My Small Cornish Garden

Winter is coming!

2009-11-01T16:18:00.001Z

I’ve had my son staying for a week. He lives in Scotland and was pleasantly surprised to see how warm it is down here still. However today it was decidedly colder with quite a snap in the air. Not a nice day for gardening as the wind was very strong and after a small burst of sun rain was imminent. So I went for a walk to the beach. Along the way I saw these berries strung in one of the trees and looking just like jewels. I’m not sure what kind of berries they are but have an idea they are poisonous!

Surprisingly with the amount of wind the sea was calm, although the beach was strewn with debris and seaweed. Signs of a rough sea previously! There were a fair number of people on the beach enjoying the small amount of sun.

As I walked back up the hill I looked back and liked the look of the trees round the pool with the old cemetery behind them. Some trees have lost all their leaves and others are hanging on. The oak and hazel trees in the garden are still covered in leaves whereas the blackcurrants and hawthorne have lost most of theirs.

I am still getting beetroot from the garden. The self blanching celery is doing well and useful for adding to recipes. And the spinach is hanging in there. Just waiting for the first frosts!

Pineapple Sage

2009-10-24T18:29:00.001Z

Pineapple sage is a half hardy member of the sage family. Last winter we had some severe frosts and I thought I had lost it totally. However in the spring I noticed a couple of tiny green shoots so didn’t dig it up and ditch it. Slowly the green shoots became six inch stems and they remained like that for most of the miserable wet summer we had. Then in August it suddenly put on a spurt and started to grow until by September it was a 2ft high bush. Now in October it is flowering and has the most interesting red flowers. They are long like catkins and as the flowers develop they are a bit like monbretia petals. There is only one in full bloom but lots coming on the plant. If they all flower it will be an amazing sight. Sage makes a very good herbal tea for sore throats. And a sandwich of brown bread and butter with sage leaves between will aid digestion and clean out the system!

Also I noticed I have one late rose and a couple of non stop begonias blooming. They are determined to show their colours on these grey days we’ve been having. And the blueberry has the most amazing red leaves. For all it is nearly November the garden is very colourful.

Very quick Broccoli and Stilton soup!

2009-10-21T18:10:00.001Z

This is a wonderful soup and so quick to make. Ideal for unexpected guests or for bonfire parties. Recipe makes sufficient for 4 people.

1 red onion, 2 large heads of broccoli, clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, black pepper, 1.5 pints of vegetable stock, 4 oz of blue stilton.

Put olive oil in large saucepan. Chop onion and broccoli and place in saucepan. Add minced garlic and ground black pepper. Stir and then heat on low for 5 minutes to sweat veggies. Make up 1.5 pints of vegetable stock using stock cube. Add to saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat and add cut up cheese. Stir. Then liquidise until soup is smooth.

Put into bowls and enjoy. Is also good drunk from a mug. I’ve just had a mug in front of the fire and it was delicious. Add buttered granary bread and it’s a feast!

Leaves

2009-10-19T18:02:00.001Z

I have been so touched by all the kind messages of support I have received. You are all so wonderful!

Not being inclined to garden at the moment I have been keeping busy by making some leaf appliqués. I love the autumn and the way the leaves are all the colours of the rainbow. I have been doing these blocks with my Friday morning class this term and it has been so therapeutic for me. Also I’ve been copying leaves onto fabric to be cut out and appliquéd into a piece of work. I think of all the subjects that I tackle leaves are the one I love the best. Closely followed by the sea of course!

It has been very cold these last few days and I have started lighting fires as there is something very cosy about a wood fire and the crackle and pop of the fire is very companionable. Because of the cold my squirrel has been becoming braver and coming right up to the back door in the search for food. He is still stealing the bird seed out of the bird house but not enough to make it a problem!

Rising Like the Phoenix from the Ashes

2009-10-18T16:14:00.001Z

Well it is now four weeks since my husband dropped the bombshell that he was leaving me after 45 years together but like the Phoenix I am now rising from the ashes. For those four weeks I have mourned and my garden has gone into hibernation! Now it is time to take stock and start again. There are still lots of flowers blooming in the garden. The self sown nasturtiums are still abundant and the begonias are hanging in there. If I had dead headed the dahlias I expect they would have done more but even so they are still colourful.

I’m going to have to start mowing the lawn. Not a job I relish so it's just as well it is a tiny lawn. At the moment it is growing toadstools. There have never been toadstools before so I don’t know why they have suddenly appeared. Perhaps it is something to do with the weather.

The herbs are hanging in there though they need some attention and I am still picking spinach and self blanching celery. The good part of this is that I can have carte blanche to do what I want and plant what I want. Can’t be all bad!

Thank you!

2009-09-25T20:13:00.001Z

I have been so touched by all the messages of support. While writing this blog over the past months I’ve so enjoyed all the comments and would like you all to know how much they have meant to me. The trouble I have now won’t be cleared up quickly but it is made better by the knowledge that I have friends out there. And I was so thrilled to see that I have been nominated for an award. This was quite unexpected! Thank you all so much.

I have been cheered in these sad times by the beautiful moth orchid which lives on my kitchen windowsill. I have had it for eighteen months and suddenly it has produced a new shoot and is in bloom for the second time. Such joy!

Hard Times Ahead!

2009-09-23T19:49:00.001Z

I’m sorry I haven’t been blogging lately but I’ve been having some personal problems which have knocked me for six. As soon as I get them sorted I will be back!

Fabric pictures from Dyeing in the Garden plus - Drying Herbs!

2009-09-16T19:49:00.001Z

These are just a few. I was going for fabrics that I could use in appliqué, especially greens and flowery effects!

How to Dry Herbs

If you don’t know what to do with your herbs now that autumn is here then why not dry them to use over the winter. They can be used in cooking or to make herbal teas.

The best time to cut the herbs is in the early morning when the sun (ha! ha!) has dried off the dew! Make sure that the leaves are clean. Rinse in cool water if necessary and then pat dry. Remove any dead or discoloured leaves. Then tie into bunches and tie the ends together with string. Sometimes I use a rubber band to make life simple! Then hang the bunches upside down in a cool dark place, which is dust free and well ventilated. An attic or airing cupboard is good. After two to three weeks the herbs will have become dry and brittle. Strip the leaves from the stem and lightly crush. Then store in small glass jars with closely fitting lids. Plastic bags can be used but I prefer glass jars. Leaves can be left whole, especially leaves such as bay. And I have to say that failing an attic or a large enough airing cupboard I have hung the herbs on the curtain rail in the kitchen and they have been fine.

Dry seeds by putting the seed heads into a brown paper bag – well a paper bag, and leaving until the seeds fall off the seed heads. Then collect and store in small glass jars. Coriander, fennel and caraway spring to mind immediately as herbs that seed well.

The End of Summer!

2009-09-13T19:38:00.001Z

The sun was shining but the beach was deserted. The beach huts shut up and the visitors gone home. Such a sad sight! But look at that immaculate garden behind the beach hut. So tidy and organised. A complete contrast to my own patch.

So when I went home I started to clear and tidy. I pulled up all the wilted and finished borage and put it in the compost bin along with the contents of numerous tubs and pots. I also pulled up some of the remaining courgettes and put those into a blue bag for the collection on Thursday. I didn’t think the mildewed leaves would do the compost a lot of good. I also chopped and pruned various shrubs and plants around the garden so that the soil could breathe before I dug it over. And what did I find? I found slugs and snails. It seemed like hundreds of them. And not small one’s either but giant slugs just waiting to lay waste the remaining greenery and the few small courgettes still to be picked. Ugh! I loathe slugs. Slugs and bindweed! The banes of my life. Martin put down some bird friendly slug pellets and it was like the killing fields with dead and dyeing slugs everywhere. And yet still they appear. They must have a death wish!

Dyeing in the Garden!

2009-09-12T19:47:00.001Z

Today was lovely and sunny again. Did I go in the garden and do some weeding? No! Did I go in the garden and start tidying up ready for the winter? No! Did I pick the last few courgettes and the remaining green unblighted tomatoes? No! So what did I do? I did some dyeing!

Since we have had a wooden floor laid down in our kitchen Martin has been very against me doing any major dyeing. No laying out the acrylic boards and dyeing 60 inch lengths of fabric on the kitchen table. No I am restricted to working around the sink. Which is fine but a bit hampering when I want to do larger pieces. So I took it all into the garden and had fun. Here are some views of what I did!

Tomorrow I will press them and see what I have got. Some lovely stripey pieces I hope!

Berry Nice!

2009-09-10T18:19:00.001Z

My car is in the garage so I had to walk to work today. A tedious walk along a fairly busy road but with an amazing lot to see!

There were small newly formed pine cones peeping over the fence of someone’s garden. And in the verge thistles waiting to shed their seeds everywhere.

Berries galore and of so many different varieties. These were on ornamental trees planted in the verge and were most attractive. Could they be rowans?

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of these lovely roses looking over the fence. They had the most delicious scent!

These white blossoms were in profusion along someone’s fence and looked lovely.

Holly berries on the variegate holly. Still working up to being red!

Draceana blossom which is so common around Falmouth at the moment. It has a slight honey like scent and is very attractive to bees.

Even more berries of a different kind but I have no idea what they are.

Lovely hydrangea blossoms turning colour. These grow most profusely along the road.

A lone apple! Whether it was a bad crop or one that didn’t get picked I don’t know. But it looked very edible!

Very attractive berries growing against a wall. Again this was a very large bush with lots of berries.

Views of the countryside on the other side of the road looking across to Maenporth. The cows seem delighted to have some sun!

More berries! These seemed to be extremely juicy and were a bit like yew berries but in clusters.

I know the name of this berried bush but can’t spell it! And as I don’t want you to laugh at me I’m not going to try!

I have pink Japanese anemones but I have always wanted white ones as I like them better. They look good against the deep purple of the bush.

Lots of rose hips with blackberries and late blooming honeysuckle in amongst them. There were lots and lots and I was very tempted to pick some for rose hip syrup!

This is a view of the allotments on the other side of the road. They have only been going since the spring and yet look as if they’ve been there for ever!

These berries were most attractive. Earlier in the year the bushes were a profusion of small white flowers.

I just liked this pot with it’s blue flowers and just had to have a picture. If only mine were as good!

Russion Vine which is a terrible plant for climbing over things to the exclusion of everything else. It looks lovely but is really destructive if not kept in check.

This is tree in our close which is covered in cherries at this time of the year. Unfortunately they are ornamental and not good for eating. Even the birds seem to leave them alone!

And last but not least the lovely changing colours on the tree opposite our house. This tree is a picture in the spring with pink blossom and then in the autumn runs the gamut from green through yellow to red in the leaves. If you are still with me after all this then you might like to know that the walk home takes twenty minutes but longer when taking pictures!

Fennel Seeds

2009-09-09T18:56:00.001Z

Of all the herbs I grew this year fennel was one of the most successful. It was covered with blossom which in turn became seed heads. I wanted to harvest the seeds as fennel seeds are so useful in cooking. However the spider’s had other thoughts. They wove their webs into the flower heads and set up their larders. I have tried to show this by taking photographs but the light wasn’t good and the pictures arn’t clear. But here is one which I think shows what I’m talking about. Not to be deterred I picked those heads that hadn’t been despoiled and put them in a paper bag to dry and drop their seeds. I’m hoping that I shall have a fair number. I went out and bought dinky little pots to put seeds in and hope I won’t be disappointed. I managed to collect some from the coriander but not in any great quantity. The kitchen now smells of liquorice from the fennel.

A Walk to the Beach

2009-09-06T17:18:00.001Z

Today the sun shone, the lawns were mown and I walked to the beach. It only takes 7 minutes to walk down the hill to Swanpool. The sun on the water was lovely and the sea was like a mill pond. It is definitely autumn with seeds and berries everywhere and the leaves with their autumn colours. I was amazed at how many flowers were still showing their face. I found periwinkle, self sown sweet peas, vetch, Monbretia which always shrieks Cornwall to me, ragwort which the Victorians introduced to this country and is so poisonous to cattle, and also some campion still blooming. There were blackberries galore but too high up in the hedge to pick more’s the pity!

I love the ferns that grow at the side of the road in profusion. I am never able to work out the difference between a fern and bracken though the slipper ferns are obvious.

The going back was harder as it is quite a steep hill but I stopped and spoke to the ponies and caught glimpses of the pool which gives Swanpool it’s name. It is now part of a nature reserve and there are still swans as well as many other water birds.

Some of the trees had lovely red leaves and there were oak galls and acorns on the oaks plus hawthorne berries in profusion. Columbine was everywhere! The ivy was full of flowers which were attracting the wasps and the lacy cascades of Old Man’s Beard was over everything.

All in all a lovely walk, although it was longer on the way back, and lots to look at and remind me of why I love Autumn!

Another Quilt Show!

2009-09-05T16:53:00.001Z

I have just spent a delightful morning at a quilt show run by Kerenza Quilters, a local quilting group, which was held in Kea Church. This is a most delightful venue and although the church isn’t all that old; the date on the porch is 1837; it is a delightful church and full of charm.

The quilts on show were delightful and the setting of the church really showcased their charms.

