Friday 31 July 2015

Plot to plate

In the spring I went to a seed swap and potato day where I bought a variety of early potato that was new to me but sounded promising. The varieties available in the shops are limited and not especially flavoursome so I thought it worth giving 'Isabel' a try.
I'm very pleased with the result. This is what I got from one plant. It's a clean crop with a good texture and flavour that holds it's shape well when cooked. I'm storing some of the tubers to plant next year.
The later varieties are still in the ground.
We eat well from the garden in summer, the peas and beans are all cropping, lots of broad beans which we like to eat while they are still small.

I've stopped growing tomatoes out-of-doors because the weather can be unreliable and ruin my best efforts. Half a dozen plants crammed into the greenhouse are keeping us well supplied.

Plenty of cucumbers but the courgettes are really weedy, we've not had a single meal from them yet.
No problems with the soft fruit.


But something rather strange has happened to one of my lemon trees, half the fruit is the normal shape but the remainder is not very normal at all!
When do you cut back your lavender? I'm always torn as to what to do, whether to gather the flower stems when the colour is still bright so that I can use it for decoration and give the bushes a good trim or to leave well alone, enjoying brushing through the stems until autumn, by which time the flower heads are no use and the bushes losing shape.

I've compromised and cut a few back but left the majority.
There are plenty of flowers to pick in the garden

but I couldn't resist buying these roses when I went to do my weekly shop. They are a lovely range of colours and I'll try to strike them as cuttings when the petals drop.
The coriander is setting seed
and various favourites have come to the end of their flowering. 'Raubritter' has given a glorious show but now the heads need to be cut off.
Other roses are blooming in it's stead.

There's been a fair bit of cutting back to do, 
from this
to this. 
I hope it doesn't prove to have been too drastic!
Other trimming is less extreme.
And even the topiary is giving me some hope!

6 comments:

  1. Everything is so beautiful. Wish I could taste those super fresh potatoes.
    Although your special lemon(s) is not as ugly as some can be it might be the result of the citrus bud mite aka Aceria sheldoni. There are a number of topical treatments (non-toxic) to use over the course of a year or so. The treatment most suited to your location could be found. Such a lovely fruit bearing tree is a treasure. Good luck.

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  2. Hello Leslie and thank you for this information. I've googled Aceria sheldoni and am now armed with advice as to how to deal with the problem. I've also got a battle on with scale insects in my citrus trees and a sorting out is ahead - I need your good luck wishes!

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  3. Well Ms. Rosemary. Thank you so much for stopping by. I would love to offer you a glass of wine. As a matter of fact I have been thinking of returning to blogging and I think you may have just given me the kick in the bum that I needed!! I have been visiting your garden on a regular basis and it is just magnificent. I love it. We are in the midst of an historic drought here in Southern California so I've had to let my garden just go all crunchy and it is very sad. So of course I am loving all the green flowery gloriousness of your garden. Sooooo, my friend, you may be hearing from me blog-wise very very soon. Much Love!!! XXOO

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    1. Dear Connie, how good to hear from you! Now I've got to point out that all this green comes at a price - today was set aside for gardening. I did an early weekend shop, fitting in a coffee and croissant and a flick through the Saturday papers, got back home, what did it do? Rain, cold, wet stuff, not nice at all, and I've been hunkered down inside. A drought, on the other hand, must be grim, so I'm wishing our rain clouds your way. So glad to know you're coming back to blogging. (:-)-x

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  4. Oh Dear, I can not believe your beautiful and outstanding veggie and fruitful garden.
    I live in a green desert but not a lush green as yours.
    Arizona is always been about native plants and using drip watering systems. We have to be careful with our water.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Although we have plenty of rain I'm still aware of what a precious commodity it is. I've got nine rainwater barrels and should really get some more to fix to the downpipes on the house. My soil is sandy and doesn't retain water and this is quite a problem in dry weather. I don't think I would do well in a desert, not even a green one! We are a green aware household and generate much of our electricity from solar panels. We also have an air-source heat pump to supply hot water and room heating and last year had our oil-guzzling Aga converted to electricity. It works like a dream, just a dial to turn!

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