Garden Diary – Alfresco cooking with aliens lurking

With the beans up to full production now, the ‘acting head-gardener’ has been making lots of bean curry (half a freezer full!). And as the weathers been reasonable he’s taken the portable hob outside for some alfresco cooking. I’ll bet the neighbours thought it was an interesting smelling barbeque lol.

At this time of year the garden can provide breakfast, lunch and dinner, and quite often does. With various fruits starting the day, tomatoes and cucumbers or soup at lunchtime, then plenty of veg to make dinner.

The plums were finally ripe this week, and despite not being that many they were incredibly delicious and as you can imagine, didn’t last very long! I do hope this tree lasts longer than the last two.

I’m so over the moon to have discovered yet another different type of moth living in the garden, well at least it’s alien looking caterpillar. I do hope it makes it to a moth as I’d love to see it. I set out to make this garden as wildlife friendly as possible and every new creature I spy makes me very happy!!!

I continue to try not to be frustrated at my incapacity and just enjoy my surroundings with all my little critters.

Sunday 18th August 2024

Ligularia ‘desdemona’ for this weeks #SundayYellow 💛🌿
This perennial is happy in shade, has huge, dinner plate sized leaves on red stalks all summer, then these fabulous flowers late on 💛🌼🌿
#flowers #YellowSunday #Ligularia

Monday 19th August 2024

What to do with all those climbing beans? 🫘
Yesterday the ‘garden apprentice’ (temporary head gardener) picked & chopped the beans, took the portable electric hob outside and turned them into Indonesian style curry. Lucky me! 😋🥘🌿
Grown alfresco 🌿 #growyourown
Cooked alfresco 👨‍🍳 #scratchcooking
Eaten alfresco 🥘 #alfresco
#Happydays #curry

This is the double pink Begonia I actually ordered, but some are single & some are red. Being supplied the wrong plants seems to be happening more & more often sadly.
Enjoying this one now though 🌺💕🌿#magentamonday

Tuesday 20th August 2024

I’m calling these ‘eBay special’, as they haven’t turned out to be ‘Gourmansun’ after all 🤣
Nevertheless the first couple were absolutely delicious so alls well… 🍅🍅🍅
#TomatoTuesday
#growyourown
#kitchengarden

#TuesdayBlue with a dash of yellow 💙💛💜
I’m so lucky that Verbena bonariensis seeds itself like a weed in my sandy garden. I’m always finding little seedlings & popping them where I want them to be 💜💜💜
#flowers #seedlings #gardening

This is tomato ‘Indigo Rose’, it’s classed as a blue tomato but looks more black to me 💙🍅🖤
This one is close to being ripe & as I’ve not grown them before I’m dying to try it 🤗💙🍅🌿🖤
#TuesdayBlue #TomatoTuesday #growyourown

Wednesday 21st August 2024

Sunny yellow rose petals 🌼🌿with rosie red apples 🍎 🍎🌿
Second flush on the rescue rose that I’m looking after for my friend 🙂 #RoseWednesday
#roses #flowers

🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
You might think, ‘only 10 plums, what’s the excitement about?’
But these are homegrown ‘Victoria Plums’ off a new tree.
I’m not sure I can even summon up the words to describe the deliciously, divine flavour, so I’ll just let you imagine🌿
#growyourown #kitchengarden

Has anyone else in the UK got a magnolia flowering? 💕🌿
How bizarre! The garden doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going!
#FloweringOutOfSeason #flowers #gardening

Thursday 22nd August 2024

I’ve really enjoyed watching this huge tomato mature 🌿🍅
It made some delicious tomato sauce last night with the pasta 🍜
#tomatoes #growyourown #Homegrown #scratchcooking

Morning everyone 🌿
The last of the flowers on clematis ‘Prince George’ growing in amongst the jasmine 🌿🤍🌿#ClematisThursday
#flowers #MyGarden

I rescued this little shrub because I liked the shape of it but boy I didn’t realise how scented the little white flowers were going to be! A jasmine type scent powerful enough to waft around the garden! Turns out to be aptly named Daphne x transatlantica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ 🌿🤍

Friday 23rd August 2024

It still makes me smile to wonder what granny would think of me growing plants in her old dolly tub.
I always used to grow runner beans in it, but now grow ornamentals 🌿 #flowersonfriday 🌿💕🌼🌺💜🌸🧡🌷
#Upcycling #nostalgia #Flowers #Gardening

My white Japanese Anemones grow like a weed, but after 5 years this pink one had hardly flowered, after moving 2 years ago it’s starting to get going!🌸🌿
#FlowersOnFriday #PinkFriday #happyplant #pinkflowers

Calling moth experts please 🦋🐛
I’ve just found this caterpillar on the path, after googling I think it’s a Lime hawk-moth caterpillar (Mimas tiliae) ?
@savebutterflies #Butterflies #moths #caterpillar

This caterpillar turned out to be an Eyed Hawk-moth. It would have been munching on my appl;e leaves before falling onto the path. It will hopefully tun into a brown moth with what looks like a blue eye on each wing. Have a look on the butterfly conservation site.

Saturday 24th August 2024

Despite this weeks weather, the garden is still looking reasonable & it’s been a good harvest week 🌿💕🌼🍅🥒💜
Wishing you all a pleasant weekend #SixOnSaturday
#KitchenGarden

Homegrown breakfast 🍑🫐💕
1 of only 10 Victoria plums, last of the abundant blueberries, first of the autumn raspberries 😋
Unfortunately we do have to buy the yoghurt 😄
#TheGoodLife #growyourown #breakfast #fruit

Sunday 25th August 2024

Vegetable flowers can have just as much wow factor as ornamentals, the courgettes (zucchini’s for my American/Canadian friends) are the best example 🌿💛🌿🌼🌿💛
#SundayYellow #YellowSunday #YellowFlowers #gyo

Morning everyone ☀️🌿
Quite a bit of yellow in the garden at the mo 🌿💛🌿🌼🌿💛
So going for an all yellow #sevenonsunday
#SundayYellow #YellowFlowers #YellowSunday