Six on Saturday 30 March 2024

 Last Saturday I stood in squally showers, strong gusts, at the entrance to Yeo Valley gardens greeting visitors.  Had it not been a purchase in advance timed ticketed event, I doubt many would have come.  However the look on peoples faces as they left carrying their precious finds made it all worth it.  What did I come home with?  Yeo Valley or the previous week at the Bishop's Palace Rare Plant Fare purchases will be revealed over the next few weeks.

Today as I post and linking in with Jim's Garden Ruminations, we have real sunshine, warmer temperatures, and the strong damaging winds from Storm Nelson with heavy hail are all but forgotten. 

1. With its blooms dancing in the wind, Clematis alpina Blue Dancer is growing in an 'outsized' long tom and is taking centre stage on the shed shelf. It was bought only last year as one of those small plants from Morrison's for less than the price of a bar of chocolate.  Better than any Easter Egg that keeps on giving each spring! It got blown off its shelf during the storm, but luckily it did not sustain too much damage.

2.. In amongst a batch of primroses for sale at Yeo Valley, I found a pot of these beauties, which I believe are called 'Jack in the Green', I love the little exaggerated calyx forming a small  ruff behind the petals.  All the segments came off the same root, and not surprisingly I divided and got five plants.  After planting these out for once I was happy that the following few days were wet, giving them the chance the settle in.

3.. It is years since I have grown Sweet Peas, I seem to remember that when I moved to a new garden each time in the first year I grew a few.  I didn't do this here, but at Christmas with my card, my friend Mandy sent me a seed packet of Sweet Pea Mrs Bernard Jones.  They have just germinated.

Sweet Pea seedlings: Mrs Bernard Jones 

4. I bought a number of small plants from one of my favourite Alpine suppliers: Pottertons.  In the last couple of years they had attended both The Bishop's Palace and Yeo Valley but this year they came only to Wells, so it was a good job I turned up there.  This little sub shrub has already been planted into the gravel garden, and I hope that Aethionema 'Warley Rose' settles in over the summer.

5. Of course now the Snowdrops are over, my eye turns to the pretty primulas and I am delighted with this Primula 'Treborth Yellow' which stands out in the gloomy light on account of its striking yellow flowers at the top of the reddish stems. With its pronounced heart shaped petals, it looks as if it has twice the number of petals. I saw it on Potterton's Stall at the Bishop's Palace Rare Plant sale, and it immediately jumped out at me, and since it is not even on their list, I am delighted I picked up Primula vulgaris 'Treborth Yellow'. 

Primula Treborth Yellow

6. Here Persicaria runcinata 'Purple Fantasy' is peeping through Geranium malvifolium, which will be flowering in a few weeks before it disappears for its summer rest.

I'll be making the most of the sunshine today, such a treat but I think it is back to poor light quality etc after that.  At least I will have got umpteen loads of washing dry out in the garden. 

In a Vase on Monday

The top flower this week has to be these two stems of Narcissus Thalia which despite the rain and cold winds, and ever marauding slugs and snails is sufficiently perfect to reach today's small arrangement.  Joining them are some stems of Brunnera Jack Frost and Pittosporum Tom Thumb.

On my way back from cutting these, I passed the Primulas which had been potted up for display on the 'shed shelf', and with the purple in the middle of the Primula Gold Lace matching the dark purple of the Pittosporum, a few were snipped for this arrangement.  The Vase is a lovely pebble shaped vase which with its small opening hold such flowers nicely without the need for any additional aids. 

On Mondays Cathy posts and a few of us join her in showing a vase from material from our garden.  The idea should you wish to join in, is that you post your vase and you make a link to it within the comments section.  Otherwise using the link, you will undoubtedly find several other pretty arrangement to enjoy. 

Six on Saturday

The days are whizzing by and we have longer days here in the UK.  Time to link into Jim's Garden Ruminations to share six from the garden.

1. This week's instant gratification: Hyacinth Yellowstone.  It is ages since I planted hyacinths in any garden.  We stopped at B & Q to buy some new kitchen cupboard shelves, there were none in stock, and I took consolation in these.  The colour is is soft yellow very similar to wild primroses and they work nicely in the the sort of gloomy weather we have been having this week.

2. I despair: this is just one of the examples of the devastation by slugs this spring. Would the RHS have us only grow plants that slugs and snails don't touch?

Slug nibbled narcissi

From a headline in yesterday paper:  ‘It’s patronising to say that all slugs are friends – the RHS treats gardeners as nincompoops’...A new campaign by the RHS and the Wildlife Trusts is encouraging us to appreciate the garden pests – but not all horticulturists are keen.

3. For several years I had admired a yellow rambling rose along a friend's fence, and last year I had permission to take some cuttings.  I have three good rooted cuttings, and this week at the same time as planting out the hyacinths, these were planted  all along the south facing fence.  Let us hope it won't be too many years before they are flowering. Hopefully someone will be able to identify it once they are in flower, and in my dreams the fence is festooned with roses.

