Nourish Me

Blueberries

Thus far, it's been a summer of discovery.

A mammoth session of whipper-snippering in late spring revealed, among other things, two straggly little bushes, planted deliberately, I was sure, side by side. To fertilise one another. As you do. Both looked promising, and I had a hunch about what they were, but, like much of the garden, they'd been let slide.

By mid-January, I'm slipping out each morning, boots on to wade through the flood-drenched bog they live in, enamelled white dish in hand, and picking blueberries for our breakfast. Thrilled.

Spring roses

There are all kinds of pretty happening in my tiny front garden. Long-stemmed roses, old-fashioned fragrant varieties, ramble among camellias, hydrangea (pruned just in time), geraniums, a magnolia tree trained years ago into a heart shape and a thick carpet of violets. I'm trying to honour the old lady whose romantic house this is by tending her garden as if it were my own.

Turns out I love roses, which is good, 'cos our country garden has approximately 3 million of them.* When they finish blooming and send out their glossy red hips, this Rosehip Sherry is the first recipe I'm going with.

Any other ideas you'd care to share?

*(only a slight exaggeration...far out...)