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Am I turning into a Flower Arranger?
I suppose flower arranging has always gone hand in hand with gardening, but it’s just not something I’ve ever bothered with. I’ve never picked flowers from my own garden to bring into the house, preferring to see them growing naturally outside. Obviously I do my best when someone has bought me a bunch of flowers, I do like to see them arranged nicely. It’s possible that because my mum went to flower arranging classes years ago, and would come home with some spectacular but very formal displays, it put me off. My mum is exceptionally talented and can turn her hand to anything practical and artistic. She definitely brought me…
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Our Cherry Tree – It’s the cherry on the cake!
It was the garden apprentice that chose this cherry tree. It must be around ten years ago now, and it spent the first few years of its life in a pot. It was one of those spontaneous buys at the garden centre. It was April and as a result it was covered in blossom, making it look magnificent and irresistible! It’s full name is Prunus avium ‘Stella’ and it is a sweet desert cherry. Dark red fruits that can be eaten straight from the tree. Unlike the sour cherry trees which are more commonly grown for their ornamental qualities. I’d always thought that I didn’t like cherries, but it turns…
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Cherry and Courgette Cake
As the cherries on our cherry tree tend to ripen within a short space of time, we bake with them. Turning them into the best Cherry Bakewell you’ve ever tasted, or today a Cherry and Courgette cake. If you grow your own courgettes, you will know that once the plant starts producing fruits, you can hardly keep up! Over the years we’ve come up with no end of uses for them, both raw and cooked. In recent years we have been making cakes with them, as they coincide with our soft fruit harvests. They add bulk, fibre and extra vitamins to our cakes. Rather than eating these delicious confectionaries the…
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Longest Day, Midsummer’s Day & Summer Solstice
As we left all of the Summer Solstice celebrations behind last week, we appear to have left the mini heatwave behind too. It has been lovely having some proper summer weather, allowing us to get outside more. As usual it broke before the weekend which is a shame for all the workers. Although as a gardener I’ve almost been doing a rain-dance, as the garden’s got drier and drier! It’s been crying out for a drink and watering had become a daily job. Even plants in the border were wilting and in need of an occasional soaking. The pond was also getting really low and as I’d put two new…
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Hodnet Hall Gardens
A Brief History The first known habitation on this Hodnet Hall site was a Norman castle in the 12th century. More is known about the Timber framed Tudor mansion, which was eventually vacated by the family in 1865, in favour of a new residence up on the hill with stunning views over the beautiful Shropshire countryside. All that remains of the Tudor house, is the stable block which is now the rather good garden restaurant. We sampled the Victoria sponge and the coffee. In the nineteen twenties Brigadier A. G. W. Heber-Percy had the stairway built, to link the house down to the gardens. It was also he that designed…
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Now for something completely different – The Purple Potato Project
My first early purple potatoes are ready! I wasn’t going to grow potatoes this year, as we really don’t eat very many, but when I saw the Purple Potato Project, I couldn’t resist! As I’ve said before, I am drawn to something a bit different, and I already grow so many other purple veg. They don’t actually taste any different, but they are better for you, with antioxidants in. The particular antioxidant they have is anthocyanin – known for its positive health benefits. It is purported to reduce inflammation and protect you from conditions like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Anthocyanin is also found in red cabbage…
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Jubilee Garden Celebration
What else could it possibly be today, but a jubilee themed garden celebration. As Her Majesty the Queen celebrates an incredible 70 years as our Monarch. Fancy being in the same job for seventy years! I thought we’d do a look at the garden with a royal coloured theme. We’ll start with a collection of produce from the garden, in Red, White and Blue to get you in the mood. Purple – The Colour of Royalty As the official colours of the Jubilee celebrations are Platinum for the seventy years and Purple for royalty. I’ve decided to shout about all of the purple flowers and produce in the garden, and…
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The Madness of May!
May is the month when the garden seems to explode. Not only do new flowers appear everyday, but more appear during the day! When I go and open the greenhouse every morning, I have a mooch around. By the time I’m out there at lunchtime, more flowers have opened. The growing rate at this time of year is incredible! I keep toying with putting a time-lapse camera on the tomato plants. They seem to grow from hour to hour! The Edible Garden Crops we are already eating Breakfast has been zinged up now with the start of the rhubarb harvest. We simply stew it in it’s own juices, then eat…
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Hurrah, hurrah, it’s Damselfly Day!
I wandered down to the pond last weekend, to have a look at the giant tadpoles. They seem much bigger than they usually are this time of year. As I crouched down, a damselfly surprised me by landing on my leg. I looked up and saw a couple of them bobbing around the pond. It was obviously damselfly emerging day! The heat of the sun, between the showers must have tempted them out. I took a couple of photos with my phone, then went off to the house to get the ‘proper camera’. Damselfly, official name – Suborder Zygoptera. If you are in any doubt, the way to tell a…
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Sciatica Makes For A Frustrated Gardener!
I need an apprentice! This has to be the busiest time of the year in the garden. Unfortunately I am still struggling with sciatica. So I can safely say this is the most frustrating spring of my gardening life! There is a reasonably famous garden, blogger Dan Cooper, he calls himself ‘The Frustrated Gardener’. If he hadn’t have already used the name, I’d be pinching it! I’ve been comparing this time in my head to lockdown, stuck at home for weeks on end. However lockdown physically for me was good, beautiful weather, no bad back and all the time in the world to garden! On the other hand mentally it…
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Garden Diary – Wake up & smell the roses
