Halfway through August! The trees are dripping with golden pears and fresh green apples. Time to harvest and enjoy before the wasps beat us to it.
It’s been a challenging month with extreme temperatures and no substantial rain. I’m doing my best to stay on top of it all but the garden has really suffered. Allan has watered all essentials every day, sometimes twice but it’s a big garden and a few things have lost the fight. Some serious planning will be undertaken this winter for coping next year.
Despite the heat, the vegetables have done well. Although the tomato plants look affected the fruit has been just as good. The leaves look scorched but the plum tomatoes are delicious and providing us with daily treats.
My two small potted chillies have thrived in the new greenhouse and now have lovely peppers to make chilli sauce.
I will soon be making my sauce. Here is my recipe if you’d like to try it. It’s for a small quantity but you can easily increase the ingredients if you have plenty of chillies. Sweet and hot, it’s a winter treat.
Chilli Sauce Wash and rinse two jars with plastic or plastic-lined lids and place them in a cold oven. Turn the heat to low and leave to dry off until needed. Dry the lids with some kitchen paper and put somewhere warm but not in the oven if the lids are plastic or lined with plastic. 120g Chillies 175g Onion 125g Cooking Apple 2 teaspoons of Mustard Powder 1 teaspoon Salt 200mls Malt Vinegar 75g Sugar Chop the chillies. No need to remove seeds if you like it hot. Chop the onion. Peel, core and chop the apple. Put all ingredients into a pan and simmer until soft. Boil until thickened slightly. Allow to cool a little, then blend. Reheat. Ladle into a hot jar and screw the lid on tightly. It should seal as it cools. A popping sound can be heard when the lid pulls on. I use red chillies for my sauce because I like the fiery colour but I also have some orange coloured ones which I might experiment with.
The celeriac are growing nicely. They’re a good winter vegetable either grated raw or added to soups and one-pan meals. Their delicate celery flavour is very pleasing. I find them easier to grow than celery. Although the skins are rough and knobbly they’re easy to peel.
My “Scarborough Fair” rose has been beautiful. Not an abundance of flowers but their beauty is breathtaking. I grow this in a large pot. It needs some attention as the compost has sunk and needs replacing. Another job I must do this winter.
I bought Verbenas for containers at the front of the house. I regretted it because they need a lot of dead-heading so I changed the wall containers to Petunias. However, I saved some of the Verbenas in a trough and they have been glorious. Such beautiful colours and pretty flowers. Worth the effort.
There are still some lovely individual flowers to see even though a few have struggled. Here’s a selection.
Other interesting developments are happening here and there. The Garry eliptica is growing new catkins. Viburnam hillieri is changing colour as the beautiful glistening berries turn red and the leaves hint at their autumn colour. I found a fascinating leaf of some kind on the ground.
Although the garden has suffered I’m focussing on the areas which still give us pleasure. Here are some glimpses as I walked around with my camera.
Lots of wildlife about although the birds have been quiet. They’re probably sheltering from the heat. A few feathers crop up here and there. Insects like shield bugs nestle among the leaves and the bees are as busy as ever in the flowers.
The pond is very low and unfortunately the duckweed has completely covered it. The frogs don’t seem to mind. There’s been plenty of activity as they pop up among the lily pads.
I’ve been staying indoors a lot more than I usually do. It’s been too hot and I’m not as fit these days. I need to sow some seeds to grow vegetables over winter so I’d better get on with that soon.
Meanwhile there is much to do indoors. I’ve been writing the story of our time in Canada many years ago and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It was such an adventure and learning experience.
I haven’t painted for a few weeks but here’s an old painting which I did while I was in my “Shadows and Reflections” phase. This is a 20 by 16 inch canvas painted with acrylics. I love to observe the way the light falls on objects and the shadows formed. This is a favourite piece of studio pottery made by a student friend and some small ceramic boxes made by my husband, Allan.
More from me next time. Stay cool and enjoy all the summer has to offer.
Living a contented creative life. 