Autumn Harvest and Braised Red Cabbage

Gentle Reader~I am at that dangerous stage now, where my back is almost healed, and my fingers are a itchin' and a twitchin' to get out there and dig that soil!  I must be strong!  I must not sally forth with undue care into the garden to do these jobs before my back is ready, for I do not wish to pay the price of rushing.  The work will still be there when I am fully able.

I managed a turn around the lawn pushing the mower, last week, and that was enough.  Pruning is happening where I am able to do so without reaching and bending, and I am gathering seeds from all the many flowers of Summer, so I will have free seeds to sow and share for next Spring.  There is much joy in the harvesting of seeds to set aside for future displays.

I'd like to welcome the new followers to my blog~~Croeso! Welcome! Thank you for following and I do hope you enjoy reading my ramblings and photographs.

First, I must share some sad news.  My neighbour has desecrated the ivy and honeysuckle along my Pembrokeshire stone hedge.  I think he thought he was doing me a favour, but he did not tell me his exact plans and I came home one day to find the entire section hacked into non~existence by a machete.  As one friend pointed out~at least he waited until after the birds had finished nesting and the young have fledged!  Even my two Elder trees are matchwood.  Here are some of the disturbing images~and I know you will share my distress~

Two splintered stumps are all that remain of my magical Elder trees~

I have been told the Elders may recover.  I can only hope they do, for I prize and value the berries and flowers.  I know nature has a way of healing and recovering, and this damage will soon be restored, it is was such a shock to come home from a day out to this sight.  I grieve and am concerned, not only for the damage, but the removal of shelter, for many small birds fed and sheltered in the tumbled growth of ivy and honeysuckle.

Gentle Reader~shall we move on? 

The weather is changing, Autumn chills the air, and there are now many small birds in the garden, foraging for seeds and insects, and one of my new friends is this adorable juvenile robin.  Do you see how his red feathers aren't quite full, there is still a vestige of the downy new fledgling about him, but he is more adult than baby now.  I call him my Teenage Robin!

This week, I have seen woodpeckers, blue tits, chaffinch, goldfinch, sparrows, and many more.  I must settle down to getting some photographs, mustn't I?

The raspberries are fruiting again!  They did the exact same thing last year.  They flowered and fruited (and were greedily devoured) in the expected time frame, and then, two months later cropped again!  The only difference is that in both years the second crop, although much smaller in quantity, is producing much bigger, firmer, and flavoursome fruits.  They are altogether a far superior berry to the earlier crop produced~~how strange is this?  Here is a photograph to show you the quality fruits~

Don't they look good?  Luciously red and deliciously juicy jewels of plumptiousness!

Here is my recipe for Braised Red Cabbage.  I devised this vinegar~free recipe because my mother is unable to eat anything containing vinegar.  I hope you like it~~

Ingredients~
1 head red cabbage
2 medium onions
750 ml good quality apple juice
Seasonings: salt, pepper, 1/4 teasp each cinnamon, clove, freshly ground nutmeg, juniper berries, 1 tablesp grainy mustard. {all seasonings can be adjusted to taste}

Method~
pre~heat oven to Gas Mark 3
Remove outer leaves of cabbage and slice as thinly as possible. I use the finest blade on my mandolin. Finely shred the peeled onions.
In a large, oven~proof lidded casserole layer the cabbage and onions, adding seasonings to each layer. Pour over the apple juice.
Slow cook in the oven for around 3 hours, until cabbage and onions are buttery soft.

This freezes very well and is great for people who cannot take vinegar. When reheating, I add a tablespoon of loganberry or redcurrant jelly {optional} which gives a lovely glaze if serving the dish to company. 

Three hours later, this is what you should be removing from the oven~a casserole dish full of ruby red delicious goodness~~

Of course, it would not be Autumn if the Dreaded Giant Marrow Courgette did not rear it's fearsome head, and here is the one for this year~

Not as big as some I know, but big enough!  Until next time~~~

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

Oh! Has It Really Been A Week?

Gentle Reader~I can scarce believe a week has slipped by since my last entry!  It has been blisteringly hot, over most of the UK, as the arrival of summer I reported in my last entry continues!  The Jet Stream drifted over us and is now sitting to the north of the country allowing the hot southern air to bathe us with some long overdue heat.  Indeed, much of Britain has been hotter than the Mediterranean! 

Here is a pretty posy of flowers picked from the garden, I am no flower arranger, I just gathered as I went along some oregano, Alchemilla mollis, sweetly scented pinks and lavenders, and more~

While this warmth is welcomed by many, it does bring it's own set of problems.  It is too hot to do anything other than sit in the garden by day ~ it is very uncomfortable working in your own personal sauna ~ and by evening I am generally too tired from the often oppressive heat, which is exhausting in itself, even if doing very little of anything.  I seem to have done little else other than water and pick fruit!  Why, those two jobs are enough anyway. 

