The merry month of May! Such a lovely month in the year. Days are warmer and longer and the garden is blooming. The old saying, ” n’ere cast a clout till May be out” refers to the blossom on the hawthorn trees, known as May flowers. In other words, be cautious until the hawthorns blossom because there’s still a risk of frost. Good advice for gardeners.
Lilacs are displaying their beauty too. Our lilac tree was old and in a poor state so we thought it might need to go. Cut back to the ground it was left as a stump but to our surprise it sent up new shoots and now it’s flowering again. Lovely!
The Welsh poppies are everywhere in the garden and looking so pretty, along with pink aquilegias which spring up here and there.
Many shrubs flower in Spring. My Choisya has flowered for the first time and is looking beautiful with white flowers and golden leaves. My Clematis montana “Elizabeth” has some low-growing pale pink flowers below the main show up in the plum tree.
Other lovely flowers caught my eye as I walked around the garden with my camera. An abundance of the wildflower, Campion, beneath the fruit trees, a single Clematis flower, some hardy Geraniums, English bluebells, a stripey tulip and a plantain flower head.
Many birds are attracted to the garden. I spotted a big crow sipping from the pond. I had to take my photos through the kitchen window so they’re not as sharp as I would like. A blackbird was singing at the top of the tall conifers and magpies are in and out of the beech tree.
Plenty of wildlife busy among the foliage. Ladybirds stand out with their scarlet jackets but other interesting things pop up now and then. Here’s a spider hunting between the leaves.
Delicious salads are on the menu now with crisp lettuce and “French Breakfast” radishes. The Spring onions are almost ready and I’m still harvesting mizuna leaves from a couple of tiny plants which grew in the polytunnel throughout the Winter. The strawberries are looking promising with their lovely flowers and I picked rhubarb to stew and enjoy with some Greek yoghurt.
I had a lovely cabbage ready to harvest. It seemed a shame to throw away all the bigger leaves so I made stuffed cabbage parcels. I softened two big leaves in a bowl of boiling water, removed the thickest part of the leaf then filled it with a mixture of cabbage, onion, cooked meat and bread. I steamed them for about 45 minutes. Tasty, economical and a good way to use up leftover meat and dry bread.
Over-ripe bananas are so good in cakes so I baked two of my Banana and Cranberry loaves. Really nice sliced and spread with butter. They freeze perfectly so I have cake ready in the freezer for another time. I invented this easy recipe after so many disappointed attempts to make banana loaves from various cookbooks. It turned out so well I included it in my Earthy Homemaker’s Cookbook. My regular readers know I published this after requests for a compilation of my recipes.
And finally, a few photos of the abundance in the garden as plants are springing to life as the season progresses.
I hope you’re enjoying the longer days and the wealth of colour and beauty in your surroundings whether that may be in your own garden or another. Bye for now. With you again in a couple of weeks.
Living a contented creative life. 