In a Vase on Monday - Seeing out August

My Vase to see out August, is a simple affair with just two types of flowers.  Both plants were much admired in Alison C's garden, and seedlings found and gifted.  How have I missed our visits.  I managed to take over some rooted cuttings of Chrysanthemums, and recently collected a bouquet for our gardening club to give to our Chairman.  

Cathy has props which really made me smile to go with her cheerful arrangement, together with a tune which will be popping up in my head all day long. My prop this week is a simple leaf, and the vase an old Victorian Glass Poison Bottle.

Allium carinatum  subs pulchellum is a lovely late flowering allium, which I had written about for our Six on Saturday gardening group. I found a small later flowering clump when doing some tidying, aka early autumn cutting back.  

Teucrium hircanicum has lovely arching flowers and has stood up to the sun, drought and and rains.

Yesterday, Mr S and I followed the path of my last Geology Field Trip, where there were some different views of the Cathedral, with Glastonbury Tor beyond.

On our way back down Walcombe, which I had learnt was the remains of a waddi , we walked through the orchard, where strangely Mr S spotted some apple blossom, and The Combe, which is a beautiful arboretum.  I found the grass covered with Ginko leaves, still green so probably blown off during the stormy weather earlier in the week.  The leaves are a lovely shape and texture, and very tactile.  

Six on Saturday - 29 August 2020

 With strong winds and lots of rain, it feels as it Summer is drawing to a close. Non the less, I am still hoping this is just a blip, and that there will be more sunny and balmy days ahead.  One thing that won't change is the shortening of the days.  I am an early riser, often before six, and enjoy my little trip around the garden, which inevitably leads to changing the water in the bird bath, and slaying a few slugs on their way home from a hard night of nibbling.  Soon there will be no time for this without delaying breakfast.  My dearly beloved is usually still in bed until he hears the kettle being turned on!

This week the succulents, which have been spending the Summer in the garden, have been the focus of my attention.  On sunny days, it is still too hot to have them in the conservatory, but it is also too wet for them outside.  Earlier this year I passed on duplicates, or triplicated, and ditched all my larger specimens, whittling down the numbers so that I can handle them safely,  making moving them around so much easier.

(1) The 'Crown' of the last year's large Aeonium Velour , is already growing well, and is just about the right size for me to carry comfortably in and out of the Conservatory.  It has a special table!

A couple of neighbours had kept their Aeonium Schwarzkopfs in their open porches quite successfully , so I am going to risk those and some of the other succulents, and only bring them indoors, if temps are forecast to drop too low.

(2) A new small allium  is flowering in the gravel garden: Allium senescens montanum var glaucum.  When I saw the plants earlier this year, I just had to buy the pot of 'curly whirly spirally blue green leaves'..now the flowers have arrived, I am really pleased I did get it. 

The rains have brought on the cyclamen hederifolium in the garden, and also my specials in pots, into flower, and strangely several of the coum are in leaf too.

(3) I decided to plant the pot grown Cyclamen cilicium album, straight into the gravel garden, with two small corms that I had grown from its seed. At the base of a rock for shelter and warmth they are flowering for the first time.  The mother plant seem to have 'melted away'.

(4) Last year Cyclamen hederifolium Lysander mainly gave leaves, but this year it is flowering very well. At first the flowers were growing from a central point straight up, unlike the others, but in the last few days, more flowers have been coming from deeper down or along the edge of the pot.  

(5) Polypodium cambricum 'Richard Kayse: a week ago I cut back the old growth to better admire the newly emerging fronds.The bright fresh green is indeed a treat at this time of the year.

(6) Rose Open Arms looking suitable refreshed with rain and lower temperatures. I picked up the original plant when visiting Rob Cole,.  I visited his and Diane's garden several times, on the occasions he welcomed fellow members of the Warwickshire Plant Heritage Group, to his garden at Meadow Farm  in Worcestershire. Over tea when I was chatting with Diane Cole, and explaining that Mr S loved simple flowers, she showed me her Rose Open Arms, and I knew I had to get this one.  She even talked me through how to propagate it by cuttings.  Luckily she had one plant, and when we knew we were going to move, the cuttings were taken. 

The Propagator has collected six beauties this week including a  Dahlia ‘Caribbean Fantasy’, name I think is quite apt considering he is off to the cost of Norfolk.  

In a Vase on Monday - Simple

 After rains and strong winds the garden is looking as if Autumn has arrived early, but with temperatures still more towards warm rather than cool, as yet there is little sign of colouring.  

The very large blooms of one shrub have stood up reasonably well.  I am hoping these will dry gracefully in situ, and form a nice arrangement for the sideboard in the dining room.  I've taken the opportunity of throwing out all the dried flowers which have been quite wonderful over the last year.

