Have used my quota of “NOBS and NOBETTES” for now on twitter. I have also watered the garden and hosed the inside of the greenhouse. Some chillies and red peppers developing. Flowers great but still a lack of bees and insects. A couple of bowls of water out for the birds. Californian poppies, evening primrose and chicory have all been great. Thyme and mints seem slow to recover after the great slug/snail war.
BIRD FEEDERS
All was quiet then 3 long tailed tits, 2 robins, 1 great tit, 1 blue tit, 1chaffinch, 1 hedge sparrow in 5 mins. And then gone.
Reporter in the G said lack of butterfly’s might be down to earlier hatching – nob. They are disappearing.
A SUMMER DRINK
I was given out of date lime and lemons by the shop. I have lots of mints, so I thought I would have a go at something. Mints:apple lemon verbena and lemon balm, Bowles M, pineapple m, ginger m, chocolate m, Spanish m, Atlas Mt.M. Some ginger and lots of fresh lime and lemon juice and some honey. Not bad. I think with ice lemon and thin slices of apple? And maybe vodka or gin?
- zest of 6 large lemons (you are going to strain it later so keeping the zest in large pieces is preferable – I do this by using a potato peeler to remove it from the lemons.)
- 500g sugar
- 500ml lemon juice (around 10 lemons depending on size and volume of juice)
- 500ml water
- 40 large mint leaves ripped into pieces
I like my mint to be a subtle undertone so perhaps half this amount.
PANIC
I live in a rural village in North Somerset. My garden is full of insect friendly flowers. Weather sunny. Few insects. What the fuc* is going on?
GARDEN – 8 July 2022
First tomato starting to blush – hopefully by Monday the stream should start. Raspberries and Loganberries are also making a break for freedom. Temperatures are above 20C for next week at least so that should help the harvest.
Front garden is a happy chaos. Cornflowers, chicory flowers, marigold, vetch, Californian poppy, evening primrose, night scented stock, nasturtium, fennel, sage flowers, different types of lavender in flower, but few bees, butterflies, etc. All growing alongside the 30 pots of thymes and mints, oregano and verbena and golden verbena. All growing in chaos – no colour co-ordination, many self seeded and growing as nature intended (apart from the pots to keep mints under control.
WEATHER
Looks like we are heading for a dry spell after a wet spell. However the temperature is only creeping up 16C today and 21C by the weekend – hopefully enough for the tomatoes to ripen. A couple of pics of the garden.
RASPBERRIES AND LOGANBERRIES
I just picked 250g and am thinking raspberry yoghurt? it has rained quite a lot overnight again and very cloudy at the moment. Tomatoes rather slow at turning red – maybe I should embarrass them?
GARDEN 2 JULY 2022
Front garden looking good. war with slugs is ongoing but I think I am beginning to win.
Tomato plants are my height so I am stopping them by pinching off the tips. I think I will start removing some leaves once they start to ripen. I have had a couple of cucumbers, coriander is doing fine, basils also seem to be ok.
CHUFFED
A neighbour decided to leave most of their lawn uncut and was happy with the grasses rippling in the wind, and the yellow vetch. They are now extremely happy to have orchids, and yes I am a tiny bit jealous!
LEMON VERBENA
Perhaps my favourite herb – certainly for scent although I am partial to basil too. lemon verbena goes well with fish. The tea below is Mexican and served hot or cold.
Te de cedron. Instructions
- Place the 3 lemon verbena leaves in the 4 cups of water.
- Boil for 15 minutes.
- Serve hot or iced with a teaspoon of honey in each glass for sweetness