Welcome back to Wildwood Cottage 🌿
Join me today at Wildwood Cottage for a slow living garden vlog as I start my Victory Garden UK journey.
Welcome back to Wildwood Cottage for a slow spring day in the garden. Today, we’re stepping back in time as I turn to my 1940s wartime guides for some much-needed “Dig for Victory” inspiration.
I’m tackling the last patch of waste ground—brambles, rat holes, and all—to prepare it for our new kitchen garden. I’m also sharing my favourite frugal seed-sorting hack using an old BT toolbox and talking about why I believe we should grow food wherever we can, even tucked among the flower beds!
Inspired by the Dig for Victory campaign of the 1940s, I’m trying to transform this space into a productive vegetable garden — with plans for a greenhouse, vertical growing space, and making the most of every inch of soil.
In this video:
🌿Wartime Wisdom: Reading from my favourite 1940s Mr Middleton gardening guides.
🌿The New Patch: Clearing the ground and planning for the season ahead.
🌿Frugal Hacks: My upcycled seed organizer and using every inch of space.
🌿Rescuing the Kiwi: Giving my ‘Kiwi Jenny’ a second chance in the new patch.
Whether you have a large plot or just a few pots on a windowsill, I hope this inspires you to “make do and mend” and enjoy the simple pleasure of growing your own food.
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Lots of love Hazel xx❤️😊🎉🌼🌺🐓🌻
0:00 Starting My Victory Garden 🌱 Clearing an Overgrown Patch
1:18 Victory Garden Plans & Grow Your Own Food UK
3:36 Clearing Weeds, Herbs & Brambles | Garden Transformation
7:58 Wartime Gardening Inspiration | Dig for Victory
11:42 Soil Health & Growing Healthy Food Naturally
16:40 Seed Storage & Garden Organisation Ideas
18:42 Seed Starting 🌱 What I’m Planting This Spring
21:45 Growing Food in Small Spaces | Flower Beds & Containers
26:01 Grow Your Own Food UK 🌿 Simple Living & Gardening Tips
27:24 Slow Living Evening Routine & Cottage Life
#digforvictory #wartimegardening #VictoryGardenUK #wartimecooking #digforvictory2026
#growyourownfood #foodrationing #livingonabudget #marchgardening #frugalliving #gardening
#polytunnel
9 Comments
Ive had hailstones 3.30.pm this afternoon, hitting the ground hard and covering the garden. I have had to protect my plants with bubble wrap. Crazy weather. Good luck on your garden.
We definitely can all grow something. Fenugreek (and lots of other seeds) sprout in a jar and are ready to eat in a few days. I grow them inside all year. I purchase the big bags from eBay and Amazon and our chickens love them too.
Just found your channel, really enjoying the content. I was born in 1941 so have vague memories of wartime Britain. Look forward to future videos. Bryan.
🌿 Hello lovely people 💛
I’d love to know… are you growing anything this year? Even if it’s just a pot on the windowsill 🌱
This Victory Garden journey is really about going back to basics, making do, and growing what we can—just like they did in the 1940s. I’m learning as I go, and it means so much to share it with you all.
If you have any tips, ideas, or what you’re planting this spring, pop them below—I always love hearing from you 😊
And if you enjoyed the video, don’t forget to like & subscribe… it really helps my little channel grow 🌼
Lots of love,
Hazel xx 💛
I have had the plastic on my poly for about 13 years just shows how the quality was much better before. But I did have to clean it and it has a few poke holes so sadly I’ll need to recover it soon. Good to,see you enjoying the garden Hazel, have a super day, Ali ☔️☔️🇨🇦
Loving the BT box Hazel! You have done great dividing it all up into months.
Thats going to make a big difference to finding your seeds and keeping them in order.
Really enjoyed seeing all your doing and was impressed with the fact you've not scared to sow old seed.
To much gets wasted now days, and in our victory gardens we cant be chucking stuff willy-nilly without trying first! Save money, use what you have, and utilise things you have,to sow into.
Its a great ethos to have in this day in age.
I've finally found a person that likes the same things as me! 😂
I love it!
Great video 🤗❤️
Kel 🌱
Hi dear Hazel, you are looking very well and happy my friend. Happy Spring to you, very exciting to see all your seeds coming too life and to hear about your plans for the garden. Wonderful idea to plant veggies with the flowers, my Dad always did that and my Mum would joke with him saying "You can't eat flowers!!''. But I think, the mind body and soul needs good food as much as it needs beauty, especially in this mad world at the moment!!. Lovely to see the little chickens. Sending much love from my very cold Autumnal garden, take care lovely one.💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Hello hazel,I’ve got tomatoes at my window ready to pot on into a bigger container and I’ve sage as well ready to get seeds going here in Scotland the weather has been awful we are later with some seeds have a blessed week 💗🙏
Nettles can be great for making nettle soup. A plentiful crop of strawberries can be turned into jam.