having dug up the last of the winter leaks, to char on the BBQ coals, and eat with an excellent romesco sauce.
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Who’s the thief, who’s the thief?
We diligently put the very last of our Bramleys in a bucket, to make a final few apple pies in the run up to Christmas.
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Stop sniggering at the back.
As regular readers know, back in the mists of time, we decided to dump the traditional dull wedding anniversaries here at The Secret Acre, in favour of our own list of anniversary themes of things we like, that would make celebrating each year fun.
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As you know, we no longer send Christmas Cards, in favour of posting our news on our blog – http://www.thesecretacre.com – throughout the year. But, wishing all our friends another Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
There is usually something to surprise you in the garden at The Secret Acre.
Earlier this year, Emma was joined by a very curious pheasant in the Greenhouse.
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It’s been a quiet few weeks at The Secret Acre having been unexpectedly struck down by pestilence and plague. I spent the hottest day of the year, shivering under a duvet, unable to get warm. Annoying when there is so much to do. Hopefully we can start getting back to the harvest soon.
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The Secret Acre 