A decade on.

I was talking to my Spanish friend, Ana earlier about where we were a decade ago. We were at The Marriot watching the news unfold about the Twin Towers with complete strangers, all transfixed on the television high on the wall. Sure it'll be a very poignant day of remembrance tomorrow and whilst I don't tend to talk about anything but gardening on here I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge it and all the deaths since.

On another sad note, Tom, Luke's step dad's dog died today. He was a good old boy, a handsome black labrador who excelled at accompanying Chris on his shooting trips (Chris is a wildfowler) and I think Chris would have given him a viking funeral if he could have as befitted his courage. Her certainly was a brave and lovely dog.

There is much sadness in the world but so much joy too, another day dawns and brings with it hope - new life and the promise of future happiness.

Cooking our wares.

I've been picking the tops of my sage and tweaking the leaves off the bay this morning and have cooked up goat cheese and red caramelised onion tart, mini tomato and basil tarts and a mixed vegetable quiche - all using goodies from the garden. Maybe next year we'll have even more to play with. Tonight we are having kedgeree with the smoked haddock being gently cooked in the court bouillon I've made with our herbs, onion and carrots. Now that is enough domesticity, I'm going to spend the rest of the day out of the kitchen. Hope you enjoy your day whatever you are doing. x

Fifth post.

Well, aren't I chatty today? Luke has kindly uploaded some photos for me hence the posts.

 

 

This is last weekend and if you are trying to work out who that batty and very tall woman is behind our battered fence - it's me. I'm not wearing wedgywelllies to increase my height, I'm actually standing on the heap of turf and weeds that I casually chucked over the fence when I was trying to get some semblance to our garden. I shall have to put it in the wheelbarrow and wheel it to the green bin so we can actually clear the way before we put the back fence up. I'm busy chopping back the overgrown brambles here.

Part flower, part veg.

Whilst we are waiting for the sweetcorn to fatten up here are the tops of them.

But for the real flowers we have the marigolds that have turned into triffids in the greenhouse.

Our aubergines have been a real success and taste delicious despite the fact that they look more like elephant dung here!

The tomatoes that we picked are starting to ripen and the onions are drying nicely in the greenhouse.

And not forgetting the flowers.

There's not much left now even though last year September was a riot of colour and shape. Here are a few shots of what is still flowering.

Confused.

I've got confused recently, I don't read my blogs once I've put published them so I'm unsure if I've waffled on about this before. Or what I've talked about anything before actually. I don't want to bore you rigid but I just type what comes to mind so if I'm duplicating my words, I'm sorry. Maybe it's the lavender stalks that have soothed me to the point of carelessness. Anyway, today  I've had a nice time picking our fruit and vegetables, such as they are. It's lucky there are only the two of us because our meagre amounts would not feed a family for more than 1 meal apart from those luscious potatoes and the beans. I heard a gardener saying recently it was a waste of time growing potatoes, especially if you haven't much room, because you can buy them so cheaply from supermarkets but the joy everytime you dig up those buxom beauties from underneath their canopy of wide green leaves. Now I know I've said this before and I still mean it, I get a rush digging for potatoes; it's like digging for gold to me. Not that I've ever dug for gold but I always have this sort of pirate feel about me when X marks the spot and I unearth those tubers. As I turn the earth over and those colours emerge, uncovering beautiful shades in several sizes I always have a big smile on my face. It's a surprise everytime I find a couple of mega potatoes surrounded by little pebble sized siblings. I love them.
And of I go again!
I've got a right old mish mash going on in the veg patch and I love the higgeldy piggeldy feel about it. I've got chicken wire protecting the carrots from the chickens, a cage set up to stop the hedgehog and chickens getting onto the area where the slug pellets are sprinkled, plastic propagator lids covering up the late planted ornamental cabbage seeds in the hope they will grow in a warmer climate and netting coiled over the spinach leaves which have been decimated by those hardy slugs that have given the broccoli the cold shoulder. I've sprinkled more slug pellets around the few remaining leaves and then, again to keep the birds off have had to use what I've got and all I could find was this bit of netting. This is how it looks.

So, today I plucked some huge sweet raspberries from the canes, pulled up the first small carrots from what is left after the chickens ate them twice (chicken wire has barricaded them in since then to allow their feathery fronds to thicken up again). I also spent fifteen minutes picking tender green beans from our wigwam. Once I'd topped and tailed enough for our dinner tonight I put the rest in a bag and hung them over Jack's door handle. With carrots, beans and potatoes from our garden, together with a handful of garden mint that grows in it's own container to stop the invasive roots taking over,  we managed to feed ourselves quite well. Raspberries just lightly rinsed and served with thick double cream for pudding and all we need now is our own coffee beans and then we'd be self sufficient  for today at least!

And now the sun arrives.

whilst it's always a joy to see the sun it is a little late in the day for me to take advantage having already mown the sodden lawn in the continual drizzle we've had today. I've had a day indoors, cleaning up, which Luke will be thrilled about although possibly not as I've cleaned his computer room and piled his 'stuff' up on a chair. Meddling woman, I'm sure he'll think.
Out in the garden, before getting fed up with the weather I thinned out the beetroot and pak choi before scooping up the ever increasing dead slugs (they really don't learn). Those young broccoli plants really are honey to the bee for those slimy chaps. I also decided to totally ignore the right time to sew ornamental cabbages and sprinkled the last few seeds in four short rows "just in case".

One of the lovely things about Autumn is the wood burner gets to be used again and I currently have the lovely smell of burning lavender stalks so I may just fall asleep mid-typing......zzzzzz

Rain, rain, go away

This was only last week, hard to believe now the rains have arrived. The lawn has weed and feed sprinkled over it and with all this rain now I can't wait to mow the lawn.

The veg patch.

 Our cucumbers could be used as weapons, they are so enormous.

 Beans almost high enough for Jack to climb up!

 Beetroot and beans, in their early stages.

 The last of the tomatoes, all that is left of our greenhouse full of tomatoes. We are hoping that they will ripen in the greenhouse and make at least a salad out of them.

Slug graveyard

Those slugs don't learn. I've still got a few slug pellets around my tender young broccoli plants and every few days I scoop up the unfortunate slugs who have been enticed by those green leaves only to end up being victim to the pellets. Yucky job and I feel heartless but I am not going to buy veg only to have it be noshed by those things.

Look away if you are of a senstive nature.