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Cosmos – Lost and Found
I say lost and found, as when I first started gardening a long time ago… I always grew cosmos, but then I discovered perennials and gave up growing annuals for years. Last year though I rediscovered what wonderful plants annuals are and particularly. 2021 – Cosmos came back to the garden It came about as I created a small wildflower border last year, I bought a few packets of annual seeds including cosmos. Coincidentally a friend had also grown cosmos last year and gave me some of her seedlings – it was meant to be! Gosh I really had forgotten how lovely they are; how big they grow; how prolifically…
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Produce coming out of my ears!
It really is hard work trying to keep up with all the harvesting at this time of year, I feel like I have produce coming out of my ears! So as not to waste any I am cooking at least as much as gardening – which doesn’t always make me happy if the sun is shining outside. The freezers (yes two) are filling up fast! Luckily we had an old one of my mum a couple of years ago and honestly I don’t know how we ever managed without it! It’s true though that you don’t miss what you haven’t had, but once you’ve had it you would really miss…
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Fragrant Summer Bean Curry
We are big curry fans in our house, so at this time of year there is a lot of bean curry being made. The heat of the curry is where we differ, but this is easily remedied by adding homemade, hot haberero chilli sauce to the individual serving. Lots of curry is made all year around – always from scratch – in large portions to freeze. This makes for super easy week-night meals. It’s also a great way to use the produce from the garden, as most things can go into a curry. July is the beginning of the main harvest time in the veg garden, but now as we…
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My Wildlife Pond – Dragonflies, Frogs & so much more!
I know I bang on a lot about the pond but… It really is so hard though, to describe quite how much pleasure the pond gives me. And it’s one of the few things that makes me stop! I’m always thinking that I’ll take a coffee outside and have a sit down. No sooner have I finished my drink, or sometimes before, than I see something that needs doing, which of course leads on to something else that needs doing, resulting in little or no sit down. But when I crouch by the pond it’s hard to drag myself away, watching all the creatures living in there. Even the builders…
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Dierama Plants – Fussy, but worth the trouble!
Dierama plants are fussy, but once they are happy in your garden, they will reward you with multiple, unusual flowers, that dangle delicately on a tall, impossibly thin arching stem 5ft in the air. Then you will understand their common names of ‘Angels fishing rods’ and ‘Dancing Ladies’. When the wind catches their flowers, they literally do dance around. Dieramas are classed as a perennial plant but their leaves are evergreen. They’re thin and resemble a type of grass, with tufts around 2ft or 60cm high. They originate from mountainous grasslands in South Africa. So they are looking for a sunny, south facing position with well drained soil. Anything less than these…
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The First Week of July
Well, to say that it’s been a busy week is the understatement of the century. Hasten to add that there hasn’t been much chance to write about the garden. The building work on the house is in full swing and as is so often the case it hasn’t all been going smoothly! So this week I’m just leaving you to your own devices to have a little look at what’s growing in the garden in this, the first week of July. Keeping the bees happy It’s getting fruity Eat up your greens The colours of summer A lesson in relaxing And of course whilst we’ve been running around like two…
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Salmon Pasta with Broad Beans, Soy & Honey
Salmon pasta with soy and honey, is one of those meals we never tire of. It’s a weekly staple that tastes delicious; is really good for you; and only takes half an hour, so what’s not to like? There is however one little down side, it uses three pans. So not the end of the world if you have a dishwasher, either the mechanical type or the human type! I grew up with a rule that whoever cooks, gets out of the washing up! I appreciate though that that doesn’t really help if you live alone. Back to the food! Today I’m using broad beans, because the harvest is in…
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The garden is full of life
Birdsong for better or for worse As soon as you enter the garden at the moment, your ears are full of birdsong. Admittedly some are more pleasant than others, as we do get gulls regularly squawking overhead, despite being rather a way from the sea – even as the crow (or gulls) fly. Talking of crows, we also have rather a lot of them too, Jackdaws mainly. I think it’s because of the huge old trees we have around. You really can see where the saying ‘Noisy old crow’ comes from. And of course wood pigeons, that go on, and on, and on. But despite the not so pleasant cries,…
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The Kitchen Garden Produce is Ramping up!
Since early in the year we’ve been eating a few things out of the kitchen garden, but this is when production seriously ramps up. We had some cavolo nero kale back in winter and we’ve managed to keep the purple sprouting broccoli limping along. It’s desperately trying to go to seed now, but I just keep chopping it down. We’ve had salad leaves for quite a while and rhubarb for breakfast for a good few weeks. The asparagus season is now at an end, we have to stop harvesting it this weekend. You should only cut it for six weeks, before letting it go to seed. Broad Beans Those beautiful,…
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Sentimental Plants – Plants that remind you of others
By sentimental plants, I mean plants with connections to others. For me the nicest plants in the garden are those that have an association with people I’m fond of, or have been fond of. Whether it’s plants passed down the generations; or plants with memories and associations; or all those plants given to you by other gardeners; maybe it’s memories of plants bought on days out with special people; or cuttings taken from friends gardens; there’re plants with meaningful names; and plants you’ve bought with vouchers, gifted to you by loved ones. All of these plants mean that bit more to you. I think most of us can walk around…
