Rhubarb, Cowslips and Blossom

The weather this week has been extremely variable. We had floods last Saturday over 2.5cm of rain in less than 24 hours. The road to Kirkoswald was flooded both sides of Lazonby bridge and I went through a hugh water splash on the Kirkoswald side as water was pouring off the fields, I thought my car would get stranded. Thursday morning we woke to a good dusting of snow on the Pennine hills and the strong winds are back as are hailstones. The garden though is still thriving. The apple blossom is just coming into flower. There was very little plum blossom and the blackcurrant bushes in my home garden have fruit buds forming. I have moved most of the plants I am growing onto my patio to acclimatise before planting out at the end of May.

I found this beautiful almond blossom in the gardens next to Hexham Abbey.

Almond Blossom

This is the view as I travelled down from Hartside on the top of the Pennines. This view always varies and sometimes you can see as far as the Solway estuary on a very clear day. This road journey is voted as one of the 6 best in the world.

A stunning view

Dandelions like ramrod yellow lollipops are dominating all the grass verges. They need the sun to shine for the flowers to open. 

Dandelions rule OK?

It is not often your see the verges filled with cowslips, what a stunning sight. 

Beautiful cowslips

Cowslips close up

Blue and white go together well, as do the forgetmenots, grape hyacinths and aconites in my home garden.

What a difference the sun makes 

These tulips resembles peonies when fully open.

Peony lookalikes

Crazy Maisie and Looby Loo have relocated to the pew at the top of the orchard. They have both got their names down for the Hay Barn Health Farm as with summer approaching they both feel they could do with a makeover.

Crazy Maisie and Looby Loo chillaxing

If you have a surfeit of rhubarb here's and idea. It taste delicious.

Rhubarb Cordial

Ingredients
Rhubarb
Sugar
Lemon juice

Place 3kg chopped rhubarb in a large pan with 150 ml of cold water. Slowly cook the rhubarb over a low heat stirring occasionally until the fruit is a complete mush.
Sterilise some bottles with screw tops by washing thoroughly and heating in a low oven set at 100C.

(Homemade jelly bag -  place a piece of sterilised muslin in a fine mesh plastic sieve so that it covers all the sieve. Hook the sieve over a large mixing bowl so that there is a good space between the bottom of the sieve and the bottom of the bowl.)

Steadily pour the rhubarb into the sieve and the juice from the rhubarb should drip into the bowl below. Leave to drip overnight.

For ever litre of juice add 32grm of granulated sugar and the juice of 1 lemon. Put the juices and sugar into a saucepan over a low heat and stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved bring up to about 75C for a few minutes. Add a knob of butter to help remove the scum that forms on the surface and use a spoon to remove the scum. Pour the hot cordial through a fine sieve over a  funnel into the sterilised screw top bottles. Screw on the bottle tops straight after filling. 

The cordial should keep well. Dilute to taste eg. one part cordial to 3 parts water.