16 Nov 2009

Foraging for autumn flowers…


There's something deeply comforting about being indoors, warm and cosy, when the wind is howling outside and the rain batters against the windows, don't you find?   As a result, I've had a very enjoyable weekend.  (That, and the fact that I don't have a shed for the roof to blow off.)  We've had some extremely variable weather over the last couple of days - in common with the rest of the UK - but I managed to get out for a bracing walk and foraged for these beautiful hydrangea heads (actually, growing by one of our flats so not too much foraging!) 

I was inspired to think again about hydrangeas as a cut flower after being given a bunch of flowers used as a table decoration at a wedding reception.  This posy was full of rich plums, purples, aubergines and greens, being made up of hydrangeas, berries and another plant which I can't identify: 



This, by the way, is the dried up version. (It's stayed on my kitchen windowsill for at least two months while I've pondered this puzzle!)  The plant also crept into an earlier photo when I posted a recipe for custard tarts:



So, gardening friends: If you know what this is (and I'm positive there's a fair few of you who do), please please put me out of my anguish!  (So far I'm thinking fennel or angelica but I'm probably way off the mark.) 

13 Nov 2009

It's a Bug's Life…


(Harlequin Ladybird:  Harmonia axyridis succinea)

There's been a lot of fuss over the summer about ladybirds - both our native UK ladybirds (Coccinellids) and the Harlequin ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) aka Multicoloured Asian Ladybirds.  The Harleys are causing concern over here because they're born survivors and will eat the eggs of UK ladybirds and butterflies when hungry - but their first choice from the menu is aphids. 


(A few more Harlequin ladybirds caught on camera.)

I've been seeing quite a few Harleys in the last few weeks (one had managed to get through my third floor windows!) - and I wondered, "Where do ladybirds go in winter?" (if not to my kitchen).

A tiny bit of googling reveals that they hibernate.  (I know, I should have guessed.)  Their food supply dries up with the colder November temperatures and they start to look for somewhere to bed down, preferably together, sometimes hundreds together!  If you find any indoors, it's kindest to put them back outside as the warmth indoors will wake them up too early (normally they sleep until March) and they'll starve for lack of food (they search out early aphids prior to mating).  They like to shelter under a bit of tree bark or a few leaves, as long as it's frost free and where they're less likely to be attacked by predators (usually sparrows).

Or, using only two recycled items, you can make a lovely little Spotty Lodgers Hotel.  One which presumably sparrows can't get in to.  Find instructions here on the UK Safari website.   You only need an empty 2 litre drinks bottle and a piece of corrugated cardboard to roll up loosely inside it.  Easy Peasy.  (Here's a sneak preview, click link above for full instructions.)


But, if you do this, please don't put our natural ladybirds in with the Harleys.  It could get nasty.   And don't forget, as you're (hopefully) depriving the food chain of a few ladybirds, it's helpful to put out some sunflower seeds or millet in a feeder for the sparrows.  (Using another cleaned, empty water bottle, the RSPB has an instructable for making a Recycled Bird Feeder here.)

11 Nov 2009

Yesterday was a very good day …



It's a strange old thing, this blogging lark, isn't it?  One minute I'm feeling that there's nothing to tell, then suddenly I find there's almost too much to fit into one post.  So here are three lovely things that happened yesterday:

1.  I (think I might just have) saved a bumblebee.  As I left home,  I noticed a large, very still, bumble bee on an expanse of cold concrete path outside the door.  It's not often you get to see one of these beauties close up and, as I bent down for a closer look, one of it's legs stretched. So, not dead but probably too tired and cold to move to safety.  Having recently been prompted to read up about bee hotels, I scooped it up (on my shopping list as it was probably not too tired to sting me!) and took it to some sheltered ground level Knotweed stems, where it perked up a bit, and I left some freshly picked flowers within easy reach so it could get to the nectar.  (That may have been calling to my inner Girl Guide a bit, but it satisfied my need to nurture.)  Any hoo, the bee was not to be seen when I returned, so I like to think it made it to underground Bee Safety.

2.  Passing through a local Garden Centre (oh, alright then… Homebase), among all the almost empty gardening shelves was a box containing winter hardy Onion Sets…  (slaps forehead) a veg which I'd completely forgotten about!  (And they're a staple of my shopping list.)   One purchase later, I consider this a very serendipitous encounter indeed.

3.  Returning home to post my October photo collage, I notice a comment from a lovely fellow gardener, Jo at The Good Life, who has nominated my little bloggy-woggy for an award.  Gosh.  I'm totally awed and honoured.  So, thank you - and yes, I'm very, very pleased to accept.  (It may take me a while to pass the award on, in the time honoured tradition, as I first have to check out my fellow nominees, but I'll do my best.)

So, now that I have proof that people out there are reading my scribblings,  to celebrate, I think it's time for a piece of this…

10 Nov 2009

(Rather Belatedly) my October photo review …


Over the last few days, skies over the Veg Patch have been leaden, trees bare and the air decidedly damp, cold and unwelcoming. (I catch myself singing "California Dreamin'" quite a lot.)  However, I'm quite sure the next sunny but crisp day is just around the corner so, to cheer up an indoors moment, I've put together a little collage of my photos taken in or near the Veg Patch in October.