The lack of rain means that the lawn is turning very brown indeed, for I will not use precious water on that, and as it is not growing it does not need cutting either.  The advice from Gardener's World is not to cut your lawns in these conditions.  I am concerned, so this evening I will throw the grey water from the house, which I save as much as I can, over the lawn in an attempt to give it some much needed moisture.  I do not want it to die completely as I do not relish the thought of re~seeding.

First, I must share with you some upsetting news.  For the first time ever, my blackcurrant crop has failed.  I had no reason to suspect anything was wrong.  The spring, although cold, saw good, healthy leaf growth which was quickly followed by plenty of flowers that in turn set fruit.  I truly believed I would harvest a bumper crop.  We have had a prolonged dry spell, so I watered the plants every few days, and then, at the beginning of this week they were looking plump and juicy, little jewels of deepest purple~black waiting to be turned into jams and pies.  I picked a bowl, but when I tasted them they are horrible.  There is no Delicious blackcurrant taste, they leave a bitter aftertaste in the mouth, and they are quite mealy in texture.  I cannot begin to tell you my disappointment.  I have been on the RHS website, and it seems I am not alone.  No one knows the reason, we can only assume the colder than normal winter and non arrival of spring is behind it all.  One person put it succinctly, saying the sugar:acid ratio is wrong.  I still have about 4lbs of fruit left over from last year, so this is now highly prized!  Such a sad waste of a good and nutritious food crop.

Happily, I can tell you, gentle reader, that the raspberry crop remains unaffected by the weather, and I am now picking a small bowlful of this delightful fruit (probably my favourite after blueberries) daily.  Some I am freezing, some I am eating fresh for breakfast.  I feel richer than a Queen!

While some parts of the garden, like the poppies, native foxgloves, and borage, are going over and setting their seed~the harvesting of which is a high priority job this week, other parts are coming in to their own.  Do you remember the few images, last week, of the oriental lilies?  They were teasing and taunting me with big, fat buds that just did not want to burst open?  Well, they have begun!  Oh! What a treat they are~a display of fireworks colour and brightness, in colours to rival the heat of the sun by day and the cool of the moon by night~

Here is the first one, a bright and vibrant yellow~

which was quickly followed by the Hot Hot Hot of this incredible orange~

I think it looks mighty fine along side that pretty pink rose?  A lovely contrast of colours ~ then, just this very morning, the cool, creamy~white, a perfect foil against the scorching vibrant orange~

There are still two more types of these lilies yet to open and delight~I wonder what their colours will be?  I hope for pink, and maybe even one with those delightful stripes and spots that lilies sometimes have~
Quite unintentionally, as the lilies have declared, my garden has taken a little side~step from it's usual cooler shades of purples, pinks, and blues with hints of white into brightly hot and vibrant hues, and the Crocosmia Lucifer, which I bought a few years back, is no exception~

For now I must leave you, Gentle Reader, until another day ~~ but I promise to return quite soon with a photo~heavy blog to catch you up with all the flowers in my Shire Garden~

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

Discounted Plants and Bargains

Gentle Reader, I am indoors this very sunny summer afternoon, for sitting in a room with the curtains drawn across the window to keep the heat out is one way to keep cool.

As the country basks in long overdue heat and sunshine, it is getting too hot in the middle of the day to work in the garden other than necessary jobs, such as watering and weeding.  Work is now done depending on how warm it is, and I am moving according to the shelter given by the cottage from the baking sun.  Temperatures are around a delightful and warm mid 70's most days now, but the sun reflects off all the stone and this exacerbates the heat, and with little or no wind to temper the heat I quickly start to melt.  Little bits and often while wearing a good, wide brimmed sun hat is the order of most days now, with frequent breaks taken sitting in the deck chair with a cooling drink, or indoors to get away from the parching rays of the sun.

Look how bright the sun does shine in a clear and cloudless sky~

The main work of the last few days is making sure the plants are watered.  I am working my way slowly through them now, weeding out the dandelion and other unwanted seedlings that are sprouting in the pots, and topping up the compost where it has settled in the pots to cover up bare stems and encourage sturdier roots.  I am also giving everything an extra feed this week because all the plants are going into overdrive with the sudden burst of heat and I know there will be masses of new flowers very soon.

