In my garden some of the plants I grow for mid-summer colour are still going strong well into Autumn, like Verbena Bonariensis, Cornflowers and Russian Sage, and some flowers are having a second flowering like the Campanula and Aquilega, but it’s lovely to inject some vibrancy into the scheme with some fresh colours. Here are some suggestions on plants to consider for this.
Continue reading “Creating an Ornamental Garden; Late Summer Colour”
This article comes with a health warning. It’s heavier than my typical article. I didn’t intend for it to be that way but the facts don’t lie. How on earth did our food production processes get so off kilter! I’ve structured the article to lay out the stark reality and then finish with advice on what I believe to be the better option. Before you start I’d like to say that my intention is not to make anyone feel bad about their food choices. The aim of this article is to help people do the best they can, and that will look different for everyone. So don’t stress, try your best and keep lobbying for changes that make it easier to make the sustainable choice.
Continue reading “Zero Food Waste – Sustainable Ethical Groceries 2026”
I wrote the content for a talk I was due to give at Airfield Festival of Food in Dundrum, Dublin 14 but the venue for my talk didn’t lend itself to listing off a string practical tips so I changed the topic to a more general look at the benefits of sustainable living. Not being one to waste (zero waste joke!) information I’ve turned the content for my Food Waste talk into this article. Enjoy!
Continue reading “Zero Food Waste – Shopping, Preparing and Eating”
When I was preparing a talk on sustainable ethical eating I asked in the Zero Waste Ireland Facebook group if anyone had any particular issues they’d like to hear about. I really surprised that menu planning was number 3 on the list. I didn’t think that menu planning was a thing in Ireland. I only really started doing it when I had kids and that was really just to make life easier and simpler. I was also unsure if I had enough content on this issue to write a full article. Well turns out I had information for three articles, of which this is the first.
This article really focuses on dinner planning, partly to keep the article length reasonable but also because lunch in our house is a hugely dependant on leftovers and what needs to be eaten up in. I will be following up this article with one on sustainable ethical sources of food and ways to minimise food and energy waste when cooking.
Continue reading “Zero Food Waste – Menu Planning”
As I write this article I’m sitting in a lovely self-catering apartment in Madrid. By the time it’s published I’ll be back on Irish soil. My husband and I stopped off in Madrid on our way back from South America about 15 years ago and we swore we’d return. I’m so glad we did. It’s a stunning city with a laid back attitude that you rarely get in a capital city.
Sustainable travel is an oxymoron. It’s one of the most unsustainable activities you can engage it and yet we all still do it. Why? For us, travel enriches our lives. We love experiencing new cultures, food, sights and people and it’s just one of the things we are very reluctant to forgo completely.
Continue reading “Sustainable Travel – Our Trip to Madrid”
living lightly in ireland