I particularly liked the way the hessian shopping bags had been enlivened with applique. The fabric journal covers also stood out as worthy of note as did several other smaller items including this cat.

Here are a few of the other exhibits which caught my eye which I found quite inspiring. I loved the numerous and varied postcards.

And so as not to be totally off topic there was a lovely arrangement of flowers in the entrance porch and vistas of trees behind the graveyard. The church itself was worthy of note so here are a few pictures. All in all it was a good morning which we much enjoyed. Especially the coffee and cake!

And to end with a quilt on topic!

Over the Top!

2009-09-02T19:02:00.001Z

You can imagine what these tiny birds are saying. They are all ground feeders and like to peck about under the bird table for spilt seeds. Not today though!Now the conversation would go like this.

Bird on roof: Come on chaps. Be brave. We can make it.

Bird 1 in house: Not likely! We’d be lost in all that foliage or get stuck in the mud and then what would become of us!

Bird 2 in house: That’s right. Who knows what is lurking under those giant acanthus leaves. Could be the CAT!

Bird 1 in house: Don’t say that word! This is a cat free garden. I hope!

Bird on roof: Oh you are such wimps. I can see loads of seeds just lying there in amongst the grass. I’m going to make a dive for it! If you won’t come just cover my back!

Birds 1 & 2 together: Don’t be such a fool. No one has tackled this part of the garden for weeks. It is officially now a jungle. We are too small. It needs a bigger bird!

Just then down swooped a bigger bird and put an end to the conversation by pushing them all out of the bird house!

Drat those pesky pigeons, could be heard floating back on the breeze!

Reasons to be cheerful!

2009-08-31T19:07:00.001Z

It did rain today! The lawn didn’t get cut! The garden is still in need of care and attention! But there are things to be happy about. Hidden behind other plants I found self sown non stop begonias. One is a lovely salmon pink and is hiding under the back wall, and the other is a bright yellow in with the lavender in a stone tub. Quite unexpected!

And although all the dahlias are pink on looking at them closely I find that one is of the cactus variety as opposed to decorative as all the others are. Lovely to have a change!

In spite of the dire looks of the cucumber plants there are still cucumbers bravely growing and more to come. The same can be said of the courgettes. Regardless of this there is still hope of a few more courgettes. The wind hasn’t been kind to the courgettes. They have finally fallen over!

And the begonias continue to blossom brightly and keep the garden looking colourful. The self sown nasturtiums are climbing through the hazels and look so cheerful. An added bonus is that there are some variegated ones from the year before last!

All in all a lot to be pleased about! And I do love autumn. I love the colours of the leaves; the smell of bonfires and the evenings drawing in and the need to light the fire and turn on the lights. The perfect setting for reading a good book! What more does one want!

All Blogged Out!

2009-08-30T19:45:00.001Z

Be warned! I’ve got my saddo head on! Since coming back from Birmingham I haven’t had the same enthusiasm for blogging that I had before. This could be because the garden is a mess, it’s still raining so I can’t do anything and I have a pile of other things that desperately need doing. And so I don’t know what to write about!

At this time of the year I have to get ready for a new term of teaching and for that it is necessary to plan some advertising so that I actually get some students. Then I have to make samples so that we have something to make and finally I have to try and finish all the things I started this term! In my dreams I think!

As I have no pictures of the garden here are some things that the garden, when in flower, has inspired! It does have it’s uses!

Anemones done in silk ribbon.

Two small sachets with embroidery and silk ribbon work.

More silk ribbon work inspired by one of the gardens in Falmouth.This picture was painted on silk and then worked with silk ribbon and embroidery silks.

Chrysanthemums done in silk ribbon worked into a needle case and a medley of silk ribbon flowers on a covered hanger.

I’m also inspired by the surrounding countryside including the sea and it’s environs. Here I have woven some hand dyed fabric and then appliqued and free machine stitched the seaweeds and fish etc onto it.

And last but not least a crazy quilt which is called Crazy About Autumn and showcases appliquéd leaves. It was all done in silks with hand embroidery and beadwork. I use leaves a lot in my work.

The End is Nigh!

2009-08-28T19:00:00.002Z

When I came back from my long weekend away I was devasted at the state of the garden. Everything had got out of hand. The plants were either going to seed, fallen over in the wind (which we still have!), being eaten by various insects and/or caterpillars or dead or dying! The tomatoes are well and truly blight ridden but those green ones that looked healthy which we picked before I went away are beginning to ripen and we have actually had some to eat! A miracle! The courgettes were nearly marrows and now they have turned up their toes and all but two of the plants have decided to have stem rot and given up the ghost! The cucumbers are just about hanging in there but I doubt I’ll get many more cucumbers. The herbs have gone to seed overnight as have the oriental mix lettuces and although they are attractive that isn’t what I wanted. In fact the garden needs urgent attention. Weeding, clearing up and cutting back. And it isn’t even September yet!

The radishes which have/had lots of leaf before the caterpillar attack, but no radishes even after two months!

These eggs on the nasturtiums didn’t last long! There is great satisfaction in wiping out the dreaded caterpillars before they even get to work! Below are courgette flowers full of rain water!

Blight! Need I say more. The picture says it all!

Some of the green tomatoes and the ones that have ripened to date.

Enormous courgettes!

The clematis has gone mad and is twining it’s way through the fennel and the camelia. And the lawn desperately needs mowing but the weather is awful! Malam! Malam!

Back to the ravages of the weather!

2009-08-26T19:00:00.001Z

I had a lovely time away at the festival of quilts and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was a bit galling to realise that the lovely weather we had over the weekend was quite common in middle England. Not for this part of the country the constant wet!

The quilts at the show were quite awe inspiring and I came away motivated and full of enthusiasm

(click to enlarge – lovely firework scene and detail)

for getting down to some serious work. We went

on the second day and it was crowded but not as busy as the first day. Really one needs to devote two days to the show. The first for looking at the quilts in detail and the second for shopping!

I didn’t buy a lot although I spent a fair amount of money. My biggest buy was fabric paint from a lovely lady called Laura. She dyes and prints beautiful fabrics and can be found here. I had to buy books but managed to restrain myself to three! All of which are about surface embellishment on fabric. I can’t wait to get started!

The hotel was lovely,although it seemed to have a rabbit problem! Birmingham seemed to very fresh and clean with lots of new buildings since I was last there. On the way up in the train we passed lots of allotments. Some were really doing well and looked very productive but sadly a few looked quite neglected! Very sad! Lots of apple trees along the track absolutely dripping in apples. And also I saw masses of butterflies on the Buddleia. I can see why it is called the butterfly plant!

Upon my return I discovered that in four days my garden had fallen by the wayside and was a total mess but more of that another time. I’m just glad to be home and now I’m getting ready for autumn!

Going away!

2009-08-18T21:02:00.001Z

I won’t be blogging for a few days as I’m going away. A couple of friends and I are going to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. I am really looking forward to the break and the show where I have no doubt I will OD on fabric and other quilt related goodies! The weather forecast says rain so I am sure the garden will survive for a few days. I shall pick everything that is ready for picking and then Martin won’t have to do anything but look after the tomatoes, such as they are! Truth to tell, I am a tad bored with the garden. It has reached that stage where it isn’t going anywhere and yet it is too soon to say ‘Hello Autumn’ and start pulling things up and thinking of next year! So a small holiday is just what I need!

Taking Photographs at Night!

2009-08-17T20:34:00.001Z

Sometimes it is interesting to take pictures in the garden at night. One of the exercises in my digital camera master class book was to go out and photograph night scenes. Well living in the country I didn’t have bright, busy roads with lots of coloured lights to photograph but I thought it would be fun to experiment with what I did have to hand, namely flowers!

These pictures of nasturtiums show the difference between no flash and flash. The first picture was shot in macro mode but the second picture wasn’t. Apart from the use of flash that was the only difference. I used a slow shutter speed on both of them.

With the honeysuckle, photographing it without using flash but just making the aperture smaller (F2.8) gave a very ethereal quality to the picture. With the flash on there is a brighter picture but less intense.

Then I pointed the camera up into the oak tree and did the same exercise again. The difference is quite startling. Whereas in the first picture there are interesting shapes and cut outs where the sky can be seen, in the second picture it is very obvious what the subject matter is.

At night the Japanese Anenomes have a surreal quality about them that they don’t have by day. I can see why they are sometimes referred to as Moonflowers.

And finally these last two pictures were shot at night some years ago. I was desperate to get a picture of the small silk ribbon embroidered bag I’d made to put on a brochure for classes I was doing. It was night but I thought with flash I’d be fine and I was. But I got a bonus! Unbeknownst to me we had a visitor in the garden and I got this picture of a badger! This was before the hawthorne tree came down and we didn’t have houses behind us. Now we are so built around that no badger could ever find his way here! This picture was taken with the zoom and an ordinary flash.

Fruits of the Garden

2009-08-16T17:16:00.001Z

I was thinking how much I spend on the garden each year and how much I get back. The answer was not a lot in terms of hard currency. Yes, I have covered my costs and more with the amount of courgettes and cucumbers I’ve picked this year. They have done really well in spite of mildewy leaves and dying foliage. In fact they have to my amazement surmounted all my expectations. I think this might be because this year I planted them onto well fertilised ground and in each hole I put chicken manure pellets before planting the small cucumber or courgette plant. This gave them a good start. Secondly I think that they also did well because I grew them vertically tying them to canes so that the fruits fell down rather than lay on the ground. This worked quite well though I notice they are leaning a bit now.

The blueberries did fairly well and produced enough fruit for two very nice upside down cakes and one pie. This covered the cost of the bush I bought this year but I am still out of pocket on the two bushes I bought last year and the year before. I had no blueberries at all from them in those years. But I might end up in pocket over the years if they go on to become large fertile bushes.

The lettuces(these are the last and still taste good in spite of bolting) did well and owe me nothing, as did the herbs. I think I covered my costs there. Well I broke even at any rate. The beetroots were worth growing too.

The tomatoes have been a dead loss and I am out of pocket.

And the hanging baskets and tubs have been less than wonderful. Some of the flowers did well and bloomed for some considerable time while others bloomed and faded in a day! Or what seemed like a day. Here today, gone tomorrow.

So overall I feel I haven’t done too badly. And also one has to add in on the credit side of the balance sheet the total amount of fun that one gets from actually being in the garden. Planting, weeding, planning and all that goes on from day to day. There is total frustration as well but that is small compared to the delights of wandering round one’s plot and seeing what has grown or ventured forth over night. And there is nothing, quite nothing like picking one’s own food!

For Blotanical Members Only!

2009-08-15T16:42:00.001Z

It would seem to me that the pick system on Blotanical has gone AWOL. To begin with I found that when I picked a post I became Stuart. Then I found that I opened a post to read and found that I’d already picked it, probably as Stuart! In fact now nine times out of ten I find that I don’t exist when picking posts. I’m not even able to read them before I’ve picked them. Though these picks probably arn’t as me! I find this all rather confusing. Is it me? Am I doing something heinously wrong? Are you finding it a problem too? Are there several, if not hundreds, of cloned Stuarts wandering around out there picking posts in our names? Well not our names because they are all Stuarts but you get my drift! I’d like people to know that I’ve picked their post. I don’t always get time to comment or else the system shuts up on me and refuses my comment. What does it know that I don’t! So if your posts been picked by Stuart it could be me! Or somebody else. Or even Stuart at a last guess!

Gyllyngdune Gardens, Falmouth, Cornwall

2009-08-15T15:34:00.001Z

These Victorian gardens, which have just been awarded £900,000 of Lottery money for renovation, were created in the mid 19th century as part of the Gyllyngdune Estate by the Reverend William James Cope. It is thought that the house was used as a summer retreat. Now it has been renovated and converted and as well is surrounded by new build apartments and houses set in about an acre of enclosed gardens. It is one of Falmouth’s historically important houses, being thought to have been built in 1838. There is even a tunnel, approached at the top of the cliffs by descending circular steps, where the family could walk directly onto the beach which is now known as Tunnel beach.

Most of the key features of the gardens are suffering from damage and neglect though they are still visible. The uppper area of the gardens is where the Princess Pavilion is. This is a theatre with an Edwardian veranda, a grade II listed bandstand and a rose garden. The bottom area is of a quarry garden with two shell grottos. This is completely natural and wild with mature trees which include oaks and pines. There are magnificent views over the bay.

The shell grottos are unique and quite fascinating. One of the grottos is closed off to the public by a welded iron gate but the other one is open. Both can be seen easily. However the closed off one is more a hermit’s hidey hole than the other. This is the roof of the closed off grotto, decorated with shells, and a view of part of the walls.

I started off in the quarry garden and unfortunately my camera ran out of battery before I got to the top garden so I may just have to re-visit soon. There was a wonderful feeling of history about this garden with it’s wrought iron gates and small pathways. Lots of tropical vegetation that was not at it’s best unfortunately. The stone archway, which reminded one of Stonehenge, was the finishing touch.

Well worth a visit if you are in Falmouth, especially the quarry garden which is approached via steep narrow steps which go down into an overgrown gorge which has a mature gunnera in the middle of it. I should think at dusk this could be a creepy place! Mushrooms or toadstools all ready for Halloween! And the ubiquitous hydrangeas which abound in Falmouth. This one on the left is a macrophyllia(spelling?) variety.

