Wet and Weeding

There has been strong gales and heavy rain this week but I have managed  some gardening in between the showers. I have got my allotment weeded. I am still harvesting kale, sprouts and leeks. The runner beans and raspberries have come to an end.

I have a good crop of leeks

In my garden at home there are still flowers in bloom. Red asters.

Bright pink

Nerines give a splash of pink.

Pink exotics

A bears paw.

Beware of the bear

Some lupins have come back into flower.

A pretty white lupin

The bright red bistort makes a splash of colour.

Bottle brushes

Lichen on a gate stoop.

Wonderful colours

This oak tree has split its trunk but is still alive.

Can you see a female torso?

Sunrise this morning.

A milky sky

Happy Harvesting

I have had a busy two weeks harvesting. I have made raspberry jam as I had 61/2 lbs of raspberries when I came back from holiday. I have also harvested my beetroot making beetroot relish, pickled beetroot and storing some beetroot in sand.

Delicious

The runner beans are now coming to an end. They do not like the wet weather.

Has beans

The strong winds have brought the little red apples from the tree.

A carpet of red beads

The red hot pokers flame in the garden.

Golden orbs

The jasmine is in flower against the barn wall.

Bright blooms

The nasturtiums on the allotment resist the frost.

Orange globes

I have just harvested my ghords, not as many as last year.

Knobby ghords

I have harvested my helicrysum. The first crop were a failure.

I had to wait for sunshine for them to open before they could be cut

We had a trip to Conwy. This is part of Conwy castle.

It looks like a toy castle

Marram grass and sea cabbage.

Soft sand

Dried sea holly. 

Very angular

A lovely pub sign.

A life on the ocean waves

I have been experimenting with embroidery.An embroidered gift tag.

Inspired by the flowers I grow

An embroidered card.

For my sister's birthday

I found this Gardeners Companion from 1948. There is a lot of good advice within its pages.

Everything a gardener needs to know

Currant advice

The clamatis has a second flowering.t ujnm

Canal Capers

We were very lucky that for the two weeks we were away the weather was good. We had three lunches sitting on the towpath soaking up the rays.
Jill our border collie was frightened of the locks all the noise and rush of water so we came home early.
We did many dog walks in the countryside exploring fields and villages.

One day we found some field mushrooms. They were delicious.

To test if they are safe to eat remove the stalk and check for grubs

Bulrushes were growing along the banks.

I always think of Moses

This is a staircase lock where you have to fill the locks in a strict order so there is enough water for your boat to move either up or down the canal.

At the bottom lock of three 

Inside a lock. They all vary in depth and some paddles are very difficult to turn and gates to open.

Water gushes into the lock

You can just see the last of the sunflowers in this field.

Faded glory

We saw two fields of pumpkins some were enormous.

Where is the sun?

The farmer's have started to plough the fields.

Can you see the lone tree on the sky line?

Conkers are now in season.

A double conker

Autumn hues along the canal. Canals are always peaceful even if you are close to a road or rail track.

Tranquility at it's best

A butterfly made from flowers at Preston Grange Garden Centre.

A rare species

open thss 

Relish the Relishes

I have spent quite a lot of this week harvesting and turning the surplus into Hot Tomato Relish and Beetroot  Relish. Most of the ingredients are from my gardens except I buy some tomatoes as tiny tomatoes are fiddly to peel. The kitchen always smells strongly of vinegar the following morning.

I use hot yellow peppers in my tomato relish and the taste is judged by the fire power of the peppers and spices. The family like it hot, hot, hot. Beetroot relish is new this year as I had a surplus. 

I use plastic gloves to prepare them and they make your eyes sting. No pain no gain.

My onions have been drying in the greenhouse. I have plaited them this year and stored them in a sack.

A good crop this year

I now have my spuds drying to be stored in sacks.

All shapes and sizes good for mashing and roasting

I am still picking Autumn raspberries and freezing the perfect ones.

They need picking on alternate days

Raspberries and giant blackberries for the freezer

The mint in the gardens is in flower.

I have used some in a herb wreath

The Autumn crocus looks very pretty.

Vibrant colours and beautiful stamens

A lupin has come back into flower.

A lupin and one of my pottery houses

These yellow daisies are a lovely shape.

There centres look like buttons

We had a walk in Grizedale Forest where I saw this tree.

It amazes me how tree roots entwine into rocks

There was a variety of toadstools.

The shape is like you find in children's books

I love the name of this street in Keswick.

You  could imagine this in a Harry Potter novel