4. A new Rhubarb addition to the garden just could not wait any longer to be planted. Again another plant for which harvest will only be possible in a year or two: Rhubarb Timperley Early

5. Another pest has started on its spring attack both on the acer and for some reason on this Chrysanthemum Chatsworth.  By coincidence I read this week, that chrysanthemums should be stopped, but whether this applies to this variety I am unsure, maybe the squirrel has taken over garden duties? It is the second time in just a few weeks.

6. I am delighted that the division of Primula 'Blue Horizon' has paid off, of course it may be that wet winters suit it.

Not so much 'instant gratification' but planned ones await me at the Rare Plant Fair at the Bishop's Palace this coming Sunday, as I have put in 'pre-orders' from two growers! 

At Christmas one of our SOS members showed Christmas baubles on the gardening theme, just as shout out for my thoughtful son, here is the fun plant themed Mother's Day: I am in his eyes a 'Plantastic Mum'.  Of course on a art wireworkshop my efforts moved to plants....

No Knead Zaatar Flatbreads

 I treated myself to a month's subscription when I read there was an offer in January for a first month for free, after two months I realised that I would enjoy this and therefore went in for the year!  Today I attempted the February bake of No Knead Zaatar Flatbreads.

I've followed Jack with his weekly YouTube sessions almost from the start, but these demonstrations on the Homebakers' Club are something else!  I watched the video once and now having tried the flatbreads for the first time will watch it again.  It really does only take 2 minutes in the pan and 2 under the grill.  The first two I made were a little scorched, so next time, I shall place the breads a little further away from the elements.  They would go marvellously well with sometime like a tagine and were very close to a good nan which I am always partial to when we go out for a curry. The flatbreads were deliciously light, fluffy and tasty!

I usually cook my own chickpeas in the pressure cooker, but picked up a couple of tins of chickpeas early in the day, as I had not pre soaked the pulses. The tinned version were excellent. 

Honey and Spice Cake

Fancying a spicy bake, and having resolved to work towards the one out, and then a little more space, I leafed through Exceptional Cakes by Dan Lepard and Richard Whittington. I've had this book since 2011 and it is time to move it on.  Before that I thought I would try the Honey and Spice Cake.

Thanks to a search on Google I found that my original post dated 2014 after I had finished baking this.  What a coincidence, however this time I divided the dough into 2 x 500g tins.  I had forgotten that I had baked this, as the book was not marked, and isn't it strange that I was drawn to the same recipe. The book will now be passed on, and next time I shall try a different version Dan Lepard's Honey and Treacle Cake .

Tonight's pudding:  a slice of warmed up cake, a drizzle of honey and a little custard.

Lemon and Ginger Teacakes

Friday bun day has been a tradition for quite a few years now.  It used to be some afternoon tea time treat, but these days it has migrated to a breakfast treat instead.  I usually make a batch of enriched buns and freeze most of the batch to use on the following Fridays.

Lemon and ginger teacakes

It can't be far off the twentieth time I have baked these tea cakes, the recipe is still on its Waitrose paper, cut out and stapled in my Bread Baking note book.  Although I can easily access the recipe on line, I am holding onto the paper copy, as one can never tell if it will fall off the listing on line!

As there were no buns for Friday Bun Breakfast tomorrow, this morning a nice batch was made.  This time I used some fresh yeast which I picked up yesterday morning from the baker at Morrison's fresh bread counter, and many of  the techniques I have learnt from Bake with Jack, and they came up as the best batch ever.  

PS Having eaten them for Friday breakfast I realised I forgot the mixed spice, they are OK list this but they are definitely a lesser bun! 

In a Vase on Monday - Continuing the Mustard Theme

 A couple of weeks ago, I started to play a sort of 'domino' game via the In a Vase on Monday, with Cathy and this week, I am following on the Mustard Theme. I especially love condiments whether it is a fresh fruity sauce such as cranberry sauce, a chutney, salt and freshly ground pepper of course, or mustard. 

The middle of the stone table where we enjoy eating many of our meals hold a slate Lazy Susan, and on this stands today's vase, together with Salt and Pepper Grinders and a pot of ready made English Mustard.

Over on the back garden wall the Corydalis cheilanthifolia is slowly migrating upwards, most probably by ants moving the seed into crevices. As we sat eating lunch yesterday the sun caught the flowers, and being a pale mustard colour, suddenly the recent theme of Cathy's post and these flowers inspired me to include them in today's arrangement.

I've included some of the Corydalis's fern life leaves, a couple of leaves of the early flowering Geranium malviflorum, with a stem of a dark red polyanthus.

Yes, we have some powdered Colman's mustard which is essential in some cooked sauces and chutneys and pickles, but in recent years, I enjoyed a pot of ready made English Mustard in the fridge which is so easy to use for adding to sandwiches, rather than making up some fresh and ending up throwing the greater part which became dried up in the bottom on the small mustard pot.  I had found Colman's ready made English Mustard using 21% mustard a little bland compared with my home made version, and since it also contains flour which would not be usable by a couple of friends who are coeliac, I went back to mixing my own from mustard powder .  Once when we were eating out in Wiltshire, on the table of the restaurant was a jar of Tracklements English Mustard, and that certainly cuts the mustard: 39% mustard and no flour! 