The lily buds are, mostly, enormous now and one has even started to burst open!  I am so excited.  I bought my lily bulbs as an end of season job lot at a bargain price.  They were already starting to shoot when they arrived so I had to hurry along and get them planted up.  Here is one of the big, fat buds~

Here is a pot full.  Each pot has an assortment, and are all sizes.  The buds are all in different arrangements too on the stems.  Some clustered at the top, while others are individually placed at intervals along the stems~

I have tended them well and am about to reap the rewards.  I have no idea what colours they are, so I am eager for them to open up and show me.  I am moving the pots around to maximise their impact when they do open and sweeping around and behind all the pots too, so everything is spick and span and looking very neat and tidy.  I love how the pink patio rose (above and below) sits happily amongst the pots of lilies~

I do not know the name, for again this was a bargain plant as the nursery had lost the label.  I have quite a few such plants, for nurseries either discount or compost plants that have no labels.  It does not matter that I do not know their name, I am well rewarded for rescuing them and giving them a good home by their beauty and fragrance.

Here is a little splash of colour in a mixed pot; I love the bright purple and pink of the pansy next to the petunia~

I don't often have petunias, but again, they were a bargain buy and I bought the tray of pot bound plants for half price.  Now, a few weeks on, the plants are establishing and flowering forth.  Again, these could have ended up thrown on the compost heap if they had not sold, yet here the are bringing lovely colour and variety to my garden~

This is how I bought them, crammed jammed into an all too tiny tray they were quickly outgrowing~
 

Here they are, planted out, well spaced into a tray~

And here they are now!  They are growing really well and flowering so prettily too~

 A fine reward in just a few short weeks with a little effort and care~

At last the geraniums that give such a lovely green backdrop to the pansy and petunia is developing flower buds.  I was very worried, for last year they produced prolific greenery and very few flowers, and this year looks the same.  I will know very shortly what has happened.

Gentle Reader~ I have had my first breakfast pick of soft fruit, and here is a picture of the very fruit~

It is a mixture of three different types of raspberries and loganberry.  They were delicious, if a little tart because of the loganberry.  I have four different raspberries, which are supposed to give me a five month picking season as they fruit at different times, but this year again all four seem to be fruiting together.  I think it must be the variations in our weather affecting the production of flowers.  It would be so lovely to have them starting in June and picking all the way through until the end of September into October as they are meant to do.  Still, I am grateful to have such bounty only a few steps away from my door.  What better summer breakfast than a bowl full of fresh picked, sun warmed fruits served with home made organic yogurt?  Are you hungry yet?

Until the next time~

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

A Very Green Picture

Gentle Reader~the fruit patch is a thousand shades of green as fruits swell and prepare to ripen very soon.  Everything now is about patience, waiting for this to happen, for Nature cannot be rushed, then days of picking, preparing, and preserving will follow~

This year, which is the fourth year since I planted the gooseberry bush, there is a little crop of plumptious green jewels.  I am so excited, and am sure they must be nearly ripe, but am unsure, for I have no experience growing or harvesting them.  As they started to set fruit in the driest part of the year, I gave them extra manual watering to help them along, and now the bush, with it's mighty sharp thorns, is full of shiny green baubles.  I hope I have enough to make a delicious fruit crumble~Oh! I do love fruit crumbles, served with hot custard~

Gooseberries go very well with Elderflower, and I have two small, wild elder trees growing on my stone hedge.  They are full of blossoms, and as they are the perfect partner for gooseberries, I am certain that the fruit will not be long in ripening now~

Oh~Gentle Reader~I wish you could smell this fragrant bloom that fills the warm summer air with it's delicate perfume~

The blackcurrants are starting to turn colour!  They will be ready very soon.  I usually start to pick them around the middle of July, and it is a long and tiresome job, for each tiny fruit must be 'topped and tailed', and I must fend off the blackbirds too, for they consider these bushes their very own!  These will be used in crumbles, pies, and jam.  I freeze the fruit and make small, fresh batches of jam throughout the winter months for a delicious boost of Vitamin C.  I spread the jam on hot, buttered toast or crumpets, but also dissolve a tablespoon or two in a mug of hot water for an easy, warming drink to soothe a cold.

I have four different varieties of raspberry, to give a prolonged picking season.  I pick these warm from the canes in the early morning sunrise and serve them fresh, with organic homemade yogurt for my breakfast~so good!  The fruits are only now starting to set, and I should really be starting to pick them, but this is because it has been such a cold and slow start to the growing season this year~

These are my loganberries which are a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry and they are very tart.  There is a bumper crop.  Unlike a raspberry, the core stays in the fruit when picked, so last year, my first decent crop, I made Loganberry Gin by steeping the fruits in gin and sugar.  When I first tasted it, in January, it was very sherberty and I didn't think it would be very good, but now it has matured I don't think I made enough!  This year I will know better, and I am on the look out for more recipes to use this unusual fruit~