Here are the stems of Hydrangea paniculata Vanille Fraise, on the side table in the conservatory.

Close up there is just a hint of the Strawberry coming through...

When the ones in the garden start to turn pink, I'll pick some more and see how they dry compared to these ones.  Isn't it strange how each year plants behave differently: last year these turned pink far earlier than this.  I prefer these paler cream versions....

This week Cathy is showcasing a beautiful small embroidery as well as her Miniaturist Vase...my penchant is far miniature vases on the whole, since I love to grow small things.  This week my Vase is quite a contrast to hers.

Lemon Project Box

 I'm very lucky to be able to pop up to Wells Fruit and Veg to pick up top quality green grocery items.  Recently my friend Maggie has been phoning me when she is up there at the stall, and suggesting 'project boxes' that we can share.  I had mentioned lemons but Maggie already had many left over from a previous purchase in her freezer.

Mr S needed a change, and was showing signs of cabin fever, so I persuaded him to accompany me up to Rocky Mountain, on Thursday.  Whilst I looked around the lovely fruit and vegetables and made my purchases, he went off to explore the nearby disused railway, afterwards we went for a walk around Rocky Mountain Plant Nursery.

Amongst this and that I picked up a box of lemons. These were smaller less than perfect lemons from South Africa.  When I say less than perfect, I mean they were not the uniform glossy ready for the market Class I fruit, but at £2 a box., it would have been wrong not to get one, and use it as an opportunity to try all sorts of preserves.  I had wanted to try making my own salt preserved lemons, which I use so much in my tagines, roasts etc...

 

A trial of making home made Lemon Cordial turned out so successful that tomorrow I shall be making more...

I shall be using this to add to the second ferment of the water Kefir.  

In dealing with so many lemons, I realised that my zester which I think I have had forever, is quite past it.  Tomorrow I am off  to see if either of the two hardware stores can come up with the goods.  If I draw a blank, it will be on line shopping, but I am giving the local shops a chance....

Another Saturday Project was turning my surplus garden grown cucumbers into dill pickles, again a first for me. The prepared pieces had been resting overnight, having been salted, and were ready to be packed into jars, when my friend Jayne, a friend from years ago called me...she of the pickled gherkin loving brigade.  I hope there are some left for when we are welcoming house guests once more.

The cordial has given me the inspiration to try making my own limoncello. I shall just have to imagine the lovely drinks we enjoyed on our holidays in Sorrento.

 This evening I shall be sitting down with all my books, and the internet open, searching for recipes to use up the large bowl of lemons which remain.

Pizza Blonde

 A couple of days ago I was commenting on Jane Mason's post on Virtuous Bread, where she had been making gnudies.  I have yet to try those, but this did inspire me to make some ricotta.  With the heat, we had not been having our usual afternoon 'weak teas'.  Instead of having tea, when we have about a third of a mug of milk topped up with boiling water, we were having glasses of water.  The result is that I had spare milk on Monday, just before my weekly delivery of goat's milk from Wookey Farm.

With tips from Jane about using use the whey in my dough, and also about making making sure that the cheese is well drained so that it bakes well, after a night in the fridge, draining through a muslin lined conical strainer, this is the result:

Goat's milk ricotta

Gnudies will need to wait for another day.  I just had pizza on my mind:  Pizza Blonde, without the tomato, using my little small pattipans, some onions, and walnuts.  I made the pizza dough with the whey, taking inspiration from Linda Collister's recipe, which includes Herbes de Provence in the dough, except I used some of my own dried marjoram!  I have used Linda Collister's 'Bread'for many a bake!

Ever since enjoying my first 'professionally baked Pizza Blonde in Sicily' and also baking Jane Mason's Alpine Pizza from 'All you Knead is Bread', I realised that my 'tomato less' pizzas were very nearly mainstream.

So for supper yesterday we had some of this Pizza made with loads of onions, a few steamed Pattipan slices, walnuts, which I had steamed along with the pattipans, so that they were damp and didn't get burnt, topped with my home made ricotta.  There was a little nub of other sheep's feta, which got grated and added.  Final topping was shredded fresh marjoram and a little olive oil just before serving.  I find Marjoram Nana the best for flavour.  

With all the whey I had from the 1 litre of milk, I also made two spelt loaves, and a couple of rounds of cinnamon whirls, one of which is being taken to our gardening club committee meeting this morning.

Should I ever have a spare litre, I'll be making ricotta again.  I have even more admiration for the cheese makers, and uped my milk order for next week to include some of Sarah's lovely cheese which she makes on the farm.