Jam

I made jam last week, for the first time ever-- rhubarb and ginger. So I'm feeling quite pleased that I have achieved something I've been wanting to do for ages.  I'd like to say that I've learnt a new skill, but I don't think I'm very proficient in the art of jam making yet. I  got quite stressed about it. I know some of you will be thinking 'what's the problem? Making jam is easy'. You can probably rustle up a few jars of jam in less than an hour. I haven't got to that stage yet.

I had to plan this event well in advance, because the fruit was in the freezer and it also had to be left to soak in the sugar and ginger for at least 2 hours. So the fruit was taken out of the freezer the night before, then in the morning all the ingredients were put in a bowl and left. We went out for the day, so I cooked the jam later in the evening.

The recipe was quite easy, but being a novice I read it at least half a dozen times to make sure I knew what I was doing. Then there were the things the recipe didn't tell me. Like how to sterilise the jars and how to seal them properly.  So I had to look elsewhere for that information. There was plenty of useful information  on the Internet on how to make jam, but there was so much that I got worried about doing the wrong thing and ending up with mouldy jam. And trying to remember all the useful tips was difficult.

It all got very messy with jam all over the worktop. I now know that I need to buy a jam funnel.  In the end it worked and I now have several jars of rhubarb and ginger jam which taste pretty good, although I should have cut the rhubarb up into smaller pieces. I think it will get eaten before it has chance to go mouldy.

The recipe is from the  BBC Good Food site. If you're interested here it is:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1091639/rhubarb-and-ginger-jam

Winter tubs

I love it when just as you think things have finished in the garden you can do something else to keep things going. Like potting up containers with winter colour.  That's what I did at the weekend.

I bought some pots of red mini cyclamen, some small hardy ferns, a stipa sirocco grass which has shades of copper and pink in autumn and winter and some gaultheria which is a small plant with dark glossy leaves and  red berries. These are all sold in garden centres at this time of year for autumn/winter container planting.

I made up one container in the front garden near the door.

 

Another smaller pot for near the back door

 

I added two of the gaultheria to this trough which has been going through the summer with violas, now gone over. The ivy in the pots was there for the summer displays and is still going strong. I removed the top layer of compost in the pots and topped up with fresh.

 These should all keep looking good beyond Christmas.

The view through my window

The autumn colour in the garden is amazing at the moment. I keep thinking it won't last much longer but it just keeps going on and on. The view from our dining room window is lovely. There is a blaze of colour from the cotoneaster horizontalis which is almost the same colour as the red brick of the wall it is growing against. Below that the astilbe foliage is now turning from yellow to a pale golden brown, contrasting well with its dark seedheads. This border and the one on the other side of the window are know as the 'shady borders'. they are in deep shade most of the time and astilbe, hostas, ferns, euphorbias seem to grow well here.

Looking further down the garden the oak tree, is still hanging on to its golden leaves, and below that is a weigela now turned a bright yellow.

The 'yellow border' where I grow yellow/orange/red coloured plants looks more yellow now than it ever does during the summer.

Down the left hand side of the garden the 'pink border'  has pink/purples and dark red flowers during the summer with a contrast of golden grass. It has now taken on a more golden theme from the astilbes, grasses and hardy geraniums and has some lovely maroon colour from the evergreen heucheras.

In other areas of the garden the hardy geraniums have dark red tints.

The deutzia has also taken on red tones.

What  autumn colour do you have in your garden now?

Enjoying November

I love autumn. I love the colours, the misty mornings, the smell of woodsmoke. I love collecting berries for flower arrangements or rose hips to dry for Christmas decorations. I love lots of things about autumn. September still has hints of summer, October starts to get more cosy and the colours start to change, the mornings are cooler, mists hover over the fields, cobwebs cling to hedges and gateposts, then we move in to November.  November is frosty and we start to think of winter. But it is a month to be enjoyed. The colours are still wonderful and frosty mornings reveal another kind of beauty to the garden.

As I walk the grandchildren to school in the mornings I like to point out to them the 'autumn things' around, like the colours of the trees.  We collect leaves to press and use to make pictures. So I was a bit saddened this week to see one of the houses near by to have a Santa and sleigh in coloured lights fixed to their house wall and a snowman flag flying on the flag post.  I can't deny that Christmas isn't far away and I don't mind going shopping and seeing Christmas things on display.  I like to prepare for Christmas in November, like baking the cake, making mincemeat and other lovely things.  But I think to decorate your house for Christmas in early November is a bit over the top.

So I will for now enjoy the colours 

 

the misty mornings

the cobwebs

berries

I will make things for Christmas

But I will  enjoy the cosiness of autumn, and I will leave the decorations until well into December.

November jobs

As the growing  slows down in the garden, there's still plenty of work to be done. One job which I love to do at this time of year is to clean out the shed. (Yes really!)   That's what I did at the weekend when it was too damp to do much else in the garden or allotment.

I moved out all the big tools, like the mower, shredder and hedge trimmer and gave the floor a good sweep.  I tidied and swept the dust from the shelves and the workbench.  Everything got shuffled around and reorganised. There are always a lot of cobwebs and big spiders, that's the scary bit, but I managed to evict one or two.  I know they will return though.  I'm always a bit wary of what I might find under the workbench. I once found some gardening gloves and knee pads which had been chewed at by mice. Finally I cleaned the floor and bench with Jeyes Fluid. It now smells really clean and looks much tidier

Another job I did was to sweep up the fallen leaves. There are lots and I quite enjoy the clearing up.  It's a job which continues throughout the winter.   They are all over the drive and paths and this is the main area for clearing as they can get very slippy.  I don't worry too much about them collecting on the borders, they can act as a mulch if I don't have time to clear them up. They are all put into the leaf mould bin to make lovely compost.


Other jobs I will be doing this month are:

In the garden

• Cut back in the flower borders as foliage gets untidy. I leave attractive seedheads for winter interest and wildlife
• Trim the lavender. I think I should have done this some time ago
• Lift and store the dahlias
• Bring pots of tender perennials into the front porch or cover with fleece to protect. I often forget to do this and then lose plants
• Sow winter salad leaves in the cold frame and micro leaves on the kitchen windowsill
• Half prune the roses so they don't get blown about too much by strong winds
• Clear up all the summer bedding containers and plant up with autumn and winter arrangements

At the allotment

• Move the fruit bushes from our old allotment to the new one (blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries)
• Spread manure on the raised beds to rot down over the winter
• Sweep up leaves and bag up.  (We haven't made a leaf mould bin yet, or even decided where we will put one)
• Harvest cabbages from the old allotment and tidy the beds ready for the new tenants 
• Plant daffodil bulbs in the wildlife area

I'll be amazed if I get all those jobs done!