Lovers meeting has to be one of the most productive roses on the plot. With it’s beautiful bright orange blooms that stand upright. These have now bloomed and are about to blow away at with the wind. So before the petals float away and leave the sad look deadheads; I have chopped them off to be enjoyed with a second wind in the kitchen.
It is always really sad to dead head!
Ma got handed three large courgettes in 24 hours. Plus we have a few green tomatoes. So with the home made garlic it serves that they can be used up.
The recipe is for garlicky Mediterranean chutney. But this is a modified version. Especially with the green tomatoes. Have also added fennel, aniseed, mustard seeds and paprika. Not sure about the red wine vinegar though. We shall how well this is road tested.
The jokes are all over. We have two aubergines. They are little and large, streaky down the sides but shiny in places. But they now be in mama’s kitchen. They were sapping their respective plants and flowers were dropping off.
Mama h has decreed that they will meet their fate in being dad’s dinner with home made spuds.
Grown by mama nature; harvested by me!
Not really expecting a huge potato crop; due to rain annihilation. But there are a few flowering plants and also a handful of volunteer plants from last years potatoes. Still waiting on a few lady Balfour, king Edwards and Maris pipers that have survived.
May
This Is one of may be two self seed plants that survived the slimers. Can’t say I know what it is though, other than a squash. Think the label said gourd small mix. It’s a rampant, triffid like vine that clearly wants to take the universe. I am training it up rather than out. Remains to be seen how many fruits this actually manages to successfully produce.
With the flurry of yellow flowers on the tomato plants, there have been about a dozen bulbous fruit dangling. These have got to an appropriate enough size, but haven’t yet started to go grow green. Most of them are marmande with a couple of money maker. Placed onto the window sill, hopefully they will start to turn. If not they may find themselves in a green tomato chutney of some sort.
The heat and light has caused something of an tomato explosion. There have been increasing number of yellow flowers. Some of they quite dainty, others such as the beefsteak are fuzzy little things. The citrina tomatoes are cute. Little lemon shaped things, compared to the beautifully ugly marmande ones.
The Dorset and bengle nagas are still leafy, no taller but starting to form flower buds. Just like the Tabasco flowers; these are very delicate and I’m loathe to even touch them. It’s nice to see the buds, but I’m not going to get my hopes up.
There is a current fashion for folks to compare their produce with some coinage. Well, I have succumbed and to set the context we have the burgeoning aubergine with one coin of Her Majesty’s pound sterling.
It is getting there. Ma hopes to make something Indian out of it in approximately one weeks time.
Made a return visit to Blenheim palace today, for a lovely afternoon tea. This meant a return to the to rose garden. Last year, the rose garden was very damp, dreary and not very beautiful as it wasn’t blooming. Today was very very different. A full cascade of colour, with roses in full bloom. Lots of beautiful blooms, some of which actually needed deadheading. The beds were heaving with lots of flower heads. Much improved in comparison to last years visit.
As for the afternoon tea. I now have a second favourite tea, rooibos tiramisu.
Counselling for Courage and Change
Slipstream Romance with a Dark Twist
Confessions of A Musing Freak
Making the most of your time in sixth form
Daily Discussions of craft and the writing life
A fine WordPress.com site
Writing and Editing by Ekta R. Garg
The Cricket Pages
Gunn4
“It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Growing Your Own Produce and Remedies
A Whimsical Food and Travel Blog
Allotment, garden and other stuff
Recipes from my Kitchen and Cookery School at Number 4
sow and scoff: allotmenteer meets baker
horticultural 'obbit 