March 20th is an important date on my calendar. Not only is it the Vernal Equinox and therefore the start of Spring but it’s also our wedding anniversary. The day of the wedding it rained, snowed, hailed and blew a gale! 59 years have passed since that day. Much to be thankful for and hopefully, still much to look forward to.
So, here we are at last, with true Spring! Longer days and a few more opportunities to work outside with a bit of sun on our backs. More glorious colours appear all the time. Here’s a selection of what there is to see in my garden right now.
I planted a marsh marigold (Caltha pulustris) in aquatic compost several weeks ago. Allan placed it in the pond in a perfect spot and just the right depth with the few little leaves above the water. It grew well and now it’s a blaze of bright yellow flowers. So lovely.
Our neighbours asked if I would like to see their big pot of Spring flowers and perhaps take a photo for my blog. What a pleasure to see! It’s so beautiful. A mass of brilliant blue muscari and anemone blanda. My photo really doesn’t do it justice.
Their camellia was a picture too, covered with perfect crimson flowers. I think it must be in an ideal position because camellias need to be out of the early morning sun. If the flowers are frosted in the night they need to thaw slowly. If the morning sun warms them rapidly the flowers go brown and the buds fall off. Not a problem with these, as you can see from this one.
I planted out the lovely broad beans I bought from our local nursery. They are a variety called “Bunyards Exhibition”. I kept them in the unheated greenhouse until they were a few inches high and looking sturdy. I think now they will withstand weather and pests. A couple of leaves have been nibbled by slugs already but it’s not substantial damage. They’ll be fine. As a precaution we scattered some organic pellets around.
I really don’t like to kill things though. Most of the creatures in the garden do no harm. I found lots of lovely snails this week as I tidied the borders and among the branches of my clematis “Freda”. The shells are striped in cream and brown and in the clematis they are pale yellow. I will leave them to get on with their lives.
I took out the last of my celeriac crop and weeded the tunnels. I sowed “Katrin” carrots. Not grown these before so I don’t know yet whether they will be good. The tunnels look tidy now and have lots of new seeds waiting to spring to life. Lettuce, spring onions, carrots, parsnips and kohl rabi will germinate soon now that the soil is a little warmer.
Indoors, some of my tomatoes are giving me trouble.
I’ve grown “Roma” many times. They’re a favourite big plum tomato which we thoroughly enjoy. This year I thought I would also try a variety called “Italian Plum” from Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library.
I sowed both types in my homemade seed compost and kept them on a warm windowsill. Both varieties germinated and started to form true leaves after a few days. The “Roma”. on the left of my photos, are looking good but sadly the “Italian Plum” have curled leaves and don’t seem to be thriving.
Garden Organic have told me that this isn’t normal. They advised me to keep them separate and they will replace the seeds if they continue in this way. It’s a disappointing setback because it takes a long time for tomatoes to fruit in my greenhouse.
I love the little surprises which a garden brings. There’s always something of interest at any time of year. I found this little poppy seed head lying on the soil. It’s a lacy skeleton and beautiful in its simplicity.
Plenty to do indoors, while the weather plays havoc with garden plans. I enjoy being in the kitchen when I can’t be outside.
I’m still attempting to make yoghurt. I bought a thermometer and was very careful about the temperature of the milk but for some reason it didn’t set quite as firmly this time. It tastes really good though and keeps well, if we can resist it. Two pints (just over a litre) of whole organic milk fills three of my small preserving jars and they fit together in my thermal cooker to keep warm overnight.
I might buy a yoghurt maker but I’m dithering on the decision. I really like to be be able to make things myself using simple techniques, under my own steam. It goes against my inclinations to give in and have a machine do it for me. Not that I’m against gadgets, I appreciate them and have various helpers in my kitchen. It would be so easy with a machine though to warm the milk to the correct temperature and hold it for the time it takes for the yoghurt to set. Still considering it because with the price of organic yoghurt the machine would pay for itself in no time at all.
With Easter about to happen I’ve made my Iced and Spiced Squares. These are so much easier than baking hot cross buns. They have the same spicy warmth and fruity goodness to enjoy. A lovely crumby texture with a layer of fruit at the bottom. The lick of icing at the top is a sweet treat.
The recipe is in the cakes section of my Earthy Homemaker’s Cookbook. By the way, if you have my cookbook, in my list of ingredients I include dried milk. I feel it adds to the recipe but it’s not strictly necessary if you don’t have it handy.
They freeze well if they’re not all needed at once and I think they taste even better when they’re a day or two old.
I painted a picture of one of my “Buttercup” winter squashes. I grow these during summer. Drawn with pencil from my photograph and painted with gouache. Not colourful enough for me though. Next time I must paint something with fabulous colours. This monochrome painting doesn’t satisfy my soul.
I hope you have a lovely Easter and your days are filled with sunshine. With you again soon. Bye for now.
Living a contented creative life. 