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Garden Diary – The Big Catch-up
Gosh, I think we’re in need of a bit of a catch-up! As there wasn’t much going on in the garden at the beginning of the year, combined with, rather a lot going on inside the house – yes renovations continue… I decided to have a short break from the socials. I ended up having six weeks off daily posting and was a bit sporadic to begin with. But as the garden started bursting into life I got back into my stride. Unfortunately I just haven’t had time to put it all together for you, until now. The big catch up As ever, the first gardening job of the year…
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Garden Diary – Hurray, I can’t smell the cucumber cake!
Well, thank goodness for the gorgeous weather last week. Not much gardening got done but there was plenty of sitting around relaxing, which is frankly unheard of in this house. Unfortunately I found myself with a dose of Covid which started the previous weekend, but fortunately the worst of it passed relatively quickly, just leaving me lethargic. Lethargic enough to sit around! Normally when I sit with a coffee in the garden, I’ve hardly finished it before I’ve jumped up to do some job or another, intending to sit back down, but of course I never do. One job just leads on to another… I’d much rather be fit and…
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Garden Diary – A week of surprises, not all good!
As I was walking down the garden, I just noticed some little pink flowers almost buried under the heucheras, I bent to take a look and it was a bunch of cyclamen flowers. I always forget about them, then get a lovely surprise. Last week was full of surprises. I was so lucky to spot a strawberry, in September! It’s been a funny year in the garden with the multiple heatwaves, how many? Who’d have thought that we would loose track of how many heatwaves we’ve had in one uk summer. The world’s gone mad! Talking of going mad, why can’t I grow Aubergines? My niece grows so many she…
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Garden Diary – Turning the harvest into Curry & Pear Cake
The first week of September had the house smelling of curry and pear cake, as the harvesting continued. We make other ready meals for the freezer but we do love curry and cake. Not necessarily at the same time, you probably know by now that we eat our low sugar fruit and vegetable cakes for breakfast. Although, the gardeners mate would happily eat curry for breakfast, he rarely has! After hearing on the radio this week of how, what you consume affects your mood and mental health, I felt really sad that as a nation we’ve moved so far away from scratch cooking being the norm. It’s not that many…
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Garden diary – Cheers! The garden finally got a drink.
Just as the borders were starting to look incredibly sad, the rain finally came and the garden had a drink. We still need more, but it certainly does look better for it! I’m so glad though, that the warm sunny weather lasted over August bank holiday especially for those still holidaying. It is quite a rarity! As I’ve previously mentioned the white garden has suffered the most, mainly because it is underneath our enormous walnut tree, which casts its shadows over the whole area. And also must require a huge amount of water. We’re actually quite worried about it as it is looking very droopy! Unfortunately the bit of rain…
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Garden Diary – I’d rather be in the garden!
We’ve reached that time of year where I spend as much time in the kitchen as I do in the garden, turning all the produce into ready meals for the freezer. Don’t get me wrong I do really enjoy cooking, but when the weather is lovely outside, I’d rather be in the garden! But with more ripe raspberries on a daily basis and a basket full of pears that ripen so quickly once they are picked. There is lots of baking to be done! When out picking yet more fruit the ‘gardeners mate’ shouted me over to see a butterfly he thought looked smaller than usual. I said, “oh it’s…
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Garden Diary – From escaping Aubergines to rescuing Dahlias
I don’t know what’s going on with my Aubergines, but both plants have set fruit so low that they are having to grow outside the pot, it looks ever so funny like they are trying to escape. Also in the greenhouse, the variegated chilli plant that I mentioned a while back has turned out to be quite a stunner, with purple in the variegated leaves. The chillies are growing vertically, initially black but then gradually turning scarlet, which we all know is a sign of danger! I’ve been spicing up my food with the reasonably hot, and beautifully purple ‘Buena Mulata’, but the ‘gardeners mate’, – his new title after…
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Garden Diary – Eating Tomatoes, & Admiring my Agapanthus
All that heat has made my tomatoes, and sun loving, South African, Agapanthus go into overdrive! In just one week I’ve gone from collecting the tomatoes in a small bowl, to a large plate and finally I’ve had to get the trug out and de-cobweb it! The tomato production normally cranks up a bit slower, but the unusually hot weather has brought everything on so quickly! Meaning I’m having to make time to transform the produce into meals for the freezer, in between renovating the house, and of course using the temporary kitchen! Everything in the greenhouse has had a boost, and the cucumbers have finally burst into full production…
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Garden Diary – The longest day had us & the garden wilting!
I hope everyone’s cooled down after last week’s heatwave? I really don’t do well in that sort of heat, it completely zaps my energy. I always feel so sorry for anyone that has to work outside in it. I was dashing to water the greenhouse before the sun got onto it in a morning and sometimes having to water again in an evening. It was perfect weather though for drying my red winter onions, harvested last week. I managed to get them plaited, in a fashion! To think of the different weather they’ve been through since I planted them as sets last autumn. After initially putting on a bit of…
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Garden Diary – Do you love anyone enough to share your first Strawberry?
The strawberries started to turn this week, which is always a sign that summer is arriving. There’s usually just one that ripens first and we always share it, so how appropriate that this year it was in the shape of a heart 🫶❤️ Ah… My blue Dutch Iris in the border came out earlier in the week, I planted the bulbs years ago and they just come up reliably every year. The yellow flag iris in the pond also started to bloom and the bees couldn’t get enough of either variety, I love how they disappear right inside. I get such enormous pleasure watching them and all the other pollinators…