And this small chapel is on the pavement on the sea side of the road from the gardens. It was also built by the Reverend Cope. In 1903 the estate was sold to Falmouth town council and has been in their ownership ever since!

Begonias

2009-08-14T18:12:00.001Z

I have a stiff neck so this will be a short post!I love Begonias! They seem to do well no matter what! I haven’t planted as many this year but they have been doing well since the beginning of May and are still blooming lovely! These pictures were taken at dusk.

The pink ones above are bedding begonias as are the red ones below. They just keep on flowering regardless of the rain, the sun, whether it’s cold or whether it’s hot. And until a few years ago I had never considered growing them.

Non stop Begonias which are larger than the bedding begonias. This year I have a salmon pink one but last year I had a gorgeous orangy-yelloow one. I have two self sown plants which have yet to flower. It will be interesting to see what I get!

White is so hard to photograph! I don’t know what variety these were but the white ones below are bedding begonias. They are all lovely!

My tomatoes are blighting my life!

2009-08-13T19:17:00.001Z

The year before last we had an amazing crop of tomatoes. We used every available bowl to contain them and were giving them away by the sackload. Last year they were not good. They had blight and goodness knows what but we did get a few decent tomatoes!

This year they have started off late and then had a quick spurt of growth with the fine weather in June. They looked good but were slow to ripen and now they have blight and the foliage is dying and brown and crispy looking. As soon as a tomato shows any pink or red colour I am picking it. If there is a blemish then it goes in with the rubbish but otherwise it ripens slowly on its own and looks and tastes good. To date, don’t laugh, we have had seven small cherry tomatoes! There are loads of green tomatoes on the vines still but they are beginning to discolour with all the symptoms of blight. I don’t know whether to strip the plants while the tomatoes are still whole and make chutney or wait and hope that the majority will come through unscathed. It is so depressing, distressing and disastrous! We started off with such high hopes and now this! There just hasn’t been enough sun.

And yet the self sown tomatoes, of what origin I don’t know, are coming along fine and look healthy to boot! Each plant is different. Some of the fruits are small and round and some are long and oval shaped. It will be interesting to see what they taste like.

Two years on the trot for a bad tomato harvest isn’t good and what is more is putting me off wanting to grow tomatoes again! I read in the paper that parts of England had had such hot weather that plants were dying for lack of water. Now which part would that be? Let me move there. I don’t mind watering daily! Oh, but I’d miss the sea!

Photography Practice!

2009-08-12T19:18:00.001Z

I’ve been reading the manual that came with my camera – the Fuiji Finepix S9600. I think I now know what I’m doing wrong when taking close ups. The camera has two modes. One of close ups (macro) and one for even better close ups (super macro). That is: 3.9” and 0.4” respectively. I think in the past I’ve been too close when in ordinary macro mode. Now I find that if I focus and it’s fuzzy and then unfocus and start again from a little further away that I can get a better picture.

For example with the lollo rosso flower head I was too close but when I moved away slightly I got a much sharper picture. It is easy to under estimate or over estimate distances especially when one is wanting to be quick to get a fly or insect into the picture. I do think I’m going to have to invest in some different lenses if I want enlarged close ups! But that’s a lesson for another day. I’m going to try and master one thing at a time rather than over-dose on several and end up not being good at anything! These are some of the pictures I took tonight using my new found knowledge. Not perfect but decidedly better!!

With the nasturtiums above in the first picture I focused on the flower and the bud was hazy but in the second picture the bud was the focal point and the flowers were slightly hazy!

Signs of autumn with berries on the honeysuckle, and yet there are still blossoms as well!

A tiny moth on the hydrangea!

This and that!

2009-08-11T20:15:00.001Z

I’m hopeless at taking pictures. I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t know what I’m doing so I’m going to buy a book on digital photography and work through the exercises. My macro shots are useless and I can’t blame the camera as it is a good one! This was meant to be a close up of the lollo rosso flowers! Good shot of the beetroot though!

This is my Passion Flower plant. It has the most delicious scent and I do hope it has some fruit. It is covered in blossoms at the moment and I still don’t know where to put it!

Now is the season of the dreaded cabbage white. The nasturtiums are covered in small nasty caterpillars and lots of eggs. At least they are being targeted and not the lettuce!

Sadly the last dahlia is pink again! I was so hoping for a different colour but at least it is big and beautiful. It isn’t out fully yet but I think it will be a decorative variety like the others. I’ve got a lovely display of geraniums in a lovely soft pink. Pink seems to be the colour this year!

And last but not least I’m picking loads of blueberries. Certainly enough for another pie or crumble! I bought cream especially!

My Garden is a Mess! It’s Official!

2009-08-10T19:37:00.001Z

It has been a week of rain interspersed with two days of fine weather. I have ignored the garden for this week apart from picking courgettes. The result is that I now have a messy, overgrown garden.

Many of the herbs had finished flowering so I cut them back nearly to the ground. With herbs such as thyme, marjoram, oregano and lemon balm this is essential as otherwise if left they would become very woody and the foliage would become straggly. Now I have an untidy bare herb patch. The lollo rosso lettuces have gone to seed. The cut and come again green lettuces are bearing up and still taste sweet although they are well on the way to bolting! The beetroot is doing well too so altogether this bed has been on the whole successful.

Like every year the courgettes are growing out of hand. To a certain extent they aren’t too bad due to the vertical growing I have made them do but in the last week due to my lack of attention they have worked a fast one on me and grown out at the rate of knots and are now all over the lawn. The picture is blurry as there was a fine mist of rain when I took it.

The borage is all over the place and the tubs with bedding plants in them look sad. They have an autumn look about them even though it is only the beginning of August. The tomatoes have browned off leaves and very few ripe tomatoes. Fortunately I have a good recipe for green tomato chutney! So if they don’t ripen that is what it will be. The fennel is covered in flowers so I am hoping for a good harvest of seeds. The lawn needs mowing and I need to weed and tidy up. The dill that was doing so well is now defunct. I have a horrible feeling that when I dig into the soil in the tub I’ll find vine weevils. That is tomorrow’s job!

I don’t like this time of year. So often the promise that shows in May and June hasn’t come to fruition and now there isn’t time! It is all a tad disheartening. I have picked lots of blueberries but found that 30% of them had been invaded by small worm like creatures. The grubs of some moth I would presume. They are so small though that it is hard to see them until they have done a lot of damage!

I have got lots of courgettes though and several cucumbers which continue to grow even though the leaves look terrible. So all is not lost!

Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry but it was drizzling and overcast! I obviously didn’t focus well! But you get the general idea I hope!

Trevarno Gardens,nr Helston, Cornwall

2009-08-09T19:15:00.001Z

The joy of being on holiday is that one can go on outings! So last Thursday my daughter and I and the two kids went to Trevarno Gardens at Crowntown which is just outside Helston on the way to Praze an Beeble. It was easy to find and the entrance fee wasn’t extortionate. It is one of the great gardens of Cornwall and has been closely connected to the mining industry in the past. The grounds date back to 1246 and are extensive. There are major restoration works going on so it will be worth going back in a year or two to see the changes. One of the projects is the opening of the small railway station on the Helston branch line. It was one of the first to be closed by Beeching in 1962 but now a group of enthusiasts are planning to open it again as a steam railway.

We started in the courtyard where there is a lovely conservatory restaurant(just out of sight in the photo!); the soap and organic skincare workshops; a display of cosmetics from the past; and most importantly the loos! The house is old and probably Georgian but isn’t open to the public except for additional tea rooms and a gift shop. It’s frontage is impressive and looks out over a lovely lawn leading down to the Italian garden complete with fountain. A lovely restful garden with seats so that one could sit and contemplate. Everywhere one went there were peacocks and if they weren’t in sight then one could hear them! Then we followed the trail down to the lake. The printed guides were excellent and we had no trouble in following the paths to end up where we wanted to be.

The lake for me was the most spectacular part of the visit. A Victorian boathouse added to the ambience as did a black necked swan who amused the children by catching and eating several fish! At the further end of the lake was a small weir and a delightful grotto again with fountain but it wasn’t working. So many beautiful trees and such a great variety. This was a woodland walk with so much to see.

After the lake the children wanted to go to the kids adventure playground. On our way there we passed through the walled garden which was of great interest to me because it had raised beds, lots of vegetables and many espaliered apples. This is one of the projects for restoration as the Victorian greenhouse against one wall was almost defunct. It was a mixture of decrepitude and growth. The plants were growing beautifully but the surroundings were in need of care and attention. There was even an old Victorian potting shed in one corner which needed it’s roof mending!

The adventure playground was just that. The kids loved it and it obviously solved the problem of what to do with bored and tired children!

We wandered back to the courtyard and had tea on the lawn. My grandson managed to chase a peacock up into a tree. At four he finds it hard to be still and wanted to get up close but the birds were having none of it!

Then we had a great time looking round the National Museum of Gardening which is one of Trevarno’s claims to fame. This was brilliant. Probably my favourite after the lake. There was so much to see here and all so fascinating. Some of the tools looked as if they’d be a pain to use. Made me appreciate my modern ones. However some of the cloches made me yearn for some! The shapes were great!

The children then had a look at the toy museum which my daughter said wasn’t as interesting as the gardening tools but the kids liked it!

I had to buy a plant! So I bought a passion flower. The variety was Debby which means nothing to me but it has lovely flowers. Now I’ve got it home I don’t know where to put it!

All in all it was a good day out and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can recommend a visit as there is so much to see but it isn’t in the grand tradition of gardens such as Trebah and Glendurgan but then it hasn’t been going so long commercially. (Of course I could be prejudiced because there was no sea only a lake!) It was good! This is a garden that is probably at it’s best in the Spring when the Rhododendrons, Azalias, bluebells and other spring flowers are out.

Many different types of palms.

Lots of Gunnera.

Interesting plants and very old trees.

Fantastic variations of the colour green!

No Time, No Time!

2009-08-02T21:30:00.001Z

I’m not going to be able to blog for a while as my daughter has come to stay and with two young children of 6.5 and 4 it is chaotic. I will be back blogging when I can find a moment!

Times Revisited!

2009-07-31T15:02:00.001Z

Having written about my cameras I thought it would be interesting to look back in my other blog Dyeing2Sew and see when I bought it. Well it was at the end of April 2007 and this is what I posted:

I've been having such fun with my new camera! It is HUGE! Bigger than my old one. The zoom works beautifully and so does the macro facility. Most of the pictures I've been taking I've used the Auto facility but I have been trying out some of it's other features. Here are some examples:

This is Wallflower called 'Patchwork' which smells delightful. Picture was taken on the macro setting. I’m still not that good with macro pictures!

This is zoom picture taken at night. This is a lovely Begonia I have in a stone pot. Eventually the flowers will grow and hang over the edge more.
Normal everyday picture of my herb pots taken with Auto facility. The Begonia from the picture above is the small yellow blob in the centre!

You can see a slight difference in today’s garden and the picture above. In the picture above my Rose of Sharon was big and bushy above the square stone pot. I cut this right down and moved it and it is doing really well. I moved it and the rose behind the lavender to the garden on the left in front of the wall. In this picture there is nothing there. And the herbs have all been planted in the herb bed in front of the kitchen window. Notice how small the bronze fennel was! Also note the obelisk in the back left hand corner. How clear it is! Today it is covered in clematis and that corner is lush with honeysuckle and my pink climbing rose. I tried growing bamboo there in the corner as it was damp but it didn’t take. Now I just have a fern there which is doing really well. It is really interesting to look back a couple of years and see how things were!

Taking Pictures!

2009-07-30T19:39:00.001Z

I am so pleased that I was able to upload a video yesterday. However that was the tip of the iceberg. I still have oodles to learn about videos, not least of which is editing!

The first digital camera I owned was a Fuiji Finepix 4900 with a 6 x Optical Zoom. It was a super little camera and took amazing pictures. Unfortunately the video on this camera didn’t have sound. So I didn’t get into making videos. Then the camera decided to go wrong. The button for choosing the mode worked randomly and seldom in picture taking mode. It was going to cost me an arm and a leg to get it mended so I bought another one.

As I’d been pleased with Fuiji I bought that make again. This time a Finepix S9600. A lovely camera with 10 x Optical zoom and sound on the video! What more could I want? Well this is a large camera and not easy to carry around all the time. So I bought a small Fuiji camera to keep in my handbag. So often one sees something to photograph but has no camera. This one is a Finepix J50 with 5 x Optical zoom. Not a lot but adequate for my everyday needs. And tiny!

I can highly recommend all these cameras. The pictures they take are wonderful. Yes I am talking about all of the cameras. Because as soon as I bought a second camera the first one decided to work again! The following are some of the photos I’ve taken using the zoom or macro facilities.

Using the zoom!

I’d be really interested to hear what camera you have and why you like it!

An experimental video!

2009-07-29T18:19:00.003Z

This isn't anything special. There is no plan, no director in the background pointing out good shots, and not necessarily good viewing BUT it is an experiment. If it works I will promise to get better!

And on a happier note it has stopped raining - for the moment!

Losing the will to live!

2009-07-28T20:52:00.001Z

I have been trying for over an hour to insert a video. I give up! Well at least for the moment! So instead of the post I intended to write I shall just show you a before and after picture!

