Websites That We At Victoriana Like!

Not a huge list of websites, just a few that we at Victoriana like, and find useful to use...

City Cottage
Our good friends Diana & Paul Peacock's City Cottage website - where you can find out pretty much anything about the Good Life, and book courses training you in the arts of sausage making, cheese making, cooking and preserving, chicken and beekeeping. Forums and weekly chatathons (online chats) make this the perfect place to meet and talk to like minded people too.

Crocks & Pots
Our sister company supplying commercial cookware to the home chef. This really is last a lifetime stuff - fantastic quality.

First Tunnels
We're often asked who we would suggest when people are looking to buy a polytunnel; we can do no better than recommend our friends at First Tunnels who can help with anything from a small cloche right up to a full size commercial tunnel - and anything in between including all the bits and bobs, irrigation stuff and spares (including new covers) you may need. Their website is really easy to use and gives you a step by step price as you customise your tunnel to what you want - as does their catalogue. They have also put together some excellent instructional films (and some great out-takes) at Polytunnels Channel.

GoldHosts
Website design and hosting from a firm small enough to care but large enough to cope - sometimes only just in time, but always just in time!!

Home Farmer Magazine
Aimed at the growing number of people who are looking for a better quality of life: healthier food produced without chemicals whose journey from plot to plate is measured in feet, not miles. Not just about fruit and vegetables, it is dedicated to helping you realise your lifestyle dreams with articles on diverse subjects such as making your own sausages, baking, urban poultry keeping, beekeeping, caring for animals on a small acreage, dealing with neighbours and much, much more. Home Farmer is more kitchen table than coffee table and each issue targets what you need to know to get the job done with simple step-by-step instructions, features and honest accounts of people trying to live their dreams either in the country or town.

Instaplanta
These really are a fantastic idea - that actually works! Combining the benefits of a traditional rigid planter with the flexibility of changeable internal planting 'baskets' means these have virtually limitless uses. The attractive planters have a 15 year guarantee and can even be easily moved around on wheels - making them perfect for working on out of the weather before popping back outside.

Kat Whelan Illustrations
We found Kat via her lovely gardening blog, Shoestring Garden, then discovered that 'in the real world' she was a very talented illustrator. One thing lead to the next and after re-designing the log for our sister company (Crocks & Pots) she's been busy helping us with some lovely Scarecrows for our Scarecrow Club and working on one or two other projects for us. If you need a cheerful illustration try Kat!

Pesticides Action Network
If you are in any doubt why you should be growing your own produce and avoiding pesticides you should look at this website! This is not scare mongering or knee jerk stuff, just a website (and organisation) giving well researched and well balanced information.

Peru Expedition
Caroline Dewar, daughter of the principals of our web-hosting company, is taking on the world by undertaking a Charity Expedition to Peru in the Summer of 2011. Read all about her plans for the trip and what she hopes to achieve - and perhaps help her by donating a little money towards the £3475 she needs to raise.

Plants For A Future
A truly amazing resource site with a huge database of 7300 'edible medicinal and useful plants'. Just twenty plants provide the majority of food eaten, yet there are thousands of other useful plants which have not reached mainstream attention. You can find details of many of them here.

The Royal Horticultural Society
The UK’s leading gardening charity; a fantastic website packed full of information (and of course we're listed in their 'plantfinder').

Shipton Mill
Apart from growing your own, we think there is nothing better than baking your own bread - and don't use a breadmaker, its easier, quicker and more satisfying to do it by hand (and a great way to clean your hands - but we probably shouldn't mention that!). If you're looking for top quality flour you need look no further than these friendly and helpful people.

The Followers Of Rupert
Jeremy Shirley first discovered Rupert Bear in the 1940’s as a young boy; to this day he still is a huge fan and now shares the magic with Milly who loves to read his old Rupert books with him. As himself a member of the ‘Followers Of Rupert’, Jeremy recommends anyone who is interested in Rupert, Rupert Annuals or Rupert stories joins. Details of the benefits of membership are four newsletters per year and other free gifts including a Rupert Calendar every year. Full information can be found on their website along with a downloadable membership form.

The Goods Shed
This isn't so much a website we like but more a Farmers Market that we love! Based over in Canterbury (about 25 minutes from us) the Goods Shed is the realistic alternative to the supermarket! With produce ranging from meat, to cheese, to fish, to breads, to vegetables, to beers and more this really is a one stop shop for your weekly needs - and it is mainly locally grown or sourced (we even sell some of our surplus veg there - and last year's chilli crop went down a storm). There's also a variety of places to eat in the market - from sandwiches to a full sit down meal - all freshly prepared from produce from the market. We can't speak highly enough of this place and would recommend this as somewhere to combine a visit to us with

Whytes Home Wine Equipment
Everything you need for making your own homemade wines and homebrew beers - using either raw ingredients (fruits from your own plants) or, for the less adventurous, concentrates. A family business, like ourselves, with over forty years experience.

Please Note
Victoriana Nursery Gardens accepts no liability for the content of these websites as this outside our control.