Through the Garden gate-- October 2019

 

 The garden is still looking good even though there are not so many flowers about now. I love walking around and spotting the odd flower hiding amongst greenery, like Rudbekia, Cosmos, Calendula and Potentilla. Still going strong are the Sedums and hanging on in there are some tall dark blue Salvia, Schizostylis and Michaelmas daisies. But the one which seems to show no signs of giving up is the hardy Geranium--Rosanne. It has flowered all through the summer and is still full of flowers.

We had a lot of heavy rain in October and our bottom border which is always damp is really sodden, so in my tidying up I have not touched the soil.  Elsewhere I have been clearing away any very dead plants but leaving those with seed heads.  This tidying up has meant that the grasses now can take pride of place in the borders.

One grass which I am really liking is a Miscanthus sinesis zebrinus.  This grass has been moved about so much, after growing in a pot at our old house, I planted it in the raised bed here in our new garden but it got lost amongst other plants. Earlier this year I moved it to a new border next to the archway and it absolutely loves living there.

One of the first trees  we planted in our new garden, two years ago was a Rowan.  This year is the first time it flowered and produced berries.  I was surprised to see that the berries were yellow--I thought they would be red. I should have read the plant label properly! But I love these yellow berries they have been a lovely contrast against its red autumn leaves.

Also full of fruit is the crab apple, planted earlier this year, the fruit is turning red now and there are lots of them.  I wonder how long it will be before the birds get to them.

I have planted up some autumn containers with cyclamen and violas and these are providing lots of colour near to the house on the patio and outside the kitchen door.

I am linking this post to Sarah's blog at 'Down by the Sea' for her monthly' Through the Garden Gate' post.

Summer berries

 

There are lots of berries in the garden at the moment, that's if they've not been eaten by slugs in the very wet weather we've been having. Strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, they're all delicious. My favourites are strawberries and raspberries. You can just eat them as they are, with cream or ice cream, or make them up into flans, sorbets, mousse, cheesecake, the list is endless. I found this recipe for a berry compote whilst I was going through my recipe file the other day.  It's really easy to make and will keep in the fridge for several days.

Berry Compote
serves 6
8oz (225g) strawberries
8oz (225g) raspberries
4oz (100g) redcurrants
4oz (100g) blackcurrants
6oz (150g) sugar
3/4 pint (375ml) red wine
1 cinnamon stick
pinch grated nutmeg

1. Pick over the soft fruits, discarding hulls, stems and leaves. Quarter strawberries
2. Put the sugar in a large pan with the wine. Stir over a low heat until dissolved
3. Add prepared fruits, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer for 5 mins or until fruits are softened but still hold their shape.
4. Leave until cold. Spoon into dish, cover and chill for 1 hour.
5. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

 Nutrients per serving
calories 180 protein 0g total fat 0g (saturated fat 0g) carbohydrate 35g fibre 6g


I didn't have any redcurrants, so I used extra of the other fruit. I used last year's raspberries and blackcurrants  from the freezer it was a good way of using them up to make room for the this year's harvest. I didn't have any red wine so used up some port we had in the drinks cabinet. More expensive and probably a sweeter taste, but was  delicious and very boozy! Probably too boozy, I'll try with wine next time!