When April Showers ~~~

Hello Friends!

When April showers may come your way

They bring the flowers that bloom in May

So when it's raining, have no regrets

Because it isn't raining rain, you know

It's raining violets ~~~

We all probably know that sweet song from the film of the same name, and we do, indeed, have many sweet showers of rain in April, and we also get some very sharp, sudden downpours too ~ the sort you really do not want to be caught out in!  There's much truth in it, for all gardeners know that the business end of gardening really takes off in April, whether you are a lawns and borders gardener, or a grow your own fruit and vegetables gardener, or, as I am, a mixture of both, and we need that rain to help bring our seeds and plants to life.  So far, though, our April has been much drier than average, and this weekend and into next week we have an unexpected cold snap descending upon us from the north, with plummeting temperatures, the strong possibility of frosts, and the Met Office is not discounting the possibility of snow ~~~

So, shall I share an update on my "Raspberry Patch of Shame"?  Well, I am no longer ashamed of it!  If you recall, last year my back decided to do its own thing twice, both at key times in the garden, so even the most basic maintenance just didn't happen ~ so the weeds, and everything else took off! I admit, the prospect of clearing it was daunting. It looked a complete mess, a thicket of overgrown Loganberry, brambles out of control, a thatch of couch grass {and you know how that climbs and goes viral!} rampant honeysuckle clambering in from next door, sycamore saplings, ivy, countless weeds the names of which I know not, and somewhere in amongst all of that are my raspberries, blackcurrants, and gooseberry. ~~~Sighs~~~

Where to begin? What to do first? Oh, the word "overwhelmed" didn't even begin to come close to what was going on in my heart over the parlous state of affairs ~~~ so, I stood at the top end of the thicket, armed with sturdy gloves and secateurs, and did the only thing I could do ~~~ grabbed for the first offending bramble I saw, traced it as far back to the root end as I possibly could, cut mercilessly through the vine and began to pull ~ and I pulled, and I pulled, and I pulled ~~~ eventually, the other end of the vine came into view as it made its way along, ripping everything with it's thorns, until finally it was free and I cut it into smaller pieces and started a pile of weeds for the compost bin.  After that, it became easier to find the roots of everything that needed to be removed, so the clearing continued, little bits and often, and that's the great thing, once you make a start it is always easier to continue, in fact it becomes almost addictive ~ just one more vine, just one more weed!

Soon, I had a place to stand, still surrounded by chest~high brambles, but a place nevertheless, I'd gained a foothold! Before I knew it, I was moving merrily along, chopping and cutting my way along, and suddenly, not only did I have a place to stand, but a large patch was emerging, big enough to really move around in, and so it continued until the entire patch is nearly free of all the things that aren't welcome!

A cleared spot to stand from which to move forward, and some of the stones from my old rockery that will now be used to build some new retaining walls

How dry is the earth? Another spot in which to stand, half way down the patch

one of many piles of pruned and pulled weeds for the community garden composting bin

It was then I realised I was standing where raspberry canes should be! Oh! No! Disaster ~ the raspberries and blackcurrants do not look as if they are doing very well at all. I seem to have lost a lot of the canes, and I can only put this down to the fact that there were so many competing weeds, and raspberries do not like competition.  The Loganberry is cut right back and will be maintained this year as a tamed shrub, and the gooseberry looks quite happy, although it is not as big as I'd hoped, or expected but it did not have a fair chance last year to grow.

The Logan Berry which may be a Tay Berry {long story} pruned into a shrub!

This spot was previously full of raspberry canes but they are tenacious and will recover soon

The small gooseberry bush ~ it is clear around but does not look like it here, I know

The next thing is to get the ground as clear as I possibly can and then I plan to strew a good mulch {I am using Strulch} over it all to surpress the weeds. I know it will not stop them, but I am hoping it will slow them down enough to enable me to dig them out or cut them back enough to discourage them without the use of nasty chemicals on my fruit crop.

Bags of Strulch waiting to be strewn {I will need a lot more}

Other things that have been happening {and I'll talk more about these later} are the weekly chore of mowing the dandelions and daisies lawn, general weeding and pruning of the borders, and moving a few plants around.  I have a very wildlife friendly lawn, as you can see here ~~~

In the meantime, here are some photographs I've taken of what's blooming in the garden ~ and which will hopefully survive the coming cold snap!