This was my garden in March before I planted up my herbs and courgettes. And this is what it looks like now! Over crowded and overgrown! I really didn’t envisage it like this!

Perhaps tomorrow I might get lucky and insert a video!

Marjoram – A piquant sauce!

2009-07-27T18:59:00.002Z

I grow Pot Marjoram as a perennial herb. The other variety, Sweet Marjoram isn’t so hardy though it has the better flavour. I grow this variety afresh every year. Being Mediterranean plants they like full sun (in this country!) and good drainage. Once established in a spot they like they will do very well. However it is a herb that gets forgotten in my garden and I don’t use it as much as I should. Here is a superb recipe for a sauce to serve with sausages, beef burgers or meat loaf. Or mix with cooked spaghetti and serve with a bowl of grated cheese to sprinkle over the spaghetti.

Pizzaiola Sauce

1 tbsp freshly chopped marjoram

2 onions, 2 garlic cloves, 1 green pepper

1 dsp olive oil

2oz mushrooms, 1lb tomatoes

5fl oz stock

Tomato paste, chilli sauce, salt and pepper

Mince the peeled onions and garlic cloves. De-seed the pepper and dice the flesh. Heat the oil in a pan and fry garlic and onions over gently heat for 5minutes. Add diced pepper and cook for further 15 minutes before adding chopped mushrooms and skinned and chopped tomatoes.

Stir in the marjoram and add the stock. Blend thoroughly and cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste with tomato paste, chilli sauce and salt and pepper.

_______________________

Marjoram leaves can also be mixed with sugar and used to flavour bread and butter or rice puddings.

Braving the Rain in Falmouth!

2009-07-26T18:26:00.003Z

We went to Trago today which is a large ‘sell all’ cheap department store in Falmouth. When we got to our usual parking space it was over subscribed! This is now tourist season! But I made Martin wait while I took photos of these plants. I don’t know what they are but they are very striking. They are on a bank running parallel with the main thoroughfare in Falmouth. As well they were under planted with Agapanthus and Red Hot Pokers which seem to be very popular in this town.

In the end we had to park nearly on the sea front which meant quite a walk to the shops. Most of the gardens had Draceanas which is very common around here.

Lovely bushes of fuchsia. Even though this is a common variety I do like the red and purple.

Then we came to Arwenack Manor which is the oldest example of a dwelling place in Falmouth. It is a lovely old house and has an interesting knot garden. It is hard to do justice to it with a photo as one can’t get a clear view.

Next door was a garden laid out to palms and succulents. Plants for hot, dry climates which Falmouth once was. We weren’t called the Cornish Riviera for nothing!

Tragos on a Sunday afternoon is crowded! In the summer it is mega crowded. I needed some things or I would have avoided it like the plague! It lies on the edge of the harbour where the small yachts and boats are legion. Opposite on the other bank is the village of Flushing.

There is a good garden section in Tragos down in the basement. They also do hot house flowers of which a few are pictured below. The red flowers on the right looked as if they were made out of metal but I touched them and they are real plants! I don’t know the names of any of them and labels were in short supply!

Coming back along the sea front I was impressed with the display of agapanthus and some white and yellow flowers of which I don’t know the name! What a useless gardener I am!

Not everything in the garden is lovely!

2009-07-25T18:44:00.002Z

I had my usual amble round the garden this morning and to my horror found that there were things going awry! This rose below is being eaten by something nasty. I remember reading about semi-circular holes in the sides of leaves but can’t for the life of me remember what insect it was that made them! Duh!

And on the same climbing rose I found a new shoot growing up extremely vigorously. But is it a new shoot or is it a sucker. The two pictures below show it. Unlike the rose this new shoot is exceptionally bristly; covered in thorns. And it comes from the original rootstock. So do I yank it off or what? I know very little about roses!

I think this is mildew on my courgettes. I pulled off the really badly affected leaves but wonder if this is the beginning of the end! Not fair as I’ve been so careful about watering them. It’s all that rain!

And a couple of the tomatoes that were ripening fell onto the patio. One of them had blossom end rot! Just what I need. I looked at those still on the plant and they seem OK at the moment!

On to happier things. The hydrangeas are looking lovely and beginning to turn from pinky blue to turquoise. The Cosmos continues to do well and I am dead heading daily. This beeis obviously having a good time! And the self sown Mimulus in with the parsley looks great. I meant to pull it out and forgot it but they look really good together. Sometimes things work well!

I am so fortunate

2009-07-24T18:15:00.002Z

to live where I do. This is the first week of the school holidays and already the visitor count has gone up. On hand are lovely safe beaches, good coastal walks, fantastic scenery, interesting historical buildings and wonderful gardens.

This is my nearest beach, just five minutes walk away. It’s downhill on the way there but uphill on the way back which is a shame!

This is one of the satellite dishes at Goonhilly Earth Station. It is not as fully operational as it once was but has a very good visitor centre.

This is Porthleven harbour which is a small fishing village on the south coast. It is a very popular spot with tourists.

Cornwall is full of old engine houses from the tin mining that was all over Cornwall in the last few centuries. Sadly the industry has collapsed and all that remains are these ruins.

A year for foxgloves. I didn’t have any in my garden this year. Usually they are self sown but I have noticed some coming so next year I’ll have some.

The Bio domes at the Eden Project. This is a fascinating place to visit and is one of the most popular visitor places.

Just a few pictures from inside the Eden project. The hut was part of an enclosure representing the far east with its temperature and plants. Below are mangos.

Sailing is very popular here. These are boats on the River Fal. This picture on the left is the Carrick Roads which is a wide part of the estuary leading up to Trelissick House which has great gardens and a craft gallery. The other picture is of the harbour.

These two pictures are from inside Pendennis Castle which Henry VIII built to stop the Spaniards attacking the town. There is another castle on the opposite side of the estuary at St Mawes and these two castles protected the mouth of the river.

Old mining town of Redruth complete with statue of miner!

So it may rain more than the sun shines here but I think I live in a very good spot!

Quick! Catch it!

2009-07-23T18:27:00.002Z

I saw the sun today! I did, really! It kept coming out from behind a cloud and encouraged me to weed the front of the blackcurrants. I still have to get in behind but that is a much bigger job and I didn’t have time for it today.

Not only did I see the sun but it was warm and although still windy it was much less than yesterday. This has helped the garden grow. The dahlias are looking magnificent! Something is eating at the flower petals but I haven’t been able to catch it. The flowers still look OK so I hope I find the culprit before it does too much damage. The self sown nasturtiums look superb against the borage. I love blue and orange as I think I’ve mentioned before. They are complements so it is not so surprising that they go well together. The borage is having a hard time standing up in the breezy weather. More tomatoes are ripening and the courgettes are still providing pickings. Something has eaten half my dill! Well either that or the young plants have rotted off. Does this happen to dill? I bought a dill plant earlier this year and that too rotted off after being in the ground for a week or two! Most disappointing. The blueberries are looking really yummy and I picked four today! Not a lot but over time they will add up; just like the blackcurrants.

The bedding begonias in a pot are doing well and like being in a semi shaded position and the self sown nasturtium is climbing up the hazel. A young blackbird has just taken a bath in this picture. It is funny watching them as they fight over who will go first just like children!

And tomorrow, will the sun be here again? I shall keep my fingers crossed!

Books for when you can’t garden!

2009-07-22T18:48:00.002Z

Today I picked the first cucumber and it was quite a respectable size though not very thick! However it is a start! I’m hoping the others will swell up with all this rain and make a reasonable size. The tomatoes are starting to show some colour so hopefully they will ripen without succumbing to anything horrid! And the yellow courgette has two good sized courgettes which will soon be ready to pick.

Apart from that nothing new is happening and the weather has been too awful to do anything. I desperately need to weed, especially around the blackcurrants but I think we need a bit more sun first as the soil here can be very claggy when it’s wet.

So what does one do when one can’t garden? Among the things that I do is reading and often I’ll pick up a book on gardening to extend my knowledge and give me ideas. My favourite books are:

Your Kitchen Garden by Mitchell Beasley Publishers Ltd. This is an old book but I find it invaluable for all kinds of basic knowledge about fruit and vegetables.

The Complete Book of Herbs by Lesley Bremness. I love this book and it gives me a lot of insight into herbs and what one can do with them as well as cultivation.

Step by Step Container Gardening by Stephanie Donaldson. This is a really useful book for someone like me with a minute garden. Pots and containers are the answer to getting more space!

Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell which is a modern book and similar to the previous book. Good ideas!

The RHS book on Pests and Diseases. A very useful book but there is such a wealth of information that I usually end up confused!

The RHS Garnener’s Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers which gives me lots of ideas and makes me yearn for acres to plant in!

And last but not least. A very old copy of the Reader’s Digest book Food from your Gardening. Very basic, down to earth advice and the answer to lots of my problems.

So what gardening books do you recommend? Do you have a ‘bible’ that you wouldn’t be without? Do you find gardening books inspiring? I’d love to know!

Rain, rain go away!

2009-07-21T20:47:00.002Z

The rain is getting boring! And what is worse it threatens to ruin the tomato crop. Too much rain and they will get blight just like last year! However the flowers in the garden seem to be doing very well. The Gazanias are flowering well even though there is limited sun. They have to be dead headed regularly! The Cosmos are amazing and although the rain batters them about they spring back with remarkable vigour and look as lovely as ever. Again they too need dead heading regularly if I want continuous flowers. I am still picking courgettes and soon I will be able to pick cucumbers. Well one at least! And one of my yellow courgettes is nearly ready to be picked. But apart from that nothing is going on in my garden. It is wet and dreary and I’m going to fall back on a good book!

Herby recipes for a wet miserable Monday!

2009-07-20T17:14:00.002Z

Gathering up some of my past posts and a couple of recipes that make use of garden produce.

For the glut of cucumbers I’m expecting to get!

2 cucumbers, 1 medium sized onion, 2 oz(50g) butter,2 tbsps freshly chopped tarragon, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, salt and pepper (black).

Peel and slice cucumbers into 1/2 inch sticks. Put into a pan of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes then drain. Peel and chop onion and cook in butter without burning it! Lightly browned! About 5 minutes. Stir in finely chopped tarragon and add drained cucumber. Cover with a lid and cook for approx. 7 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Spoon mixture into dish and pour braising juices over, thickening them if needed. Good with chicken and white fish! Believe me!

Dill Sauce

Blanch the dill leaves for 1 minute. Drain and dry on kitchen paper. Chop finely. Whip the cream lightly and fold in the chopped dill. Season to taste with black pepper. Chill in fridge for an hour.

This sauce is excellent with cold meat and fish such as trout or salmon and also good on courgettes which have been baked in the oven. I think I’m having a glut of these! A hot sauce can be made by adding the dill to a white sauce. Add a tablespoon cream and whip in an egg yolk. Good with a baked ham. I often add a tablespoon of cider vinegar to the basic white sauce recipe as it makes the sauce a bit more tangy!

Both recipes are quick to do and add variety! Fennel can be used instead of dill for a different flavour, especially with fish!

Enjoy! Bon appetite!

Herbs I wish I grew in my garden!

2009-07-19T17:22:00.002Z

I have lots of herbs in my herb patch. They include the regulars; sage, parsley, coriander, rosemary and thyme plus several more interesting herbs but which arn’t so common. These include Angelica, Lovage, Hyssop, Oregano, Tarragon, Winter Savoury, Chamomile, Creeping Comfrey, Caraway, Basil, Dill, Fennel, Marjoram, Mint, Sorrel and Sweet Woodruff. There are more too numerous to mention.

But what I really want is a small Bay tree. I use bay leaves a lot especially in stews and casseroles. I also want some Bergomot or Bee Balm as it really does attract bees and looks so beautiful. I need some Sweet Cicely because I have a recipe for Wine cup which needs some Sweet Cicely to give it zing! I would like some Myrtle just because it is beautiful. And I’d really like Elderflower growing somewhere in my garden but I can’t see this happening as it isn’t a small plant. Valerian would be useful. It can be made into a tea which acts as a sleeping draught! And last but not least I would like to grow Yarrow which is good for treating colds and fevers.

I would like to have the simple herbal garden of medieval times plus some of the more modern herbs of today which have been introduced from abroad. If one did nothing but make herbal teas the value to one’s health would be great. There is nothing like a herbal tisane for calming and healing. So what herbs would you choose to grow? What herbs don’t you grow but would like to? The herbs I’m already growing are the ones I really want. And the others are just icing on the cake. Well apart from the Bay tree. That is something I would use constantly!

English Mace flowers.

Cucumbers

2009-07-18T16:53:00.002Z

Last year I had a go at growing cucumbers and it was a total disaster. I think I got one cucumber from three plants! Being a glutton for punishment I thought I’d try again this year. So I put in some seed (Burpless Tasty Green)and waited. The seed germinated quite quickly but while at the local garden centre I noticed some ridge cucumbers for sale so bought one. I hardened this off and planted it in an old strawberry tub that Martin made for me some years ago. I also planted three of my own grown seedlings with it. They all seemed to be doing well and my own grown plants caught up very quickly with the bought in one and there were lots of flowers. I decided to let them grow up canes and stop them after seven full leaves had formed. This was a good decision as they grew quite tall. A bad thing is that something is attacking the leaves but the plants keep on growing and producing little cucumbers. These cucumbers are swelling very very slowly! I wondered if they would ever become edible cucumbers but with judicious feeding, a bit of sun, lots rain and watering when necessary they are coming on nicely. Yesterday I saw that I have quite a sizeable cucumber hanging down the side of the tub. Also that a few of the cucumbers hidden in the leaves are also of a better size. They are not very thick though. Perhaps a bit more warmth would help!

