Huerto

With all the chaos of the land clearing and digging, I had abandoned all thoughts of any harvest this year. But the ancient fig tree was quietly doing its thing in the background…

All my life I have dreamed of having a victorian style glasshouse and having the space for one was a big factor in moving here. The process towards its realisation continues to be wearisome (planning permission…), expensive (landscaping/ground works) and complicated (big old wall/structural engineer/archaelogist(!) – not to mention finding not one, but two old wells when clearing the ground…

But the new little retaining wall in the top garden is underway, reclaimed york paving ordered…

…and the opening in the brick wall where steps will go down to the lower garden has been made 🙂

Well, a lot has happened. Moved (after 40 years!) from a medieval house in a Hampshire village to my late parents’ C17th town house in Stamford. Builders, walls knocked down, dust, chaos, consolidating two entire households into one – charity shops very happy!

And of course that all meant leaving behind my beloved garden and allotment.

Now I have a much bigger space, a “secret” south-facing walled and overgrown wilderness, including a row of ancient still-productive pear trees. Daunting but exciting and wonderfully full of potential.

My dear mother had created a beautiful and delightful garden here over many years. This is one of her paintings of it as it was:

Poor Orpheus fell over in a torrential rainstorm. He was found burrowing towards the Underworld and had to be rescued.

Now, three months later, we are settled in and making a start on the garden… yesterday the landscapers arrived with their digger….

It’s amazing what a man and a machine can do in a day!! Over the past weeks, I have been labouring in the upper garden to remove the tree stumps; tiring and dirty work but gloriously satisfying. An excellent way to get familiar with the ground. More broken forks…

to be continued/ :- )

Doing some much-needed weeding, I unearthed some unexpected and still perfect Orla potatoes which, alongside a kuri squash and the first reddened Sigaretta di Bergamo, will make a lush supper – with bay leaf, garlic and thyme also from the huerto. Just a good glug of olive oil and seasoning and it will now sit on the Aga with a lid until tender and slightly caramelised.

Also found these last few little rosebuds & chrysanths I had forgotton I planted. A nice surprise.

Three types of courgette, rose de roskoff onions, garlic and waxy Orla potatoes – chop, add bay + lemon + rosemary & lots of olive oil with a splash of water, season, mix, put lid on and simmer for about 45 minutes. Boil runner beans for 5 minutes then drain and finish with butter.

Serve with large glass of Sancerre rosé.

Oh, and put dahlia in jar on table for a smile.

Time to clear the broad beans to make space for the winter kales that have been growing on in the greenhouse. Surprising how long it all takes, but very satisfying to go from a post-productive, weedy and dead leaf covered bean patch to a neat butterfly-proofed brassica bed.