The seed head of a Pasque flower. Soon there'll be a summary post with all of them for comparison ~~~

Osteosperum, aka Cape Daisies, in the bright sunshine looking so fresh and pristine

I found a "primula" in the border and I potted it on to give it a chance ~ Imagine my pure delight to find it is a native Cowslip ~ the fragrance of which is incomparable {well, maybe to that of Gorse}

A very special Cape Daisy with a beautiful centre, see below ~~~

Aquilegia in bloom already!

Arum Lilies in bloom too ~~~

I love ferns as the croziers slowly open and unfurl to reveal their magical fronds

Native Hart's Tongue Fern

The recently tended Dwarf Clematis responding well to the TLC and some warm spring sunshine

another type of Cape Daisy

Plenty of Dandelions in my wildlife friendly garden!

My free mint is also responding well to the TLC ~ soon there will be a pot full for tea!

Finally, how gorgeous is this bright purple against the pristine white on this stunning Cape Daisy flower in the bright sunshine?

Until next time ~~~
~~~ Deborah xo

Camellias and Daffodils

Hello Friends ~~~

I had not realised that it is nearly two weeks since I wrote a peep! Where does the time go? So, here I am with some photographs ~ I hope you like camellias!

First, I will share with you a little story about how I came to almost hate daffodils ~~~ I certainly went off them for a good while, and I think you will give me your sympathy!

A long time ago I lived in a neighbouring village and my garden was tiny, nay, it was miniature to say the least, so there was not much room for anything. I was determined not to be without, so, amongst other things I bought thirty assorted daffodil bulbs and planted them in pots. They rewarded me well. Time passed and I moved abroad. I brought the pots of daffodils to my parent's cottage and my father decided to plant the bulbs directly into the ground. For many years the daffodils thrived. There were many sorts, from the straightforward all yellow, to some with vibrant orange centres, and some spectacular double ones.

The years went by, the daffodils multiplied into many hundreds of bulbs, and my mother began to tire of looking at so many during late spring when they die back and become quite untidy. They became an eyesore and seemed to hold back all the late spring and early summer flourishes of flowers, so, one day, with permission, I set about digging them all up. I carefully cleaned them, around five hundred bulbs, and put them to dry, ready for planting into many pots to place around the garden the following spring, and which could be removed out of sight when they were past their best. All of this took me several days but it seemed like a good plan ~~~ until, in early September of that year I went to pot up the bulbs and could not find them! Imagine my dismay to discover that, despite all my hard work, my father had found the bulbs just three days earlier and replanted them in the garden! I went off daffodils very quickly, I can assure you!

Later, I decided to dig them up again only this time I gave them away by the carrier bag full to willing takers. I think the Daffodil Karma Gods are now on my tail because the only daffodils that survive are a small handful of the beautiful double ones that are, sadly, so heavy in bloom that the stems just snap, so all I can do is cut them really very short and pop them in a vintage jug that seems just right for daffodils, to the point that we call it the Daffodil Jug ~~~

Last year, I ruthlessly cut the top off my earlier flowering pink camellia because it was getting too tall for the position and when we have strong gales or storms all winter long, it often looks as if it will just uproot itself and take off, so I took the bull by the horns and cut it back to half of its height. I think it shocked the plant because it has never been so full of these pink blooms that bring a vivid pop of colour to the late winter garden ~~~

Previously next door could not be seen behind the height of this shrub

This weekend saw the return of the much missed Gardener's World to our television screens.  Following Monty Don's sage advice, and the arrival of a delightful sunny Sunday afternoon, I shall begin tackling the thicket and mess that is the autumn raspberry patch. It will take a lot of work because my back was too bad to do anything last year so the weeds, mostly couch grass and brambles, have really taken hold. I cropped only what could be picked from the wall edge, so had barely anything to eat by way of fresh raspberries last year.  Here is the before picture, the after ones will follow next time, and I hope there will be a vast improvement.

Please don't judge me for the mess it is in! I suffered in agony for many weeks in two bouts of a very bad back last spring and summer and I am very eager to sort out this mess!

The local Council Garden Waste bin scheme has already started and it took me no time at all to fill it for the first collection, Thursday last!  Already, the next collection is half full and there is nearly a fortnight of clearing ahead of us. I have much more waste than I can feasibly manage right now! Heigh Ho! Such fun ~~~

