Flowers for September 2009
Weeks of no rain have had a big impact on the herbaceous borders. So there are not many flowers and the few that are there are looking a bit stressed and tired. Can you guess what these flowers are? Hint I found them in the kitchen garden. A small insignificant prize will be sent to the first reader to leave the correct answer.
read moreDuncan’s pickled nasturtium seeds recipe (UK capers)
Have you ever tasted nasturtium seeds? They’re nutty and peppery. I knew that they could be pickled to make an English version of the continental caper but I’ve never found a recipe when the seeds are green and perfect for pickling. So I was delighted when Duncan, a reader and contributor to the Cottage Smallholder site, sent me his recipe. He had already road tested it. “I sampled my first batch yesterday and wow they are good. I have got the next batch in brine as I type. As it was a success and it is a good free alternative to...
read moreFlowers from the garden: August 2009
I suddenly realised that it was the last day of August so I had a wander in the garden and found these. I’ve waited two years for this one eachinea flower. It hurt to pluck it but it just had to join this group. It is, after all, a celebration of flowers that you can easily grow in an English cottage garden. Not having bought flowers since January 2007 has forced me to overhaul the herbaceous borders. They are now packed with flowers all summer. By adding plants from wayside stands and garden fetes, the transformation wasn’t expensive. It...
read moreHampton Court Flower Show 2009. A great day out.
Although it’s almost a twelve hour round trip, I wouldn’t want to miss the final day of the Hampton Court Flower Show. Danny always gives me two tickets as a Valentine’s Day present. Fills his company car with diesel and happily waves me goodbye for the day. He doesn’t do shows. I have tried taking him but within 20 minutes he is back in the car with a newspaper. He’s happy for about an hour overall and then he gets dramatically restive. He might not even survive a visit to the Hampton Court Flower Show. It’s a great day out if you...
read moreFlowers from the garden: July 2009
With all the palaver of sick laptops and not being well lately, I missed flowers from the garden for June. So I’ve jumped in early this July. Things are turning around quickly in the herbaceous borders now. The rain has tempted more flowers to open and shine but most of the June roses and lupins have taken their final bow. I oiled my secateurs before I stepped out this morning and dead headed for half an hour. I picked this little posy of frothy cottage flowers when I had finished. As always, they lit up the kitchen in a way that bought...
read moreChildhood perennials
I stayed at home today. Can’t seem to kick off the laryngitis so spent most of the day in bed, with the Min Pins and a hottie. This evening D and I strolled in the garden. “What are these?” He touched the large evergreen waxy leaves gently. “Bear’s Ears. Bergenia. Ours have pink flowers in the spring.” “And what are these?” “Lamb’s Ears. Stachys byzantine. Touch them. They’re as soft and silky as a Min Pin pup.” I’ve included these two perennials in all my gardens. Flowers that I remember growing in gardens when I was...
read moreA present of Pheasant’s Eye narcissus
We grow two types of daffodils in our garden. As these bulbs were bought in sacks from wayside stands, I’m not sure what they are called. A very pretty white and pale yellow one flowers first. Just as the heads are fading another strain appears of the all yellow, King Alfred type. Over the years they have gradually spread through the grass in front of the cottage. Wonderful pools of good sturdy bulbs. My favourites in the daffodil family are the narcissus. Small patches of these start to peep through when the ordinary daffodils are over....
read moreFlowers from the garden: May 2009
Next month I will be celebrating the challenge of not buying flowers for two and a half years. Apart from saving approximately £500 a year, this challenge has forced me to overhaul the herbaceous borders and become much more inventive with the flowers that grow in our garden. The arrangements are surprisingly soft compared to those in the shops. May is the start of the easy flower picking months. Perhaps next year I will grow flowers undercover for the winter months although I do enjoy the move from a tiny glass of snowdrops in January to a...
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