Chive Hair Cut.

 

Although I have been cropping the chive plants with some degree of assiduousness they were starting to display their purple flowers and the foliage was beginning to flop. Accordingly I extracted the trusty hedge clippers from the tack room this morning and attacked the chives with the intention of giving them a, "number one." This task was achieved within a few minutes. It won't be too long before fresh growth appears and I will be able to recommence the cutting of produce.

 

Basil Smells

I do really like the smell of Basil. There is a certain Mediterranean aspect to its pungent freshness. It brings back memories of luscious holidays and appetising foods, permeated with herbs and garlic. This year I grew quite a lot of basil in the greenhouse, between the pepper plants. They did considerably better than those plants which had to suffer a life outside. I have already frozen a quantity of basil leaves and today's picking will either end up in the freezer or dried in airtight jars.

 

Our Lady's Mantle.

 

I have several specimens of Lady's Mantle, (Alchemilla), scattered throughout the garden. They can look quite attractive, most particularly in the early morning when they are still wet with dew.

 

The problem however is that they are just too damned successful. They insist upon replicating themselves with gay abandon. The fecundity of their self seeding exploits would leave rabbits awestruck. Every year I rip out hundreds of seedlings. It does seem such a waste, but there appears to be no alternative. The mature plants which I have are more than adequate even for the most ardent of herbalists. Apparently it was used as a heart tonic and diuretic and to treat bleeding wounds. The fresh leaves can be used in poultices, whilst the dried leaves are used in infusions.

 

Borage Blue

Borage - 4th July 2013.

 

It was four years ago that I purchased a packet of borage seeds. The plants grew very well and flowered even better. My neighbour's bees seemed very pleased with this addition to the herb bed.

 

I have not had to buy any borage seeds since that initial packet. The first year's plants self seeded and have continued to do so ever since. Pulling up extraneous borage seedlings is now part and parcel of the garden routine. They pop up everywhere. In amongst the potatoes, between the rows of peas and even in the herbaceous borders. The flowers are quite attractive and yes you can use the young leaves in salads as well as eating the flowers themselves and yes the flowers can be entombed in ice cubes to add a certain something to a pimm's or a stiff g & t, but there is a limit to the number of plants that can be warranted on culinary or aesthetic grounds.

 

Spring Flower

 

Slightly later to flower than the primrose, its cousin the cowslip perhaps more accurately prefaces the onset of Spring. I have several specimens planted around the beech tree in the lower garden.

 

It is maybe three or four years ago that I came upon three very young rabbits among these cowslips. Tempted as I was to, "dispose," of these horticultural terrorists I permitted them to remain sentient. They had disappeared by the following day whether by courtesey of their dam or a feline predator.

 

The Latin name for this flower/herb is, "Primus Veris," a reference to its springtime fluorescence. The derivation of its colloquial name from the Old English word for cowpat, "cuslyppe," is less laudatory. In the guise of a herb the cowslip was used to produce cowslip wine and tea both of which were valued for their calming and sedative qualities. The flowers provide a decorative addition to a salad and frozen in ice cubes add a certain something to a g & t.

 

Plucking Indoor Parsley

 

When I took the pepper plants out of the greenhouse last autumn I planted a few parsley plants in the border. These had been languishing in a seed tray for some months, having been surplus to my outdoor planting requirements. They have provided supplies of fresh parsley right through the winter and are particularly productive at the moment. That said it will not be too long before they decide to run to seed and I need the space for this year's tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Accordingly I sowed a small tray of moss culed parsley this afternoon. I prefer the tight curly parsley in preference to the flat leaf varieties.

 

Primrose Medicine

After the daffodil the primrose is probably the flower that is most closely associated with spring. As well as providing delicate colour to the garden and hedgerow the humble primrose can be found in many herbals, going back as far as Pliny. The latter regarded it as an important remedy for rheumatism, paralysis and gout. Modern day herbalists recommend an infusion of the root as a treatment for headaches. From a culinary perspective the flowers and young foliage can used in salads.

 

Herb Sunday

The relatively mild weather conditions have meant that many of my herbs are still quite verdant. Clearly the frosts will do their worst in the very near future and that will put an end to fresh herbs until the spring. I have picked and dried quite a few, "Schwartz " jar fulls of various herbs already. That said I decided to pick some more this afternoon. For the most part the croppings were placed on the top of the Aga to speed up their dessication. The parsley was however just bagged and frozen.

The herbs which were selected for today's drying session were apple mint, sage, bay  and marjoram. It is surprising the quantity you can harvest from a very modest area. With the increasing cost of foodstuffs I find it somewhat strange that more people do not decide to invest a little time and effort in growing their own fruit and veg. A lot of us have more than ample room to grow a significant percentage of our food. The, " Dig for Victory," exhortation may be seventy years old but it is perhaps even more relevant today. Add the words, " from recession," and there is the impetus and rationale for the effort.

Golden Marjoram

The pinkish marjoram flowers are not very big but they seem to be very attractive to my neighbour's bees. Maybe it is the smell. There were several domestic bees as well as two or three bumble bees sucking up one of their last nectar hits of the year as I snipped off a couple of handfuls of non flowering sprigs for drying. I will hang these in the kitchen and once they have dried out thoroughly I will strip off the desiccated leaves and grind them down before placing the resultant powdered herb in an airtight container.

Plucking Parsley

Today's weather has turned out better than I anticipated. A bit breezy but still very pleasant in the autumn sunshine, most especially in sheltered spots in the garden. With tomorrow beckoning in the month of October it will not be too long before ground frosts become a regular feature of the weather forecasts. We have already had one night with a light frost which burnt the outer leaves of the courgette plants.

Parsley is a reasonably hardy herb although most of  the foliage does die back by late autumn. In the spring you will get some new growth before the plants run to seed. This spring growth will have very short stems. The best of the parsley is ready now and so as to ensure sufficient supplies for winter use, including the making of Christmas stuffing, I have filled three bags for freezing.  As to continued fresh supplies I have placed  a cloche over the parsley plants. This will help to keep the ground temperature up and should mean continued sporadic cropping until the worst of the winter weather hits.

Marigold Time

23rd July 2012

Marigolds are a particularly easy annual to grow and with their plentiful flowers and long flowering season they brighten up a drab corner in the garden. If grown in a container, as here, one has to be particularly assiduous with watering. Well maybe not so careful this summer!

I have however not just grown them for their florescence. They also have their uses as a culinary herb. The petals contain calendulin and this gives a yellow tint to such things as bread and rice.

Borage and Pimm's




Borago Officinalis -8th July 2012



Now that Murray has failed to meet the hopes of the British tennis public - again -, perhaps it is time to dash out to the garden to find something to garnish a stiff pimm's. One must keep one's spirits up somehow.

Two years ago I decided to sow and grow on a few borage plants. They did well - perhaps too well . They have turned feral and their self seeding now results in plants popping up all over the garden. Most of them appear in rather inappropriate places and I am forced to rip them up, but I do allow a few to grow to maturity. The young leaves add a certain zest to a summer salad. The flowers attract a great number of bees and are  a pleasureable addition to a refreshing Pimm's. Chin chin!