Preserving Flowers!

2009-07-17T18:04:00.001Z

Why not preserve those lovely flowers that are blooming at the moment. You will need a sheet of paper or fabric (cotton or silk) some transfer adhesive (Bondaweb ),and some petals or flower heads. Small flowers can be used whole while larger, thicker flowers must be broken up into petals. Grasses work really well. (see above)

How to do it:

Lay a piece of fabric or paper flat and then iron a piece of Bondaweb on top. Let it cool and then remove the backing paper. Arrange the flowers, leaves, etc on the Bondaweb. Now put another layer of Bondaweb on top of the flowers, minus its backing of silicone paper. If wished put a layer of net or chiffon or other see through material on top of this. Then place a large enough piece of silicone paper over all and press with an iron firmly so that Bondaweb bonds to everything. Gently peel the silicone paper off the flowers. They will be sticky while still warm but this will go as the layers cool.

Above is a piece of handmade paper with grasses and wild flowers and leaves Bondawebbed with a layer of net on top.
Below a small gift bag made out of flowers bonded to silk.

The lily stamens and some leaves.

Above a page from one of my sketch books showing flower petals bonded to Vellum. These were then rolled into beads and coated with varnish. Plus some close ups of the page.
Below is a card made from hand-made paper with a free machined grid and bonded Hydrangea flowers individually cut out. This is ten years old!

Nasturtiums Bondawebbed onto paper. Considering this is at least seven years old the colours are impressive! Below are some pages from one of my sketch books. Also two more views of the little silk bags with hydrangea flowers.

Not all flowers hold their colour for years. The calendula flowers above have gone a softer blue over time though the marigold below has kept a brighter colour.

The pattern for the bag.

Why don’t you try it? My students love it when I do a class on this! It is a very simple and quick technique though I can guarantee that you will be become addicted and be plundering your garden for flowers to use.Rose petals are great, especially if scented. Scented pieces can be used as drawer liners. Pictures, cards, little present bags, etc. etc. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that these pictures will enlarge so you can see more detail.

A Small Tool I Can’t Live Without!

2009-07-16T17:50:00.001Z

In fact it is so wonderful that I have bought extra to give as small Christmas presents. We are half way through the year so I can quite legitimately think of Christmas!

It is a small pair of secateurs, which are really sharp, but which have a myriad of tools hidden in the handles. On one side there is a pair of scissors, a small screwdriver, a little saw (I have yet to use this) and a rake. On the other side are four more tools. A small spade, knife, stem stripper or pry bar and a ruler which doubles as a file. The rake is most useful, especially for raking soil over seeds in a small pot. Used on end it will also firm them down too. And as well it comes with a handy carry case which will fit on a belt for convenience. And it is all stainless steel. I’m very pleased with mine and impressed with its usefulness. Now I just have to make sure I know where it is at all times!

Chamomile – A sad tale!

2009-07-15T18:16:00.002Z

I have been very bad! As I studied the garden yesterday I had a sudden nasty shock! The small chamomile plant that I’d stuck into a small pot until the weather was better before planting it in April was still there in the pot! I had forgotten it! Now that is bad and to make me feel worse the poor little plant had been doing it’s best and even produced some flowers! This is a plant that likes to spread! How could I have overlooked it? It was in full view on the low wall surrounding the patio. But I did! Chamomile is such a useful herb to have in the herb garden and makes a wonderfully refreshing and calming tea. One can use either the flowers or the leaves and it can be dried or fresh.

As well as tea the flowers can be steeped in hot water to be used as a relaxing footbath or a natural hair lightener particularly for blondes. The stronger the tea the more effective it is. Chamomile has other uses too. One not always known is that if planted near an ailing plant it will revive it! Infuse and spray on seedlings to prevent ‘damping off’ and onto compost to activate decomposition. The flower can be used to obtain a yellowy brown dye (use a mordant of alum and cream of tartar). And finally an infusion added to a bath will not only be calming but will help take the sting out of sun or wind reddened skin.

I have to rush out now and find it a permanent home and plant it, even if it is only in a bigger pot. The problem with putting it in the garden is that it needs full sun. I love this plant as it spreads so easily to make a carpet and it is so forgiving! In the spring it can be divided to make more plants!

Contemplation!

2009-07-14T20:17:00.001Z

I sat and had my breakfast looking out at the garden through the French windows. The garden tends towards cottage garden which in my view means lots of plants, close together with no earth showing. Not for me the neat carefully tended single plants in acres of soil. However this approach of mine can lead to overcrowding if not carefully monitored and the resultant look is not so much ‘cottage’ as abandoned! I rather fear this is happening to my herb patch so I will need to cut a lot of them down, especially the sage and lemon balm which are threatening to take over. As well, giving them a short back and sides will stop them from becoming woody.

It was very pleasing to see out of the corner of my eye that the first hanging basket with Tumbler tomatoes actually had some ripe ones in it!

We have three hanging baskets with tomato plants at all stages in them. The first one has bought in plants and is the earliest to produce. Then the next two are home grown plants one earlier than the other. These plantings take us through until the end of September with tomatoes though last year was a very bad year for tomatoes and most of them were blight ridden.

Having decided on a plan for the workload for the next week I then sat and watched the birds in the birdhouse. We have a lot of finches and blue tits but the tits prefer the hanging seed basket to the bird house.

Blackcurrant Tart

2009-07-13T18:27:00.001Z

At last I’ve picked enough blackcurrants to make a blackcurrant tart. I have been saving them up in the fridge and I’m amazed that they have kept so well. These have come solely from the large Baldwin bush and the two smaller Baldwin bushes that I planted as cuttings a couple of years ago. I will still have some blackcurrants to pick from the other, later, Ben Alder bush. I think that I’m losing berries from this bush to the birds. The strings of currants on the Baldwin, which is an early blackcurrant, are hidden in the foliage whereas on the Ben Alder they are much more prominent. Next year I will have to seriously think about netting them. For the moment I shall just enjoy my tart! This was a very easy tart to make. Just a layer of pastry on the plate topped with the blackcurrants and 1 tablespoon sugar; then a lattice layer which I brushed with egg and sprinkled sugar over. Bake in a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Then serve warm with cream! Quite delicious!

Soon I should be able to think about making blueberry pies as one bush is almost ready to pick!

Interesting visitors or regular inhabitants?

2009-07-12T16:54:00.002Z

This was the first one which we found last summer and we were amazed to see it on this rose. We wondered where it had come from and how it was surviving. The best guess was that at the end of term some child had brought it home from school to look after and then it had escaped! We then, over the next four months found several more, mostly on the Hypericum. They were all adults and all seemed very healthy. In case you are wondering what they are, they are Stick Insects!

Then this spring I found a baby one clinging to the Weigela. Another one in the garage and one in the kitchen. So obviously my adults were breeding. But where? And how had they survived over the very cold winter we had had?

And then recently I found another one, again a baby, on a plastic tub in my kitchen. And after that several more on the Hypericum. All babies. I haven’t yet seen an adult Stick Insect this year yet! There is time!

I have to be especially careful when cutting branches off the Weigela as these tiny creatures just drop onto one, or onto the ground where they could be trodden underfoot!

This is obviously turning into a wild life post. So here is a picture of two young blackbirds taking dirt baths under my currant bushes. I don’t think the blackcurrant roots will have been overjoyed as they are very shallow rooted! To really see the picture click on it to enlarge. I had to take it from inside the house so as not to frighten them away!

And it has stopped raining!

Rain All Day!

2009-07-11T18:02:00.001Z

It has rained all day today. The garden is soaking and now the wind is getting up. Earlier it was quite warm and humid; good growing weather but it has turned cold again. Nothing has been done in the garden at all. So a very short post today!

A couple of years ago we went to Llanhydrock with my son and his girlfriend and I was very impressed by the formal rose garden and the meticulously shaped trees. Llanhydrock is a fascinating place to visit. I had lots more photos but managed to lose them when my computer was formatted! Most annoying!

This and That!

2009-07-10T18:51:00.001Z

This Spring we had to take the top off our oak tree as it was becoming top heavy. Our neighbour behind us is forever chopping the branches back on his side which makes the poor tree unbalanced. We reckon this tree is at least 150 years old! And so it deserves a bit of care and attention. Anyway Martin gave it a pruning and it looked a bit bare and forlorn but I am happy to say that it has come into leaf and is looking good. Also it is putting out new shoots at the rate of knots. At least it will not be a problem for another five years!

The dahlia has finally opened and it is a decorative one. I think the other one will be of the cactus variety though in the same colour. I planted several colours last year but the only ones to have survived the winter are all this rich pink.

I have this clematis (click to enlarge picture) climbing over an obelisk at the back of the garden. You can see the fern and honeysuckle in the background. It never flowers and I don’t know what it is. It is very pretty having delicate feathery leaves. If anyone knows I’d be grateful for any information. It isn’t evergreen!

The weigela (spelling?) is having a second flowering. This one is Bristol Ruby which is a dark red. The bumble bees love it!

And the Hydrangea is flowering but a lot paler than other years. Normally it is a rich blue or pink (depending on where in the garden it is) but it is very washed out. Perhaps it will darken up later.

And it is raining. . . again!

Time for some recipes!

2009-07-09T19:00:00.001Z

With only a very small garden sometimes one has nothing to do! Well other than water and weed! But at this time of the year most plants are at their most abundant and it is useful to have ways of using the surplus they produce. I don’t know where I found these recipes but I’ve had them for some time and use them regularly. Particularly the chicken and zucchini one which is delicious. And it could be that I may have a glut of courgettes as we call them as the plants are producing really well after their dodgy start.

Lemon balm is a herb that will take over the garden if allowed. Not only does it grow very vigorously but also creeps along the ground sending up new shoots. And to add insult to injury it shoots its seeds wide and far. It is true to say that once one has Lemon Balm one has it for life. However it is a herb that I like even though it isn’t the most attractive being bushy and straggly!

Melissa Healing Potion
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an energizing and stress-
relieving herb. It can also help with head-aches and depression. If you are going through a period of stress, grief, or anxiety, you might like to try the following potion:
1 cup boiling water
3 tsp dried lemon balm leaves or small handful fresh leaves
Infuse the lemon balm leaves in the boiling water for
ten minutes, and say:
Bring me rest and bring me peace.
Harmony come and pain release.
Take a cup each evening for three weeks.

Note: I find it works wonderfully well even without the chant! Honey or Agave Nectar can be used to sweeten it.

CHICKEN AND ZUCCHINI STEW
Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 (18 ounces) can tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock (this can be stock cubes)

1 small green pepper, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped(more can be added if you have a lot to use up!)
Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
2 teaspoon minced fresh basil
1-1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts,
cooked and cubed into 2-inch pieces
DIRECTIONS
Drain the liquid from the tomatoes into a saucepan. Chop the tomatoes and set aside. Add the stock, green pepper and garlic to the tomato liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.

Add reserved tomatoes, zucchini, pepper, salt, and basil. Simmer until zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes.

It is very good with cream, crème fraiche or cheese stirred into it!

And to end on a note of horror I found this on my walk round the garden this evening! It is on my spearmint mint which is just about to burst into flower! It is so like the plant that I almost missed it. It is now a squashed thing!

What a Surprise!

2009-07-08T16:53:00.001Z

To my absolute delight I found this hidden away behind the tubs of bedding plants. It had been in my mind just a pot with old soil and weeds growing in it. However today for some reason I took a closer look and see what I found! Totally amazing its a young Avocado plant. When we were emptying the compost bin in the early spring I noticed there were lots of avocado stones which seemed to have started developing but hadn’t come to anything. One seemed a bit more advanced and so I stuck it in an empty pot, and this is the result! We grew one a few years ago on the window sill by balancing the stone on toothpicks over water in a glass. Eventually we put it in the garden and it grew quite tall but it was always tall and spindly as you can see in this picture below. This was my garden last summer! I wasn’t as organised and things were really getting out of hand! The Avocado was three years old in this picture. Click to enlarge.

So what do I do with this one?

Walking Around the Garden after the Rain!

2009-07-07T19:45:00.001Z

It poured with rain first thing and woke me up but after that the day improved and we even had some sun. But what was more important was that it was considerably warmer and although still breezy not as strong as it has been. I took the camera and did a little tour to see what is coming on and what has been rain or wind damaged. My garden is so tiny that none of this takes long! Fortunately there was very little damage that I could see which was a relief as I’d have felt guilty for not staking more of the taller plants.

The purple radishes I planted a few days ago have germinated and are looking healthy. The beetroot is looking good and ready to pull. I am not good at thinning out. I hate to pull up plants and so always leave things a tad on the close side but it doesn’t seem to have harmed the beetroot. The lettuces are getting away from me as we can’t eat them fast enough. I’ve been giving them to friends but I think I’ll have to make some soup as I have more coming on.

