Garlic, Peas and Pudding

“N’ere cast a clout till May is out” A very old saying which might mean take care until the month is over. Or does it perhaps mean wait until the hawthorn blossom appears? Whatever it means, May Blossom as it’s also known, is a lovely sight in and around our garden and promises warmer days.

Spiraea “Gold Flame” is living up to its name and lighting up the border.

My peony is a little disappointing this year as it only has three flower buds. They’re still tightly closed and the ants are enjoying the sweet sugar on the surface. This doesn’t harm the plants at all and the ants move on when the flower opens. This peony is called “Sarah Bernhardt” and the second photo shows how fabulous the flowers are once they bloom.

Clematis montana “Elizabeth” is flowering high up in the old plum tree.

It’s not all straightforward in the garden. Slugs and snails cause problems here and there. As an organic gardener ( we should all be organic gardeners now we understand how nature works!), I try to leave them alone wherever possible. The hedgehogs and blackbirds need them and I have no quarrel with them unless they’re destroying something.

I found my potted hosta had some holes. Unfortunately, slugs and snails love hostas . I rooted around the top of the pot and found the culprit. It’s a favourite plant of mine and I’ve had it for about forty years. Such beautiful leaves and they look as though they’re sunlit on the dullest day.

I planted out some little sprouts seedlings and protected them with some large water bottles. This will keep the slugs away from the delicate, tasty leaves.

I found a lovely moth in one of the cauliflowers. How it got into the polytunnel, I have no idea! The door is always shut except when we’re watering. I hope it’s not left any eggs behind. I have had brown caterpillars on the cabbages in previous years. Perhaps this type of moth was responsible. Very pretty though. I gently removed it and put it outside.

I’ve harvested the garlic. Not a big crop but I’m pleased with the bulbs. I’ve spread them on an airy bench in the greenhouse to “cure” them. The sun and wind will harden the skins and wilt the stems so they’ll be ready for storing. There’s nothing quite like homegrown garlic; so fresh, sweet and full of flavour.

Things are growing nicely. Most of my seeds have germinated and look promising. It’s a bit overwhelming at this time of year when there’s so much to do, but I really can’t do without fresh vegetables. The weeds will have to wait although I know the problem just increases if they’re not removed before they set seed. Not a robot, so I will do just what I can!

The broad beans are flowering well. They’ll soon have pods developing and delicious baby beans to enjoy with new potatoes and mint sauce.

My mange-tout peas in the polytunnel also have flowers and tiny pods coming along.

Waiting for more lovely flowers to appear but here are some which are happy to bloom in May.

I’ve been using my fruit supplies from the freezer to make room for this year’s harvest. I had some frozen stewed plums and crusts from a bloomer loaf, so I made a bread pudding in my air-fryer on the bake setting. I put half the crusts in a bowl. I whisked an egg into 300mls of oat milk with two tablespoons of sugar and poured half over the crusts. Then I added the stewed plums covered with the rest of my crusts. I poured the remainder of the egg mixture carefully over the bread and pressed it down gently to make sure it was all soaked.

I baked it for 10 minutes at 175C then checked the centre. Because the plums were very chilled the centre wasn’t quite cooked so I baked again for another 10 minutes on a slightly lower setting. Came out looking really tempting. The top crusts were crisp and delicious and the pudding was moist and tasty.

I love the air-fryer. Such a clever idea. The food cooks quickly but the taste is superb. No loss of flavour or texture and saves a lot of electricity. I might buy a slightly bigger one now that I’m hooked.

I still have some frozen strawberries to use. I discovered that if I let them thaw a bit over the heat and add sugar before they stew, they keep their shape. The sugar syrup seems to prevent them from going too mushy. So delicious hot or cold. Hot with ice-cream, cold just as they are or with Greek yoghurt. Such a treat.

My knitting is progressing and I’ve almost finished my painting. Just a few details to add to the picture. Will share it with you next week.

Bye for now. Enjoy the pleasures of May. With you again next week.