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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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Pear & Raspberry Cake – Gluten Free
We grow two most delicious desert pears ‘Louise Bonne of Jersey’ and ‘Beth’. Unfortunately, with pears, they all ripen within a short period of time, usually around a fortnight, so a cake beckons. We are lucky enough to have a long south facing boundary in the garden, where we built a wall. The fruit trees grow along the wall. A Plum and Cherry are grown as fans and a Fig as an espalier. The Apples and Pear trees are grown as cordons. This means a single stem planted at a 45-degree angle. We get more than enough fruit off them grown this way, with the big benefit of not having…
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The Fruit trees
Garden transformation Part 11 – The Fruit Trees Buying a property with a 160ft long south facing boundary, it was just asking for a wall to be built and fruit planted along it. Luckily I am a self-taught amateur bricky, married to an excellent labourer. We started building the ‘great wall’ as it’s become jokingly known, in May 2014 and it wasn’t completed until October 2016 – other priorities in our new garden, bad backs and appendicitis got in the way! Who wants to climb a ladder to pick an Apple? I love the idea of an orchard, it sounds so idyllic, but it’s only really an option if you have…