On the flower front the dahlias are almost ready to fully open. And the Japanese anemones are in bud. They don’t usually flower until the end of the month. My Floribunda rose ‘Retirement’ is flowering nicely and I dead headed several flowers which had gone past it. I noticed too that I have Campanula creeping up the fence. This is another flower that self-seeds at the rate of knots.

The courgettes are coming on well after their dodgy start. I am tying them up sticks so that they don’t sprawl so much. It seems to be working. As they grow up I will tie them in with old stockings as they are soft. I have sunk a few bottles in next to the plants with the bottom cut off and I’m watering them through the bottles so the water gets straight to the roots. They seem to be thriving on it. We have had several pickings already.

I am growing a yellow courgette which is just showing some small yellow courgettes at the bottom of the stem.

The herbs are doing well. The bronze fennel is in flower and I shall dry the seed heads when they are ready as fennel seeds are so useful in the winter. The caraway is also starting to flower and I will do the same with this plant.

All in all things have made a big leap forward and it is now a question of what to sow in the spaces left by the lettuce. I am contemplating spring cabbages. I have never grown them before but that is no reason for not having a go.

And last but not least the lavender is making a strong statement next to the kitchen door. I’m hoping it is keeping the flies at bay! It smells glorious anyway!

Under the Weather!

2009-07-06T19:41:00.002Z

Rain, wind, more rain, even more and gustier wind, followed by . . . yes, you’ve guessed, even more rain! And to cap it all I’ve got a stiff neck which is making me most miserable. I think I got it crawling around under the blackcurrant bush, Baldwin, picking the last few blackcurrants. The paucity of the currants has to be seen to be believed. I have actually managed over the last two weeks to get the magnificent weight of 5.5 ounces! Well I suppose I can just about make a plate tart, especially if I augment the blackcurrants with some blueberries. All this from one bush! Wow! There is still one bush to go. The Ben Alder is later than the Baldwin and is only just beginning to colour up! It has more strings of berries on it so I am hopeful for at least 7 ounces!

But I certainly won’t be crawling around picking them until my neck stops being stiff and I feel less like a wooden puppet! With the weather as it is I don’t see them ripening for at least ten days or even longer!

Evergreen Clematis

2009-07-05T16:48:00.001Z

I have an evergreen Clematis which is quite rampant. It has spiky dark green leaves and flowers in the middle of winter. The flowers look as if they are made of paper and are very fragile and white. The inside of the petals are streaked with purple. I have been growing this plant for the last five years at least and have only ever seen the flowers in full bloom. Probably because it is winter and cold and I’m not wandering around the garden in the same way as I do in the summer. However today I saw a bud, a full flower and a rather wind battered flower, that, having been caught on a stem was showing it’s inside colouring quite blatantly.

It would be quite easy to miss this bud it is so tiny and fairly nondescript!

The petals truly are like paper, very thin and fragile but with the gorgeous inner colouring. The second picture doesn’t really do it justice having been mutilated in the wind and caught on the stem, but you can see what I mean! And how strange that it should flower now. Well out of season.

I have no idea what this plant is called. I have several clematis and I don’t think I know the names of any of them. One is like apple blossom; one has large pink flowers and the third one has lacy frilly leaves but has never flowered! I rather think people have given them to me and that is why they are nameless! But they all ramble and climb well! Too well!

Queen Mary Gardens, Gyllyngvase, Falmouth.

2009-07-04T16:59:00.003Z

These gardens are right by the beach at Gyllyngvase and were opened in 1912 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Mary who was the wife of George V. There are lots of tropical plants and masses of Gunnera (hope I’ve got the spelling right). Click on all pictures to enlarge!

I can remember playing in the gardens as a child and running and hiding in the Gunnera was the best thing ever! The gardens are laid out quite formally with beds and sweeps of lawn. Some of the plants are quite spectacular. I have to admit right now that I am bad on the names of plants! So I will just insert the pictures and leave you to guess! Well some things I know!

I love these red hot pokers.

I think these are Proteas but I could be wrong!

The Agapanthas weren’t quite out yet but when they are they will make a magnificent statement as there were masses of them.

These Monterey Pines at the edge of the car park were planted by the Victorians and there are lots of them in this part of Cornwall. Sadly being over a hundred years old a lot of them are rotten and are being cut down. What was once a familiar sight is now being lost and none have been planted in the past to take their place.

This is looking across the end of the gardens to the beach and the sea. There are often large ships in the bay as the entrance to Falmouth harbour is to the left of this picture. When I was a child there were beach huts on the beach in semi-circles along the back of the sand. There were five circles in all but now it is just bare sand.

Why? The Imponderables of Gardening!

2009-07-03T18:23:00.001Z

Why after blazing sun and then torrential rain do we have to have wind! Cold wind! I spent this morning tying up and staking most of the tall plants, especially the Bronze Fennel and the Cucumbers. Some of the plants were flat on the ground and looking very sorry for themselves! The combination of sun and rain brought the cucumbers on rapidly leaf and height wise. The fruits are still minute!

Why when watering do I always end up with wet feet? I am careful, I don’t overfill the watering can and yet by the end of a watering session my feet are soaking!

Why when I’m dead heading are the spent flowers on Petunias and Gazanias so sticky? So very sticky in fact that I have to really scrub my hands to get rid of the stick!

Why are bought in plants more likely to get rot, blight, weevils,and anything else you care to name? Whereas the plants I’ve grown myself which haven’t cost me an arm and a leg will soldier on getting very little in the way of disease and pest infections.

Why is it that I only notice the bindweed that is intrinsically wrapped around a thorny rose when it gets to the very top and is out of reach?

Why do I plant the wrong things in the wrong place? I planted my self-blanching celery near to my courgettes and now it is buried under the umbrella like leaves of the courgette. Didn’t I think about this at the time? Obviously not!

Why do the birds peck off the unripe fruit on one bush but leave the ripe fruit on another bush alone? Mad!

Why,why,why,why,why? Too many imponderables!

On a more positive note my cherry tomatoes, I should say Martin’s cherry tomatoes as he does all the work associated with them, are growing a treat! Soon we’ll be picking a complete salad!

Rain! I wanted rain but . . .

2009-07-02T18:12:00.001Z

The garden was desperate for some rain because even though I was watering daily that wasn’t as good as rain water or probably not nearly enough! However when it did rain it didn’t do things by halves. Starting at midnight we had thunder and torrential rain which continued on and off until lunchtime.

It was bouncing off the paving slabs and battering the more delicate plants so that they flattened where they grew. I had watered thoroughly the night before and I was glad I had as the rain soaked into the dampened soil rather than running off it as it would if it had been dry. There were several small floods in the vicinity as the drains gave up trying to cope with so much rain all at one go.

The Cosmos has gone from this to this with ragged and battered blooms.

Just a bit of sun and some warmth and it will all be blooming lovely again!

Why do I garden?

2009-07-01T18:20:00.002Z

I was complaining to a friend that with all this hot and dry weather we have been having that I’m having to water every day. To which they replied ‘Why do you garden then if it’s such a chore’. That made me think! Why do I garden? I garden because the thrill of watching things grow, the excitement of sowing seeds and seeing them germinate, the joy of picking food from the garden to eat that night, the calm of walking round the garden observing the changes and listening to the birds make my life complete. I have always been a nature lover right from childhood when at the age of seven my favourite lesson was the nature walk to observe at first hand the falling leaves in the autumn, the first snowdrops, the berries on the trees and the frost in the winter on the puddles. I was ever the eager child bringing found items to put on the nature table and as I grew older and became involved with our garden at home I began to love the gardening cycle of sowing, planting and harvesting. Because my father was such a gardening guru when it came to vegetables, they have always been my first choice of plants to grow. We grew so many vegetables that on our yearly trek to Cornwall in the summer to visit the grandparents, there would be no room for us kids as the back of the car would be filled with sacks of potatoes, bags of peas, loads of apples and much more. We did the three hundred mile journey perched on top of these delectables, albeit on cushions! No wonder I was always car sick as a child! :-) But being back in Cornwall was fun, and we were there for two or three months, so it was worth it!

I garden so that I can have visions such as these,

and also to have the doubtful pleasures of watering daily in hot weather! Mainly so that my garden doesn’t turn into the Sahara as it is trying to do at the moment! This was the dark, dank and very wet spot in the corner!

So why do you garden?

Cucumbers! Lettuce Soup!

2009-06-30T19:55:00.002Z

Last year I grew ridge cucumbers in the garden and got precisely one cucumber! Well being a glutton for punishment I am having another go. I don’t know a lot about growing cucumbers but I’ve been reading up about them. I have tiny cucumbers showing and I’ve stopped the vine after seven leaves to allow the laterals to develop. I am growing them in a deep tub and tying them to poles so that they grow up rather than hang down. I have four plants altogether but some are more advanced than others. I have two in this grey tub and a couple in large pots. They are all showing small cucumbers and those in pots are attaching themselves to the sticks with suckers like clematis does.

Any advice will be gratefully received! I am watering them well and feeding them regularly. I don’t know what else I can do but keep my fingers crossed!

With this humid sticky weather we are having, the rest of the garden is coming on really well. The beetroot which I sowed at the edge of the herbs is looking really good. I have sown a second sowing to follow on in the autumn. I like raw beetroot grated on to salads. I never knew one could do this until I bought a pack of bistro salad from Asda!

The lettuces too are getting out of hand but there is always lettuce soup! These are an oriental mix that I sowed about a month ago. They are very quick to grow and already I am picking leaves off them. Next to them is a row of spinach.

Lettuce Soup

At least one whole lettuce or equivalent in leaves. A red onion. Clove of garlic.Pint of vegetable stock. Seasoning. Dill, tarragon or basil-approx 2 table spoons of whichever is chosen. 1 tablespoon olive oil. Crème fraiche.

Add oil to large saucepan. Chop onion and garlic and add to pan. Sweat over low heat for 10 minutes. Make up stock and add to pan with chopped or torn lettuce plus black pepper to taste. Add herb of choice. Bring to boil and then simmer for ten minutes. Cool slightly and add half a tub crème fraiche. Stir in until melted. Liquidise until smooth. Serve with sprig of chosen herb and swirl of cream to decorate. Can be served cold. Is very good!

Courgettes and other things!

2009-06-29T18:11:00.003Z

Today I picked the first courgettes. I had so much good advice about blossom end rot and other problems, and since I have sunk plastic bottles with the bottoms cut off upside down next to each plant and watered them through the plastic bottle I haven’t had any damping off problems. Of course this could be because we’ve had sun and much warmer weather! But then I’ve been watering them every day so if there was going to be a problem with watering then it would have showed up. There are only the two of us so these will be sufficient to add to the meal tonight. They were picked from the first plant which is that much more forward than the others which I grew from seed. I have five plants in all and if they do well we may have more than we know what to do with! There are already more coming!

Courgettes Au Gratin

Halve the courgettes and fry lightly in butter. Put to one side. Cut 4 slices of back bacon into small pieces, chop one onion and fry together until bacon is crisp. Arrange courgettes, onion, bacon and four sliced tomatoes onto a serving dish. Sprinkle over four tablespoons of breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon chopped tarragon (french is best), four tablespoons grated cheese and season with salt and pepper. Place under a hot grill until cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve and enjoy! It is delicious!

These past few days have been a mixture of sun, cloud and rain. It has obviously been good for the garden as things are really perking up. This glorious begonia decided to show it’s face as did the marigold. I am not a great fan of marigolds (well unless they are the old English variety) but this looks well with the dark blue of the lobelia.

My Other Life!

2009-06-28T19:15:00.001Z

When I’m not gardening or working I’m sewing. I find that where I live and nature in general give me loads of inspiration for my textile works. The sea, which is just a five minutes walk down the road, is always good to motivate me as it is forever changing. Walking along the cliff tops one sees different vegetation and wild life as well and it is all this that gives me ideas for my work.

This bag was inspired by the masses of anenomes I had one spring. They are such a wonderfully colourful flower. This small bag(I love making bags!) came about because I had a yen to make something with a seaside motif. As well as the shell with the fish hiding inside it, I also added hollyhocks and campanula from the garden too.

I made these silk cushions as Christmas presents last year. I designed a whole series of fruit patterns which I then taught in my Friday morning patchwork class. It was great fun doing them. This piece was also great fun to do. I painted all the leaves, being inspired by the myriad colours of the leaves blowing in the garden which kept getting caught on the vines on the back wall, and then cut them out and appliqued them to a free-machined embroidered background.

And last but not least a silk ribbon embroidered piece inspired by a visit to Trebah gardens. I painted the silk and then embroidered it with hand-dyed silk ribbons and embroidery silks, working from a photograph to get the placement of various plants correct. I particularly liked working the ferns, bottom left!

So when it rains, as it did today, I have plenty to do indoors and if I run out of ideas I can always have a look in the garden!

Our Boring Front Garden!

2009-06-27T18:06:00.001Z

I want to grow more! I am running out of space and suddenly the answer came to me………raised beds! And not only in the back but the front of the house as well.

