This time of year is what old gardeners call a “fool’s Spring”. Flowers appear and people insist that Spring has arrived. Not yet, it’s too early for Spring.
The beautiful Winter flowers, like snowdrops, crocuses and very early daffodils are very welcome and brighten the dreary days, but the Vernal Equinox isn’t until March 20th. That’s when Spring really does begin with much more to follow. Meanwhile let’s celebrate these glorious colours and enjoy the show.
I know I’ve mentioned hellebores before but they really are a wonderful plant for the worst months of the year. There are many beautiful variations in the oriental varieties. The arrangement of the petals, the colours and the centres are very different. Here’s a selection of mine.
I love the little surprises in a garden. I found a pretty pulmonaria flowering despite having dug it out (or so I thought) a couple of years ago. The leaves suffer in the summer in my poor dry soil so I decided to remove the plants and find something better. Then a few days ago up popped these lovely blue flowers to defy my intentions! Enough to melt any old gardener’s heart.
Now that February is bringing longer days and a few sunny spells, the vegetables in the polytunnels are putting on a spurt of growth.
The Spring cabbages look healthier after suffering early attacks by slugs and caterpillars and in a few weeks they’ll form delicious ball heads. No need to spray and overfeed plants. They usually recover with a little care.
I’ ‘ve had a problem with my cauliflowers. Last year they were perfect. This year they have less than perfect heads. Some developed brown spots. I asked Garden Organic about the cause and they said cauliflowers are notoriously difficult to grow. They may lack boron which is not present in good amounts in poor sandy soil like mine. So at least I know that despite my efforts it could still go wrong. A few are ok so I’m hoping to enjoy some later on.
I leave most of my sowing until mid March but I thought I’d pop a few mange-tout seeds in the polytunnel and see if I can have an early crop. They’re just peeping through the soil so at least they’ve germinated. I also put some “May King” lettuce seeds in but they haven’t made a showing yet. I shall keep checking.
I need to use the parsnips soon because they’ve been in the ground for many months and will go woody if they’re left too long. Older gardeners insist that parsnips are sweeter when they’ve been frosted. I grow mine in the polytunnels so I don’t know if the frost penetrates enough. They’re still deliciously sweet so I wonder if it really makes any difference.
I made my creamy parsnip flan. I halve my recipe to make it in my tiny airfryer. After pricking the pastry all over with a fork to stop it bubbling up, I bake the flan case for eight minutes at 170C. Because my little flan tin only just fits in the airfryer basket I leave the pastry case in the basket after pre-baking. Then I make the creamy parsnip filling with the pre-cooked parsnips, cashew nuts, egg, onion, a bit of chilli and some soured cream or creme fraiche, whizzed together in my food processor. It’s easier to spoon the filling into the pastry without having to lift it out and replace it. I baked it for fifteen minutes at 170C.
It’s a delicious and satisfying meal served with a green vegetable. Really tasty, hot or cold. The original recipe for baking in the conventional oven is in my Earthy Homemaker’s Cookbook. It can be found with this link.
I find it interesting to think of tasty ways of using leftovers. For example, when a bit of cooked chicken is left in the fridge, it can be stretched with a few additions to make a delicious alternative meal. A food processor is useful for this. I put in the chicken, add onion, bread pieces, apple slices, egg, salt and pepper, with any herbs I might have such as basil, and mix thoroughly. I make the mixture into flattened rounds like burgers and fry in a little hot oil until browned on both sides. So tasty and filling, with vegetables and chutney.
Regular readers know that I love pottery whether old or contemporary. Some of my favourites are in Art Deco styles from the 1930s. I picked up bits and pieces many years ago from charity shops and vintage markets. Often, I only paid pennies for them. I love the shapes, colours and decorations. Here are some of my treasures.
Looking forward to warmer days and Summer when roses will bloom beautifully so I painted a picture of some my “Golden Showers”. Drawn from my photo on a day with a blue sky, then painted with gouache.
Longer days are coming and the sun will shine on us. Meanwhile there is much to enjoy and I hope you find many pleasures to fill your time. Bye for now and I’ll be with you again in a couple of weeks.
Living a contented creative life. 