Did any of your mothers used to admonish people who left mustard on the side of the plate?  I had thought that my mother saying "The Colman's got rich on the mustard people left on the side of their plate" quite amusing.  In the age of the internet I made an enquiry about this and spent some time yesterday reading a very interesting article about how the Colemans set up business near Norwich and the development of the company to this day., and an updated version.

This week, Cathy who hosts anyone who would like to join in, rules on her blog, has an intriguing Title Measure for Measure, which I shall try to follow on with next week. 

Six things in the garden on this wet Saturday

 As I sat in the conservatory this morning, peering through onto a sodden garden, I really thought it would be probably best to skip a week, but habits die hard, and thinking over this week, it would be a shame not to mark some of the highlights.  For different gardening things or maybe even similar ones  and inspiration all the other SOSers will have gathered in Jim's Shed better known as his anchoring post, to share discuss and comment on our Sixes in the Garden. Anyone is free to pop over there. 

1. I'm starting off this week with acknowledging that I succumbed to a little self gratification last Saturday, or perhaps more nicely put: I found four beautiful polyanthus, two of which are the gold laced type to help chase the grey clouds away. 

I felt happier but the grey skies haven't gone away.  Staging them on the shed shelf meant finding four terracotta pots of the same size.  Since I promised Mr S that I would not buy any more pots, with my fingers crossed behind my back, and to keep to this, meant that some plants needed repotting in other containers first.  Of course it was time for some Pelargoniums to be freshly potted up etc, and I had the satisfaction of having a nice display and getting one of the gardening tasks on my list ticked off. It is not that I am 'forbidden' to buy pots or indeed anything I want for the garden, it is just that he indoors worries about me moving large pots around, or that I may start to trip over the stash or end up head first unbalanced in the bins that store the pots.

2, The little Primula Wanda White is in its third year in the garden, and continues to be a healthy strong and extremely good flowerer, opening its first blooms just before Christmas.  It is compact and holds its blooms close to the bright green leaves.  Even the small divisions made late last year are thriving, these two were made the year before that.

3. Another excellent plant that thrives in this garden, this time along the shady border is the Saxifraga stolonifera. Its pattern leaves make a good front of the border statement.

4. Each Spring the young growth on Sorbaria sorbifolia 'Sem' certainly adds  an interesting evolving coloured foliage. It is still growing in a pot, but had a change of soil a year ago.

5. The standard purple Primula Wanda is starting to make a good display, but this little group really ought to have been divided and replanted last autumn.  I have a spot earmarked to take them next.  Just as some people enjoy moving their 'knickknacks' or furniture around the house, I do the same with certain plants in the garden.  I find I can inspect the roots, give them a little more space or arrange them against different plants which gives a nice different view of the same small spaces.

6.  The cyclamen continue to be the stars on the near side of the conservatory border and standing out this week amongst a range of colours is Cyclamen coum 'Tilebarn Elizabeth'.  With no patterning on its pewter leaves, her charmingly pale pink flowers have with a deeper basal blotch, and each petal is delicately edged in a deeper rose pink giving its flowers  a vibrancy within the larger patch of cyclamen coum blooms.  I ought to mark this and try to collect some seed during the summer.  In previous years the seed pods just seemed to disappear.

I still haven't planted any seed, it has been too cold, and we even had a heavy shower of snow during the week, but it melted within minutes. 

Working with Wire Workshop

 A bunch of  our WI ladies went on a 'Working with Wire' workshop on the 'extra' day at the end of February.  Carolyn had already been there with her daughter.  The course was run by Kate Westcott at her home.  Seeing  Kate at the Snowdrop Festival at Shepton, and having admired some of her creations there, I became even more excited about attending this afternoon workshop .  As I like form and shadow I was looking forward to trying my hand and coming home with my own creation.

At the start of the afternoon Kate here sitting on the right side in white shirt, went through with us the tools, materials and some of the techniques.

During the first half of the session we got to grips with the tool and wire, and with some of Kate's examples on the table, with laughter and chatter and sheer will to forge forward, we each came up with different pieces of wire flowers or foliage. After a short break with great home made cake and drinks, we then went on to plan out the grouping on the blocks of wood, and Kate had the task of drilling in the small holes.  

My first Wire Work creation

Everyone came away with their unique creation.  Carolyn added to her previous creation and was inspired to create with heavier wire to create a charming snowdrop group.  

Using a heavier wire gave its a different character to those with a lighter wire.

The arrangements look great against a wall, and the finer wire gives the flowers movement.  

We thoroughly enjoyed the day, so many thanks to Carolyn who first spotted that this would be an interesting activity for some of the Crafting group, and to Anne in whose car five of us were conveyed. Anne was particularly fast, and had a couple of brilliant creations, none of which are featured here.  I am sure we shall be carrying on Wire work and sharing this with others during our fun evenings.

Kate Westcott Designs

Black iron wire in gauges of 24, 21, 18 from Wires.co.uk

Cutters and pliers from Cooksongold