Our front garden is boring. It is enlivened by one poor Cordyline(sp?)which my son brought down from Scotland for us. Living on an estate the gardens all run into one another and although some people do their best to make the front of their houses individual others don’t and I afraid until this moment I have been of that category of garden owner! To be fair to myself I just didn’t know how to proceed. It is a very small patch of grass and ends just after the paving slab path. But it suddenly came to me….why not put in a small double brick wall between my neighbour and us. A double brick wall with earth in the middle so that I can grow herbs, flowers, whatever. Anything that is tolerant of shade as the front of the house is north facing. This wouldn’t be a high wall just a couple of feet or so, but enough to make a statement. There is just enough room between the path and the end of our house. So this will be a project.

And then I thought, you can see I’m beginning to get carried away here, why not a raised bed in the back garden.

I could slice off a section at the end of the lawn by the paving slabs and perhaps have a raised bed here about a metre deep and whatever length there is at that spot. This would give me oodles more room to grow things such as vegetables; particularly crops to go into the autumn and winter. And this spot gets a lot of sun for most of the day! Oh I’m full of ideas! I have yet to discuss this with Martin but I’m hoping to go ahead with the back garden project this week. I’d be happier if it had been done yesterday but this coming week will do!

The herb Feverfew and what it can do for you!

2009-06-26T18:49:00.002Z

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a daisy like perennial herb that has probably always had a place in cottage gardens back through the centuries. Bees do not like Feverfew! Which is a sure sign that it has other attributes! It has a strong scent and wards off other creepy crawlies as well. The dried leaves can be put into sachets and used to ward off moths in the wardrobe.

Both the leaf and flower can be used to make a tea. It is especially good for migraine sufferers but also for ordinary headaches and is a cure for hangovers. It has been found to be helpful for both arthritic and rheumatic pain especially if they are of an inflammatory nature. If chewing the leaves which taste disgusting (ask me how I know!) it is necessary to rinse the mouth out with water as they can give rise to mouth ulcers due to an allergic reaction in some people. But chewing a couple of leaves the morning after will certainly get rid of any hang over feelings.

It is certainly an attractive plant and works well in the herb garden giving a splash of colour among all the green leaves. It grows to about 2ft in height and makes quite a bushy plant. It is worth having just to keep the moths at bay and preserve those winter woollies!

Gardening is changing my life!

2009-06-25T17:42:00.001Z

After doing the weekly shop at Asda I bought a gardening magazine called ‘Grow Your Own’. There was a coupon inside for free tomato food! Today I went to Redruth and after visiting a fabric shop with a friend, where I bought very little (not like me at all!) I went to get my free bottle of tomato food and bought another gardening magazine on the way. This one was called ‘Kitchen Garden’. Both were very informative and there is a lot to be learnt from them with very interesting articles on herbs and soft fruit. But the point is I haven’t bought a gardening magazine in the last five years! Usually I’ll buy a patchwork or embroidery magazine! I am becoming obsessed with gardening! Is this because for the first time in a long time the garden is being fairly productive? Or because I have more time to devote to gardening? Whatever it is I’m having fun and isn’t that the main thing!

The lilies were yellow and although today was not the hot and bright sunny day they forecast it was dry and a tad on the humid side. This was just enough to make the blossoms open. But doesn’t this strike fear into one’s heart. The sight of these flowers makes me rush out like a mad woman and rip out the offending plant wherever I can find it. And that is half the trouble that the roots cannot always be found, and even if found they run across the garden for miles. Leave only a tiny bit of root and it will be back fourfold! I’m talking about Columbine or Bindweed! Such a pretty flower with such a pretty name but Bindweed describes it best. It winds itself in and out of plant stems, stalks and branches and slowly strangles them. Each year I fight a losing battle with this plant but at least it never gets a complete hold! There is no way that I will ever be able to eradicate it from the back wall which is a Cornish stone wall covered in ivy and campanula, and growing several hazels and a rhododendron in the top of it. I am going to have to look upon it as my cross to bear and be thankful that I don’t have any in the main borders!

Withdrawal symptoms!No Blotanical!

2009-06-24T17:49:00.001Z

It was a disastrous day yesterday as I couldn’t access Blotanical at all. Usually the problems are with different pages on the site but this time I couldn’t even get to the site; neither at home or at work. Does this happen to anyone else? It was disappointing as I have got used to reading my favourite blogs and picking interesting posts. It was a bit like having an arm cut off and to make it worse I hadn’t backed up blogs I liked so I was bereft! :-(

In the morning I made an effort and did some weeding and found I had a friend. This dear little young Robin followed me around within a couple of feet and didn’t seem at all afraid. As I pulled up a weed and moved on, so he was right there looking to see what bugs had been unearthed. The weather was warm and sunny and there was quite a lot of insect activity so he should have found quite a good feast!

I am waiting with bated breath for these lilies to open. I had about seven originally but now there are only three and I have a feeling that they are all going to be yellow as that seems to be the colour they revert to. They started off as pink and tiger lilyish! And the blackcurrants are still ripening one by one. I might be able to make a pie by the beginning of July if the one’s I’ve already picked haven’t gone bad!

Looking Back! My first Garden!

2009-06-23T20:08:00.001Z

This is the cottage in Devon that my husband Martin and I bought when we were first married, and renovated. Well a builder did most of the renovating of the house but we tackled the garden. The cottage was mentioned in the Doomsday book and built around 900 AD from what we were able to find out. It was in a bad state and had been condemned by the council which made it very very cheap! There was no running water only a pump in the kitchen which brought water up from the well in the garden. No mod cons and the main roof beam was broken due to someone covering the rotting thatch with asbestos sheets rather than re-thatching. But it did have over a quarter of an acre of garden! Very overgrown garden to be sure but it was south facing. The other attraction was that the cottage was miles from anywhere, in the country and down a lane.

We cleared the garden and Martin spread loads of pig manure on it from the piggery next door! The top we leveled and turned into a patio, lawn and rose garden. The bottom we made into another lawn and a large vegetable plot. As the garden had been sloping we got a digger in and Martin carved out two levels so I was able to have a long rockery against the top level. We grew strawberries on the outflow from the septic tank and I’ve never had such superb strawberries since. And a green house over the septic tank because it was the only flat concreted surface at the time. We had to cut down most of the trees as they were rotten but in the five years we were there we were able to plant more. Unfortunately this was before the advent of the digital camera and I didn’t take as many pictures because in those days they all had to be developed and that cost money which as a young couple we didn’t have a lot of.

We were so excited about our vegetable garden that we went to the Devon County Show and bought an enormous freezer which had to live in the sitting room as there was no where else for it! That first year it had three bags of peas in it! But after that it certainly earn’t it’s keep! It was this garden that taught me most of what I know today. Especially that gardening can be frustrating and that patience is a virtue! I’m still not that good at the patience bit but I’m getting there!

Today I was good!

2009-06-22T18:52:00.003Z

I walked to the garden centre! I did this so that I couldn’t be tempted to buy any plants as there would be no way I could have carried them home! I needed slug pellets as I had just planted out some lettuce plants and no way did I want them to end up like this! I planted out this poor borage in the morning and by the time I came back from work in the afternoon the slugs had had a party! Having so much stonework there is a plethora of slugs and snails and they are virtually impossible to get rid of! So it had to be slug pellets!

I was also good in that I walked round the garden (not a big chore considering it’s size) and transplanted all the self sown plants that were in the wrong place. This included bronze fennel (3 plants), cherry tomatoes (6 plants at least!), borage (too many to mention), mimulus (1) and a poor little pansy! I also found several interesting grasses and cabbage type plants which have grown from the bird seed. The pigeons and blackbirds do a good job at eating the dropped seed on the ground but not quite good enough!

A mimulu in the wrong place. Is that the singular of mimulus or is it like sheep?

And I shall end by thanking Janet of Island Garden fame for telling me about the post on Unaccustomed Earth about Blossom End Rot on Courgettes. I was unable to find this post due to the vagaries of Blotanical but I did find several posts on the net on BER so that I now know a whole lot more than I did previously. Without Janet I would never have gone down this route and just moaned. Moaning is easy!

Romantic Tea for Midsummer’s Night!

2009-06-21T20:02:00.001Z

As it’s Midsummer’s Night I thought this Romantic Tea recipe might be fun to try! Enjoy!

Romance Tea
1 tablespoon grated ginger root
7-10 cloves
2-3 cinnamon sticks
4-5 black peppercorns
Gently simmer these herbs in 2 cups of water for 20
minutes. Strain and add a little milk and honey, and if
you like, quarter teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Share this tea with your lover after a romantic meal (spicy, to get the blood flowing) and see what happens!

The Longest Day! Need I say more!

2009-06-21T19:39:00.003Z

Well not really but I will because I find it easy to run at the mouth or actually, finger! The year is now on the downward path and the evenings will start to draw in which is a depressing thought. However I'm not going to think about that! I did nothing today but just sat and enjoyed the garden. It was very hot, not a lot of wind, and so peaceful that I could easily have gone to sleep had it not been for the strident cries of the Magpies every five minutes. The garden was looking good with lots of greenery and emerging flowers in the tubs. All in all it was revitalising. I watered this evening and gave all the pots their weekly feed and feel very virtuous!

A Slipper Fern growing in the back wall.

Man’s best friend: a worm!

2009-06-20T17:07:00.003Z

I have been thinking about the lowly worm and what a friend it is to a gardener. Without worms my own particular garden would not be as nutrient efficient as it is, because when we first moved here the garden was little more than a building site and the soil was devoid of anything useful to plants. By putting on farmyard manure and letting the worms pull it down into the ground the soil is now much more fertile. And without the worms my compost would certainly not have the friable loam properties that it has. Where there are no worms the soil in my garden is hard and barren! There is no aeration (I hope this is a word!) of the earth and digging in it is a hard and thankless task. What always bothers me though is why worms should congregate under pots, not even in soil but on top of the concrete or paving! Why do they do this? They would be of much more use in the soil!

I have a problem! Why are my cucumbers looking like this? Not all of them but at least two! The leaves dry out on the ends and go yellow and brittle. It happens with the bottom leaves and then progresses upwards. What am I doing wrong? Am I doing anything wrong or is it the weather or something? I don’t know but it is frustrating!

On a happier note my roses are looking lovely. With a little bit of sun and warmth they have burst into bloom and they smell gorgeous! These are climbers but I don’t know what variety they are as I bought them from B & Q and the label just said ‘fragrant rose’.

Waiting, I’m always waiting!

2009-06-19T18:31:00.001Z

It seems to me that I spend quite a lot of time in my garden waiting! Waiting for seeds to germinate; waiting for blossoms and flowers to open; waiting for fruit to ripen; waiting for rain; waiting for sun; just generally hanging around waiting!

These are a few of the things I’m waiting for at the moment. The lilies to bloom; the rose buds to open; the hydrangea to blossom; the marigolds to flower; the flowers on the feverfew to open out; the borage to bloom; the English Mace to flower; the Sweet Williams to flower; and last but not least the lavender needs to open soon! Most of these plants have been ready to flower for weeks but have been hanging fire. Perhaps they will all get a move on this weekend when the sun comes out!

I was fascinated by this picture of an emerging Fennel frond. It looks quite futuristic! And this close up of a Borage flower head waiting to open was amazing! Nature is pretty wonderful!

Pitiful,pathetic, any other word you care to name!

2009-06-18T17:54:00.002Z

Not enough sun that is the problem. The blackcurrants are dripping with fruit but is it ripening? The short answer is no! This is a picture of one of the strings of currants and this is a picture of the few measly currants that I picked. I had to pick them or they would fall off. Once blackcurrants are ripe they won’t hang about on the bush and also if they get left they are prey to this visitor! The problem is that not only haven’t we had enough sun but also it hasn’t been warm enough. If they are going to ripen one or two per day then I am never going to get my blackcurrant pie! I’ve got my fingers crossed though because the forecast is for a lovely hot, sunny weekend extending into Monday and Tuesday and if the blackcurrants can’t ripen given those conditions then I don’t know what they want! I’m not holding my breath as the weather forecast is not known to be accurate! After all, last week they forecast rain and everywhere but Falmouth had buckets of the stuff! But I am hopeful for some sun. It is no wonder that the English talk about the weather all the time. It is so variable and can make or mar whatever one has planned or is doing just like that!

I have several feathered friends like this one. They don’t seem to attack the garden in any way and do me a service by cleaning up seeds that spill from the bird feeder in the oak tree and saves them growing into tall grasses which to me are weeds! They are very nervous birds but they are getting less anxious and will tolerate me wandering round the garden without flying off in fright.

Oh NO! Not this year too!

2009-06-17T18:56:00.000Z

I wrote the bit below while at work ready to edit and add photos when I came home. As you will read I was pleased I had three small courgettes. But when I got home and walked around the garden to see how it had faired in the rain I found that one of the courgettes had rotted at the tip! What causes this? I had so much trouble with this last year and it was a hit and miss affair as to how many courgettes I got! The picture below says it all! Firm one end and soggy the other where the flower was. Not fair!

