Things in Progress

It was the Vernal Equinox on March 20th, so Spring has officially arrived. The sun has been shining on the garden and flowers are bursting out. The bumble bees are busy and taking advantage of the Crocuses.

The Hyacinths are opening but some are not quite there yet. I’m looking forward to their wonderful scent wafting around the garden. The pink ones I have at the front of the house are always first to shine and look pretty with the blue Muscari.

The Ladybirds seem to enjoy basking in the warmth of the sun on the Sage leaves. I find lots of them on these shrubby plants.

Here’s a selection of lovely flowers and things I’m enjoying in the garden at the moment.

A visit to our local nursery provided bright new additions. Vividly coloured Primulas and delicate Violas and some perennials to enjoy during Summer.

In the vegetable garden there is much to do. I have some enormous parsnips which are going past it now. I need to compost these and replenish the soil ready for a fresh crop of mange-tout peas. You can see how fat the parsnips are compared to my hand trowel in this photo.

The rhubarb is coming up but not ready yet. I still have some in the freezer from last year. I thought it was time to use it so I stewed some. Very nice with greek yoghurt and a square of ginger cake.

A little tip if you like the taste of rhubarb but don’t enjoy that bite on the teeth. I put it into a saucepan of water, bring it to a boil, then immediately drain and rinse it. Then I cook it gently with some sugar. It takes away a lot of the unpleasant acidity but doesn’t spoil the flavour.

Also have plenty of strawberries stashed in the freezer from last Summer’s bumper harvest. Strawberries are not very exciting after being frozen but cooked gently and sweetened they are wonderful. I thaw them in a saucepan on a low heat and when the juice has run I cook them for a few minutes with some sugar. Absolutely delicious warm on some vanilla icecream or cold with greek yoghurt.

My little cookbook is coming along. Just had a proof copy and it’s looking very nice. Just found a few small errors which need correcting and it will soon be ready to launch.

It’s taken a lot of thought to arrange my recipes into an order which others can follow easily. I have enjoyed doing it though. Producing the book is very exciting and a bit daunting. I hope it will be well received.

The garden flowers have inspired me to start a tiny painting of some Muscari, often known as Grape Hyacinths. I have only drawn it so far and outlined it with pen. I shall paint it with gouache in beautiful bright blues and greens.

There is a lovely Robin flitting about the garden and it sings in a tree at the front of the house, often during the early hours of the morning. It makes me feel grateful to be safe and happy. So many people are not. I wrote a poem to express how I feel.

A New Day

The curtains glow with dawn's golden light
And I lie and ponder before I rise.
Thankful for the ending of the night
When morning's promise greets my eyes.
The Robin sang his familiar song
As darkness ebbed and sunlight grew,
Assuring me that I belong
Among that very fortunate few -
Those who have a happy life
Filled with simple pleasure,
Love and laughter, free from strife;
The values which we treasure.
The daylight starts another day.
Who knows what it will bring?
But I'm reassured it will go my way
Now I've heard the Robin sing.

Stay safe, well and happy. With you again next week.