For generations, gardeners have used woodfire ash in the garden as a kind of free homemade fertiliser. Grandparents swore by it. Old orchard growers scattered it beneath fruit trees. Veggie gardeners sprinkled it around the tomatoes and roses. But does wood ash actually help the garden… or is it just another one of those old gardening myths that’s been passed down over time?

The air’s cooling off, the sky that soft lavender-pink, and my two-year-old granddaughter grips the torch like it’s a sacred treasure. My five-year-old grandson walks beside her, whispering about “monsters” in the dark. They’re on an important mission. They’re heading down to pen up the chickens! Let’s be honest… eggs aren't cheap right now. Walking out to the pen and collecting warm, freshly laid eggs from your own backyard chickens feels almost rebellious in the best way..

One of the most special things about blue-tongue lizards is that they’re not just passing through. In the wild, when conditions are right, blue tongues can live 20 years or more, with some thought to reach closer to 30 years in safe, undisturbed habitats. That means the blue tongue you spot today could still be sharing your garden decades from now, sunning itself in the same warm patch, patrolling for snails, and watching generations of plants come and go.