How naive I was, taking so much care when planting and nurturing those first little stachys affinis rhizomes! Now I find that it is in fact a thug of a plant, a member of the mint family and ferociously invasive. … Continue reading
This photo from inside the greenhouse says it all … I was drenched from planting out leeks and spinach. But there were some friendly faces inside: And a nice view of the apple starting to show life. Note my car … Continue reading
Grappling painfully to put together a new steel potting bench (of course I didn’t have the correct size of spanner), I found myself drawn into a frenzy of displacement activity; clearing the back of the shed area. It had become … Continue reading
Not a bad haul for ‘the hungry gap’! But what a lot of mud…
It took me all day to remove a further infestation of willowherb from around the fruit cage. It’s a devil of a job as the little rosettes of green are underpinned by a dense network of tiny fibrous roots which … Continue reading
My Christmas presents happily included the services of a tree surgeon to remove the overhanging tangle of trees, mostly goat willow overgrown with ivy. They have long overshadowed the shed end of the plot and meant the greenhouse was nearly … Continue reading
My old wellington boots, much loved and at least 20 years old, had been leaking for some time, despite bicycle tyre repairs. They were standard old-fashioned Hunter Argylls so simple enough, you would think, to replace. Not if you have … Continue reading
Getting ready for tomorrow’s meal, I was pleasantly surprised how much there was to harvest. The menu will therefore include a fennel, leek, walnut and roquefort soufflé tart, celeriac and parsnip gratin, roast beetroot, sauteed oca and crosnes with buttered flower … Continue reading
After moving the bean tepee from the asparagus bed and weeding the chard & chicory, I continued on with the florence fennel & clearing triffid-like nasturtiums. Curious to see what had happened to the crosnes I planted a couple of … Continue reading
Such a lovely job to shell out the beautiful beans, some for drying and some for now … simmered gently with aromatics from the huerto – onion, carrot, garlic, sage & rosemary:
I was late in sowing winter salads for the greenhouse. Had meant to get everything done in early September but life intervened. Then, when I did have time, my Gardening by the Moon calendar said that these were Bad Days! … Continue reading
Chicory – bitter but delicious in salads with the sweetness of pears and walnuts in a honey and mustard dressing. Borlotto bean Lingua di Fuoco – filling out nicely and nearly ready to harvest for dried beans over the winter. The … Continue reading
It started with a wee pip, about the size of a melon seed. Which then grew and grew and pretty well took over the greenhouse. Achocha ‘Fat Baby’. Looks prickly but isn’t. Tastes rather like green peppers and can be … Continue reading
And an overblown view of the huerto in late summer languor… the ammi visnaga having rather taken over!
An old fashioned way of preserving fruit; basically just make a thick puree and then dry it in a thin layer on baking parchment in a very low oven (bottom of the Aga). No sugar, easy peasy, and the result … Continue reading
A poem by Laurie Lee prompted me to consider the fragrant tenderness of bean flowers with a new appreciation. DAY OF THESE DAYS by Laurie Lee (published August 1946 in Horizon) Such a morning it is when love leans through … Continue reading
Andrew Marvell – aptly named; a marvellous poet. How astonishing to be so touched all the way from the 17th Century…
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