Potatoes!

Today we ate our first new potatoes and they were really, really good. Only six of them but enough for the two of us! I don't think the plant has produced very many as I had to scrabble around for these but better than none! The lettuce seeds are doing well and managed to survive the dry spell without water while we were away in Malvern. I can see that we will be having lots of blackcurrants again. I still haven't used all of last years! Graeme mowed the lawn and trimmed the edges so although the borders are weed invested the garden actually looks quite tidy! I need to spend some concentrated time on doing things in the garden before it gets totally out of hand!

Blotanical!

It is surprising how quickly one forgets and how much can change in a short space of time. I love being a member of Blotanical which is a website for gardening blogs from all over the world. Prior to my ex husband leaving me I was able to use the site extensively and knew exactly what I was doing. And I had a lot of fun and got to know a lot of people. All in all a great site of which to be a member. Now however after a couple of years during which I met and married husband no. 2, I have lost all idea as to how things work and there is so much new stuff that I am bewildered as to where to start. I expect I'll get there eventually but it is frustrating to say the least! Especially as I am now back into gardening and thoroughly enjoying it!

I would have been happy to move up to Edinburgh to live with my new husband in his home town but he decided to move down to Cornwall instead. Well what's not to like about that? He can wear shorts all year round and we don't need thousands of blankets to keep warm! Also the gardening is much easier as everything is earlier! He doesn't garden but he is brilliant with grass! So for the first time in years my lawn might look respectable!

Things are Growing!

I managed to get into the garden this Easter before the rains came! The potatoes are doing well and I also planted  some second earlies plus a few main crop. 














It is amazing as to how much compost these need! So when I was at the garden centre I also bought some herbs. Namely; dill, coriander and tarragon. I planted them into pots and also sowed some seeds thinly around the plants. 

I have a good clump of sorrel growing in the herb garden and think I will have a go at making sorrel soup. I haven't made it before but I have been told that it is delicious! 
 









The blackcurrants and blueberry bushes are doing well. The new bush that I transplanted is looking healthy and has a lot of leaf on it.

I pruned the blueberry this year hoping that it would encourage it to make more new growth. It is looking promising! 

The blackcurrants around the bird table are doing well too. These are earlies and there is one Scottish variety that doesn't start doing anything until late May! They all have produced a large crop of fruit in the past. 

This planter had chives in it but I have noticed that I have Feverfew (herb) everywhere this year. It makes a very soothing tea though I haven't used it as such. The other self sown plant that is covering the ground is the For-get-me-not! But it is very pretty so I leave it alone!

Hints of Spring!

At last there are signs of Spring coming. I love Forget-Me-Knots and the early signs of blue flowers are cheering. I love the way some of the flowers are pinky purple as well as blue though I know these colours won't stay when the plant gets bigger and will revert to the normal blue.  

The creeping comfrey has gone completely wild and is everywhere. The flowers are like snowdrops and look most attractive but sadly a lot of it will have to be grubbed up! It is just like ordinary comfrey in that the leaves can be used on swellings and knocks on one's bones to help them heal. 















And I am delighted at the way my blackcurrant cuttings have taken off. They are being hardened off and then will be planted into a larger pot before being planted into the garden. 















The new potatoes I planted in buckets are breaking through the compost and soon I'll have to cover them with more compost. I'm really looking forward to having new potatoes in about twelve weeks time. Yummy! 

Then and now!

The above photo is of the garden now. Pots have been left since they last flowered and leaves have gathered around them. A sad and sorry sight. The rest of the garden isn't much better!

The photo above and below are of how it used to look at the same time but a couple of years ago! Unfortunately although I lost interest for a year or two things went on growing! Leaves fell from the oak tree and buried plants and earth. The birds had a great time scratching for bugs under the carpet of leaves.

Herbs such as lemon balm have grown where they wanted and spread over a large part of the herb garden. Marjoran and oregano have gone wild. The herbs I really like have given up the ghost and gone. So I have to plant more dill, basil and coriander. These are not hardy perennials but with our mild winters I had found they went on from year to year but neglect did for them eventually!  



A bit of good news! After Graeme moved the blackcurrant bush I pruned it and in a fit of waste not, want not, I put the cuttings into some compost and put it on the kitchen window sill. And now the cuttings are showing signs of life. The buds are breaking open to show green tips of leaves. So if all goes well I will have four new blackcurrant bushes. Of course blackcurrant is one of the easiest plants to propogate!

Sunny and Warm!

How lovely on the first day in March to have no wind and lots of lovely warm sunshine! It was so lovely that I had to spend as much time as possible outside before I had to go to work. Graeme moved a blackcurrant for me which is something I've been meaning to do for a long time. Now it is in the sun and hopefully will produce lots of fruit. It is a large sweet fruiting variety so will be a good addition to the smaller fruited varieties.

The birds have been collecting the moss that we have raked up off the lawn for their nests. The magpies have already got a nest going in the Hawthorne tree and are making a continual racket as they wage war with the wood pigeons! The squirrel is their other target!

Lots of self sown for-get-me nots, so there will be some colour a bit later on. At the moment the only thing flowering is the evergreen clematis and the flowers though pretty are fairly nondescript. They are white with purple streaks inside the bell shape which one doesn't see unless one is right underneath the flower. The camelia continues to be a riot of colour with more buds blossoming daily.

Sadly they have forcast rain for the weekend which apart from keeping the potato buckets moist will impinge on any gardening I might do. Oh well back to the sewing machine and the dyeing!

Back in the garden!

Well I have finally got back into the garden. My new husband isn't a gardener but he's good with lawns! At the moment he is tackling the moss that has taken a hold over half of it! 
 
                        
The garden is really sad as nothing has been done to it for over two years. So I am now fired up with enthusiasm to tidy and get planting. 

I made a good start today by planting two planters with new potatoes! 










I also did some pruning and gathered up some of the many fallen leaves. The herb garden had a good tidying up and now looks quite bare.  










It needs forking over and weeding now. At the same time as we bought the compost for the potatoes I also bought some seeds and want to grow lettuce, beetroot and more herbs such as dill, basil and tarragon. We have had such a mild winter that the bronze fennel and the ordinary fennel have both overwintered with no problems. 

The camelia is looking lovely and so early! 

 

Winter is coming!

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

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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!

    

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!

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!