The apples have thinned out very tidily, leaving good space between each small fruit, which is what is needed to give the apples room to swell and grow without damaging each other~

I already have a brand new strawberry plant!  I planted six new bare root plants a few weeks ago and one put out a runner which has put down roots of it's own to make a new, baby plant.  It is looking very healthy~

I don't think it has been warm enough for the strawberries at all, for there are not very many berries growing, but there are a few at least to give a small taste, and if the weather picks up soon we could have months ahead for everything to catch up and produce some fruit~

Gentle Reader~the temperatures are still quite cold, remaining in the high 50's and seldom breaking 60℉, so let us hope things warm up very soon.  Much needed rain is forecast for tomorrow, so I will hope I can save the heavy job of watering for a day or two, and the water barrel will be full again.  Soon, I will be harvesting the fruit and then I will share some recipes with you.

Thickly and Quickly

Gentle Reader, as the garden grows, so does the inspiration for new posts.  Despite the cold, wet start, the garden is now growing like a proverbial weed and each new morning brings something new to look at, observe, and consider.  Indeed, I do not know which way to turn with my camera or my thoughts!

Fruits are starting to form, like these tiny apples~

blackcurrants~

and gooseberries~

Soon I will be picking fruit daily.  What can be better than fresh picked strawberries and raspberries for my breakfast, sun~ripened and warm, from berry patch to breakfast bowl in moments; blackcurrants for jam, pies, crumbles, and cordials; gooseberry crumble (a favourite with custard); and tay berries for jelly.  The surplus will be frozen for the winter months ahead, a steady supply of summer sunshine and vitamins.

My herbs are growing rapidly, and already some seeds are setting like this Sweet Cicely, I do so like the name, it is delightfully old fashioned, pictured here growing through my vigorous rosemary~

two types of oregano, green and variegated~

and this is the Moroccan mint I found, languishing in a tiny pot, which I potted up and is now producing tiny shoots from the base~

I use a lot of fresh herbs in my cooking, and dry them for a supply over winter when, although they are still in leaf, the oils are not present for sufficient flavour.

There is weeding and digging to be done (they are always on the list of jobs) and a lawn to be mowed this week. A Gardener's Work is Never Done! Seeds are waiting to be planted, and today I sowed some beetroot, mixed leaves, broad beans, courgettes, curly kale, and Swiss chard in pots to plant out if the weather holds.

Much of my vegetable plot is under weed killing cover ~ old, punctured inflatable mattresses to be precise.  Rather than confine them to landfill, I am recycling them to help suffocate the weeds.  It is not a pretty sight, weighted down by old Land Rover wheels, and it is a lengthy process, but I refuse to resort to chemicals unless absolutely necessary.  I have taken photographs, and I will share these when I am ready to remove the covers, which will be a blog entry in itself.  I pulled them back a few weeks back and although working the job still has some way before they can be removed for cultivation so I am not planning on using it this year.  There are some small spaces around the edges that I hope to use though.  More on this later.

Part of my vegetable plot is being used as a holding area for flowers and shrubs until the relevant areas of the garden are ready to receive them.  I put these plants there last summer, not planning to leave them there so long, but I procrastinated over what I wanted to do with the rest of the garden, so here they remain.  They are thriving and offering good weed suppression that I did not expect!  This gives me useful information I need to remember, as I have learned something new, that osteospermums not only do well in my garden but are good weed suppressants~

Other plants that seem to do this are oregano, Alchemilla Mollis, self~heal, foxgloves, and oriental poppies. You can hardly put a pin between them!  No room for weeds to grow here!

One task connected with the edible garden is storing and consuming the produce.  I used to only grow what I could eat directly from plot to plate, but one year I had a glut of courgettes (zucchini) and even after giving away many fruits I still had masses left.  I stumbled upon a wonderful book, "Jams, Preserves, and Edible Gifts Paston" by Sara Paston~Williams for The National Trust which contained a recipe for Courgette Chutney.  I bought it, made my first batch and have never looked back.  Now, I freeze my freshly picked fruits and make small, regular batches of jams, jellies, and preserves throughout the winter months.  I also use the defrosted fruits with home made yogurt for breakfast, or in delicious pies and crumbles for warming winter puddings.  No wonder I gain weight in the winter!

So, one of the jobs I must do is empty the freezer of all of last year's fruit that is still left and turn it into jam.  This week, I found 3lbs of raspberries, so raspberry jam is made~

As the blackcurrants will be the first to ripen and generally need picking in mid~July I must make jam and crumbles from the remaining 12lbs I have in the freezer!  They do crop very well indeed.

I have a busy time over the next few weeks!  There will, I am certain, be many entries here to look for as I spend my days between the garden and the kitchen.