First up is our (still) wondrously lush parsley, strangely beautiful seed heads appearing in the borders, mushrooms sprouting up in the grass (a sign of damper days?), the ripening of L's lovely pumpkin (an experimental seed shoved into the ground!), lots (and still lots) of Vinca clearing to be done, brilliant late season flowers, beetroot at last (hooray!) and, finally, watching the leaves changing to their autumn colours in a burst of late season sunshine.

Additionally, the first of our fruit trees arrived (just waiting for the raspberry canes now), more veg has been planted for the Winter - am I alone in being totally thrilled when the seedlings appear? - and there's still an awful lot to be done before spring (which sounds pessimistic, but absolutely isn't).


P.S.  By the way, I make no claims to being any kind of photographer - just thought I'd say it first before anyone else does! - but it makes me happy to look back at my snaps, so you'll have to excuse this moment of indulgence. 

6 Nov 2009

Goodbye Autumn, Hellooo Winter!



 Not that I generally give too much thought to such things, but today is traditionally the Last Day of Autumn as we are at the midpoint between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice.  And, no, I didn't just make that up - I read it on the Dorset Cereals website and I believe them.  Yes I do.

Having watched the leaves drifting steadily off the trees in the chill breezes of last week, this is a timely reminder to get out this weekend for a good long leaf-kicking walk, find some conkers and celebrate what little good weather we may have left.

We're very lucky in that we're minutes away from Hampstead Heath (plenty of conkers over there!) but for inspiration further afield, have a look at 'Catching the Colours of Autumn' from the Telegraph online - it's a tiny gallery, just 12 beautiful photos, of autumn colour the world over.  Personally, I quite fancy Kew Gardens (in West London) where, until December 6th, they have an 18 metre high walkway where you can view the treetop transformations in the Gardens.  Catch it while you can!

Have a great weekend everyone - I'll be gathering in any beetroot and planting broad beans…  and, with a bit of weather luck, having a walk on the Heath.

30 Oct 2009

Bees on Earth … Goodwill to all men




Recently, a friend of the York Rise Growers wanted to come over and show our children how to build bee hotels but, in the end, didn't have time.  The idea, though, remains a good one - I love bees; for me, they signal the arrival summer - and children, taught properly, have a healthy interest in bugs and the environment.

I took the photo above during a walk earlier this summer.  This little fella was too busy collecting nectar (and pollinating the flowers) to notice my camera lens nearby.  I've also had a number of buzzing visitors to my balcony this summer - by chance I grew lavender, marjoram, mint and marigolds (amongst others) which they love - and several have found their way indoors and had to be rescued with the old "tumbler and card" trick.

But there's a continuing international crisis in the bee world: a Bee-mergency, if you like.  Their numbers are rapidly diminishing due to an inability to resist larvae-borne disease and environmental factors such as loss of habitat (chalky grasslands, meadows and hedgerows).  In the UK alone, three species have become extinct - including the wonderfully named Bombus Pomorum (Apple Bumblebee).

Several campaigns are under way to try and reverse the trend but, amazingly, the plight of the bumblebee is not yet a conservation priority.  Not only are bees major pollinators of wildflowers but they're also commercially important due to their vital role in pollinating many arable and horticultural crops.  No bees: no crops to harvest; no wildflowers; no colourful UK countryside; loss of rare plants and a knock on effect on other wildlife.  Now times that by Europe, USA and Asia.  Okay, now you're getting the scale of the problem. 

There are ways that we can - and should - help.  After all, bees are the only insect to make food for mankind.  On a modest scale, if we make space in our gardens for more traditional flowers - the cottage-garden varieties or wildflowers - everyone should be able to attract at least 6 species of bees into their gardens.  Fruit and veg growers especially will benefit as we need bees to pollinate our plants.  (Beans in particular will thrive if companion planted with marigolds at their feet to draw in bees, as their scarlet flowers must be pollinated for an abundant crop.)

Until the end of December in the UK, look out for special jars of Rowse Blossom Honey which have a unique code for claiming a free packet of wildflower seeds.  (Rowse has already donated £100,000 to the University of Sussex's Apiculture Lab for research into developing disease-resistant UK bees.)

As they said at the Isle of Wight Festival this year:  (All.We.Are.Say-ing)… is Give Bees a Chance!


Here's how to help:

Build little Bee Hotels so that the queen bee has somewhere nice to make more baby bees. Find out more at BBC Gardener's World (Loving this one as I can use dead Japanese Knotweed stems – of which we have many – instead of bamboo!) 

Build a bee nesting box - lots of ideas here from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Plant flowers which will attract bees (and butterflies!).  Here's a list of flowers to get you started from (unsurprisingly) the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Teach your children about bees:  Rowse Honey have set up Bee School (a teacher's resource for children aged 5 - 7), including a free honey tasting kit and free seeds for the class!  (There's also honey recipes to be found on Rowse's own website here.)

More fun can be found on the Edible Playgrounds website - scroll down to Help the Honey Bees.

28 Oct 2009

When Herbs Freeze over …



 I read somewhere that parsley can be difficult to grow from seed - a fact which I'm questioning as our parsley (grown from seed by a child) is lush, tall, abundant and still growing strong.

We're all cutting it for our casseroles and soups but there's still loads.  I know you can chop and freeze parsley but it was still pleasant to come across an article on freezing herbs on the Gardener's World website.  Apparently Basil and Mint, as well as Parsley, can all be frozen in individual ice cubes which is great news as I've never had much luck growing herbs indoors.  Still… maybe I'll give it another go this winter - I'll let you know.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...