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xo

Raspberry Jam

Gentle Reader ~~~ raspberries galore means one of my most favourite jams is being made ~ the first batch of the season ~ in my kitchen this morning.

Usually, I pick small quantities of berries each morning and freeze them in small batches to make jam in the winter months ~~ this is a lovely thing to do during the dark, cold days of winter, when the winds are howling around the corners of my cottage, and the sun struggles to lift it's head out of bed, for it fills the cottage with the fragrant scents of summer berries and warmth, and gives something extra delicious to spread on toast or to fill a Victoria sponge.

I came to preserving several years ago when five courgette plants gave an incredible yield of fruits and that is when I found out how many people do not actually like courgettes {knock me down with a feather! I love courgettes!} and I could not give them away for love nor money.  I reckon that people who don't like courgettes have not had them properly cooked ~ they have had them as a watery mess either boiled {as I have seen some folks do, and I would not like them either} or in a badly made ratatouille {of which I ate my share in the 1980's} Now, don't get me wrong, I love ratatouille, but I like it a certain way and not full of overcooked, mushy vegetables.  More on that another time.  So, what to do with a glut of courgettes ~ even someone with my love of this fruit can only eat so many and it did not take long for my salad box to be overflowing.

Then, as serendipity would have it, I stumbled across a National Trust book that had a recipe for "Polesden Lacey's Courgette Chutney"  I'd never thought of preserving them, to be honest I thought there was a mystery beyond my ken for preserving.  The recipe looked easy enough, so I acquired a copy and off to my kitchen I went ~~ within a few hours I had made my first ever batch of chutney, my first ever attempt at making anything preserved at all.  I was over my mental block!  I put up jar upon jar upon jar that Autumn and suddenly I had no room in my kitchen store cupboards for anything else so I started, with a little trepidation, to give jars away.  I was anxious because I was giving this courgette chutney to people who did not like courgettes, and it was my first batch so it was up for judgement too!  To my immense relief everyone loved it!  Since then, it has become a big hit in my home made Christmas hampers that I give to friends and relatives too.  The rest as they say, is history.

These days, I make chutneys, pickles, jams, jellies, and all sorts of preserves.  My most favourite things to make are, naturally, preserving with things I grow myself.  I've invested in a proper preserving pan, I got mine from Lakeland Ltd, and they have a good range of preserving equipment.  Of course, other sources for supplies are available!

My recipe for jam is simple, and it is roughly the same whatever fruit I am using.  For every one pound of fruit use one pound of sugar.  How simple is that?

Here is my recipe for Raspberry Jam ~~

3lb of freshly picked, slightly under~ripe raspberries

3lb of sugar {I use preserving sugar which has added pectin to aid the setting}

You will need a preserving pan or large heavy bottomed saucepan, baking tray, sugar thermometer, ladle, wide mouth metal funnel {optional} sterilised jam jars and lids, wax paper lids {optional}, and labels.

•  Pick the fruit over to remove any hulls and debris.  Place in a preserving pan and warm very gently to release the juices and cook the fruit ~ about 20 minutes.  

• While this is happening, warm the sugar on a shallow tray in a low oven {this helps speed up the cooking time and ~hopefully~ stops the fruit breaking down so the jam has pieces of fruit in it}

• Add the warmed sugar to the cooked fruit and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a rapid boil and boil until 'setting point' is reached.  I use a jam thermometer with the setting marked.

• While the jam is reaching setting point, wash your jars and lids in warm, soapy water, rinse well and dry, and place on a baking tray in a low oven to sterilise the jars and lids.

• When the jam is ready, allow to cool slightly before carefully ladling into the sterilised jars.  A wide mouth metal funnel is very useful for this.  Place a waxed paper disk {if using} on top of the hot jam to help create an airtight seal.  Place the lid on and lightly screw down, tightening fully when the jars of jam are cool enough to handle.

Oh, and it is a good idea to have a few spare plates on hand to catch all the drippy bits!  You can eat these later, on fresh, crusty bread ~ cook's perks!

• Label with the date and store in a cool, dry place.  Jam can be eaten immediately, but is better after about a month to mature, and keeps for a year, or longer {it never lasts that long in this cottage}

As this batch is not for gifting, I used ordinary, recycled jam jars, but if giving as gifts use pretty or unusual jars, if you have them, and make hand~written labels and cloth covers for the lids and tie using pretty ribbon, raffia, or twine.

Remember ~~~ 

~~~A Gardener's Work Is Never Done~~~