I got up early this morning and watered the pots and seedlings as the weather forecast had been for a fine if not necessarily sunny day. Having made this huge effort to water before there was any sun around to burn the delicate seedlings it was with mixed feelings that I greeted the onslaught of rain later in the morning. I am very pleased as the rain will do a much better job than I can and it has been raining steadily for the last four hours and will probably continue for another four! It did! It has made the roses sway their lovely heads nearer to the ground and the herbs are all awry in their bed, but in general it is doing nothing but good. Tomorrow the sun can come out and the temperature go up and then the plants will really grow.

Poor Rose battered by the rain!

Fennel looking very attractive with rain droplets on its feathery spikes.

We are picking all the salad greens now and I have given up buying salads. The Lollo Rosso is doing wonderfully well and the Salad Bowl although overshadowed by the LR is performing well. I have flat leaf parsley and sorrel to add to these two. Plus the thinnings from the seedlings of what the packet called ‘Spicy Salad’ adds a bit of zing. In this mixed bunch the only one I recognise is Rocket.

What these are I do not know but they sure grow quickly!

I have three baby courgettes but I am resisting picking these until they are a bit bigger. My Gardening Year book tells me to pinch the top out of Ridge Cucumbers when they have seven leaves to let the laterals develop. Well that sounds good but getting those seven leaves is a slow job! Last year I didn’t pinch the tops out, which is probably why I didn’t get a glut of cucumbers. In fact I only had half a dozen from two plants! I am determined to do better this year. There is something quite addictive about picking one’s own food out of the garden!

And then there were two! Boo hoo!

Borage getting ready to flower. That patterning on the leaves is the sun! And last but not least the blueberries are nearly ready for picking. Just a bit of sun and it will be all stations go!

The Magical Effects of Colour!

2009-06-16T20:22:00.000Z

I am not an organised gardener. I don’t make plans and work out just where everything is going to grow. I just find a handy space and in it goes. Regardless of this gung ho attitude I have been pleased to note that the colour arrangements in the garden have worked without any help from me. Well not a lot of help. Frequently I have bought plants which were supposed to be of a certain colour only to find that they were completely different. If I had been of the planning brigade this would have been a big disappointment. As it is I just go with the flow. For example my pots of self sown Mimulus started to open as pink flowers but then as more opened the overall effect was of a burnt orange with some yellow. No pink at all! And where I put them on each side of the step they looked great but not as fantastic as they did once the Campanula started to blossom. The blue and orange was amazing together. Unplanned; I hadn’t even thought about it, but quite inspiring.

The colour in the hanging baskets was a very hit and miss affair but amazingly it all worked together with some quite interesting combinations such as this Lobelia with the greeny yellow leafed plant. I am hopeless with names unless I’ve been growing that plant for years!

Even the greens make a picture. There is the silver green of the Eucalyptus; the dark green of the fir; the soft green of the honeysuckle; the spring green of the grass and the yellowy green of the hazel not to mention the different greens of the oak, the roses, the blackcurrants and the Rose of Sharon with its pinky tips. I dye more green fabric than any other colour because it is one of those colours that has infinite permutations and is loved by all. When I was a child I had to wear a brown school uniform and I hated brown but now I love the many and varied shades of brown. I even dyed some muddy field type fabric and appliquéd leaves all over it!

The world is a better place for colour. It brightens up our days! And I shall go on being grateful that my garden is managing to be colourful without my help!

Today I did nothing!

2009-06-15T19:24:00.003Z

The garden taken from the bedroom window. I tried to get a panarama of the whole garden, after all it is small enough, but failed miserably!

When I got up this morning the sun was shining and everything was fresh and beautiful. So beautiful in fact that after breakfast I just sat outside and viewed the garden. I didn't read, I wasn't doing anything at all constructive, I was just sitting. And it was lovely! The colours all seemed brighter; the greens were so varied and so lovely together. I even noticed some butterflies, and yet I would swear I hadn't seen any before in any quantity. Sometimes I think it does us good to just stop and stare. To be like a child who is quite happy to absorb what is around him without feeling guilty that he isn't rushing madly around trying to achieve things. I must have sat there for a good half hour meditating on the beauties of the garden and how fortunate I was to actually have a garden, small as it is; and that half hour seemed to buoy me up for the rest of the day. Things seemed brighter and I was more positive. So perhaps I will make this a daily habit. Well when it isn't raining that is!

I did it! Plus thoughts on Lovage!

2009-06-14T17:39:00.004Z

Well I actually managed to find a place for all the plants I bought. The bedding plants were easy as I had two tubs ready and waiting to go. The cucumber, yellow courgette and watermelon have gone into large pots. I'm going to see how pot gardening goes! The mint was so pretty I put it in the centre of one of the tubs with the lilac geraniums. It will probably take over but by then the geraniums will have given up the ghost. They don't overwinter well here as it can be very wet as well as cold. I didn't know what to do with the lavender so in the end I put it in the same bed as the blackcurrants but right at the end. I can always move it later. And the celery I planted out next to a row of spinach where it will get the afternoon sun until sunset. Isn't it sad to think that next Sunday will be the longest day and from then on it's all down hill! Shorter evenings! Less daylight hours! Oh I'm crying already!
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I was checking the herb bed and wondered why I was growing Lovage as it has become a very tall and leafy bush. So I had a quick look in the book and it was most informative. Apparantly the weary traveller would put lovage leaves in their shoes to refresh their feet! I like that one! It used to be used in days gone by to make a cordial which was very popular. Nowadays lovage seeds are steeped in brandy to which is added sugar to sweeten it and then drunk to settle an upset stomach. I definitely like that one! It is very strong because I tried using the leaves in salads and the saying a little goes a long way is very true. The stems can be crystalised like Angelica or eaten raw with oil and vinegar and it can be made into soup. It isn't unpleasant but is an acquired taste. Medicinally it all parts can be used to make an infusion to reduce water retention, assist in the removal of waste products, act as a deodoriser and it also aids rheumatism. NOT to be taken by those who are pregnant or have kidney problems!
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Lovage Soup
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1 oz butter
2 medium onions chopped
4 tbsp finely chopped lovage leaves
1 oz plain flour
1 pint chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 pint milk
salt and black pepper to taste.
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Melt butter in saucepan and saute onions until soft. Add lovage, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Gradually stir in stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add milk and seasoning. Do not allow to boil.

I have been Bad!

2009-06-13T16:07:00.003Z

I have to confess! I have been to a garden centre and bought more plants! I don't have any room! But I couldn't help myself and it was all my friends fault as she took me there. Of course she didn't force me to buy anything but how can one be at a garden centre idly looking around while waiting and not buy anything! I have two empty tubs waiting to be filled with bedding plants so that is an excuse of sorts. And for these tubs I bought some bedding begonias in mixed colours and some Portulaca which I'd never heard of before, but which looked really pretty. It has pointy spiky leaves so will contrast with the begonias. Plus I bought some lilacy pink Geraniums. So far so good. Then I noticed they were having a sale on vegetables so I ended up with some self blanching celery, a yellow courgette and a cucumber. I've never grown celery before but as soon as I saw the words 'good with salads' I was a goner. And it says it is easy to grow. It had better be, though where is another question. The cucumber is excusable because I have had no luck with my own sown seeds. So I deserved a cucumber! Then I saw the most delightful water melon plant which the lady assured me would grow outside once hardened off. What do I need with a water melon plant? And last but not least I had to look at the herbs. Now I need more mint as much as I do a hole in the head but I have bought a pink frilly spearmint variety. Well I thought it might look very attractive as the centre piece in one of my tubs. It will! And my lavender is very woody so I bought a herb variety of lavender in a dark bluey purple. Smells divine. (Lavender Augustifolia Hidcote) Where I am going to put some of these plants the Lord alone knows and he hasn't told me yet! And after a lovely sunny morning as soon as I bought these plants it started to rain so they won't be planted out until tomorrow now. At least I will be able to cogitate this evening as to where I am going to put them.
-
On my morning perambulation around the garden I suddenly looked down and saw this butterfly on the Hydrangea. I've never seen this variety before and we don't get a lot of butterflies these days so it was unexpected. I was pleased to see that the Sweet Williams (self sown) are beginning to blossom and the climbing rose Maigold is covered in buds and blooms. The label did say it was yellow but it is much more of a peach. Well with a name like that it would be! The calendula is flowering all over the steps and looks well with the pots of Mimulus. And the Escallonia Apple Blossom is just starting to flower. It is a real picture when fully out and is already over 6ft. One of my hanging baskets has a deep red nasturtium in it which is supposed to be of the trailing variety but so far it hasn't done any trailing at all and is very upright, but a lovely colour. If the weather continues to be so humid there will be lots of growth everywhere.
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You can see by the picture that I've been playing with my update of Picasa. Version 3 has a lot more on offer.

How I use Blotanical!

2009-06-12T18:36:00.004Z

Since becoming a member of Blotanical I have found myself becoming addicted to gardening blogs. To begin with I could become so immersed that hours would go by and suddenly it was time for bed and where did the evening go to! So I decided that there should be a plan! A cunning plan as Baldrick would say! And it works! The first thing I do is go to my plot (every member has a plot where they can collect their messages) and answer any messages. Then I go to see how my posts have faired and thank anyone who has been kind enough to pick that particular post. And here I get sidetracked a bit as I have to go and look at the blog of anyone picking one of my posts. Who knows we may have a lot in common! Then I go to current posts and read all the UK blogs first. Well of course I'm biased but also there are far fewer of them and out of over 900 blogs the UK only has a small part of that number and I like to support them if I can. I will then have a look at my favourite blogs and read any new posts there and after that I will return to current posts and cherry pick among the rest of the blogs going for the headings that interest me most. Last but not least I will have a quick look at the New Blogs section to catch up on new comers to Blotanical. Then when I get home, after supper, I'll write up my blog and have another quick look around to see who's doing what. It is taking me a long time to put names to blogs but I am slowly getting there. Some blog owners I'm beginning to get to know and this is making it even more fun. Of course my textile blog has been a bit neglected but eventually I'll know what I'm doing! At the moment I'm having fun!
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I read an interesting article today in one of the blogs Poor Richards Almanac called Why Blogs Fail. Made interesting reading! Personally I have found that blogs fail either because the writer gets bored or they run out of things to write about. It would be interesting to hear what makes blog writing good for you! I write blogs because I like to write and because I'm passionately interested in what I write about. My other blog Dyeing 2 Sew has been going for four years! And apart from the odd break I've written on a fairly regular basis. And I do like to take photographs and blogs give me somewhere to put the photos! Well that's my story!
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I've just updated to Picasa 3 and had fun playing around with the collage feature.I need a lot more practise but here is a collage of some of the flowers in my garden at the moment.

As it was, As it is!

2009-06-11T17:46:00.006Z

The pictures above are of my garden as it is now. This is a very shady corner and not a lot grows here. No sun ever penetrates into the corner at all. Anything that grows above fence level will get either a bit of morning sun or evening sun or both! I have finally managed to get a fern to grow under the honeysuckle which grows at the rate of knots. And London Pride doesn't seem to mind never seeing the sun! The Honeysuckle is covered in blossom at the moment and the sound of bumble bees working the flowers is very pleasant and soothing.

This picture below is of the corner immediately after the Hawthorne tree was removed in spring 2007. As you can see the honeysuckle is barely making a statement. The small Hawthorne which remains looks dead! But it made a rapid recovery once the larger tree had gone. Look at how open the garden looks compared to how it is today.

This bottom photo is of the dead or dying Hawthorne tree and that corner before it went. In some ways it made a feature in that corner but also a lot of the garden remained in the shade because of it. I don't like bare fences and we are surrounded by houses so the seclusion provided by shrubs and trees is valuable. You can see in the top photo how quickly the hazel has grown on the left hand side by the obelisk. Hawthorne berries are reputed to clean out the arteries and hawthorne tea is good.I am still able to pick some even though the tree leans over our neighbours garden. My herbal says 'Hawthorne helps restore high or low blood pressure to more normal levels, and improves problems brought on by ageing of the heart, arterial spasms and angina.' Treatment takes several weeks; it isn't a quick cure and the common usage is by an infusion of the flowers or fruits.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

2009-06-10T18:51:00.007Z

After a day of rain and then a day of showers and cloud and now today a smattering of sun the garden has put on a completely new face! The deluge of rain and then eventually some warmth has obviously been good for my new climbing rose. The buds are beginning to open and as it is a scented rose I'm hoping for some lovely perfumed evenings sitting on the patio.

Suddenly the Lollo Rosso lettuce are ready for picking and the Salad Bowl lettuce is putting in lots of energy into spreading out too. The Lollo Rosso are good for what I call 'cut and come again' picking which extends their growing season considerably.

The bronze Fennel has shot up and I'm glad I put a shaped cane round it as the recent winds haven't hurt it at all. Fennel is very good in mushroom soup!

The spinach I grow in pots is suddenly inches bigger and ready for picking. The more I pick the bushier the plants grow. I've also got some darker green perpetual spinach in the seed bed and this should take me through until the frosts.

This plant hiding under the Angelica is English Mace. It was a tiny little scrap of a plant when I planted it about a fortnight ago. It is a new plant to me and I thought it would be tiny but suddenly it has sprung to life and is quite tall. Apparantly the leaves are good chopped onto potato salad. In fact I have been able to go out this evening and pick several different kinds of leaves to make into a salad. I love it when the plants come through for me food wise!