Summer delights in the Holly Cottage garden

It's August. And despite the slight chill in the air since the start of the month beckoning the dawn of autumn, here in the Holly Cottage we are still hanging on to the notion of summer. And I have to look back over the last couple of months since I wrote here and wonder where did the time go? And what of the delights of summer that are now packed away in a 'full to the brim' freezer and memories of brightly lit evenings locked in digital memories in the shape of pictures on a smart phone?

You could swear
you were in...

Well. Most of June was spent keeping up with the bounty of strawberries. Every year - for the last four - I have to stand back in awe of how six strawberry plants came to be over a hundred, and are still multiplying. And every year there are more and more soft, sweet, perfectly shaped strawberries presenting themselves for nourishment duty. The fruits are put away in various forms - in the belly of course (straight up strawberry, strawberry cake, strawberry sauce, strawberry yogurt, strawberry ice cream.....), in the freezer and a in few pots of jam mixed up with raspberries and blackberries. The tops of the plants have been cut back for new leaves to form for next year. Not too late to do that still if you're wondering. 

Thankfully the raspberries present less work and we always leave the lion's share to the blackbirds and the sparrows. They have been cut back also - and careful they don't take over your garden! There's a few autumnal raspberries out there yet, waiting to surprise us in colder days. This year we managed to lock away some of the raspberries saved from our feathered friends in a few precious jars of jam (and cake - recipe available on demand, and yogurt and....), along with a few jars of the blackcurrant neighbours which are just way too delicious to be real. Again, they have been cut back too - I only wish we had space for more. One tip - the bountiful blackcurrant bushes that we have all came from cuttings from the Cappaduff homestead - no need to be buying plants if you know someone with a good stock nearby. 

Peas are packed away also and a delicious pea soup recipe developed by head chef in the Holly Cottage kitchen (I've been demoted to sous chef since Alannah came), and despite a bounty we are down to the last few. We were surprised at how excited Alannah was about them - she would stand in her play station watching us harvesting - One for Alannah, one for Holly. Poor Holly only got the ones that escaped her though. And she was so careful not to drop one in her pincer like grasp that has all the intensity that only a 10 month old person can invest. Again, I wish we had space for more (peas that is ;)), but we have new plants coming on and we might be rewarded with a few more autumn peas if the weather delivers. 

And what else? A bounty of rhubarb packed away - some in promising jars of rhubarb chutney (recipe still being developed, and an easy rhubarb cake recipe also developed), but most in the freezer for working on in darker days. Broad beans are also packed away - one hint - this year we just froze peas and beans direct, with no blanching. Much tastier when they are defrosted ;) 

As all fruit cakes should be...

Spuds are still in the ground, most of the Orla earlies are devoured and we are breaking into the Colleen and Sarpo Mira now. Disappointingly, despite the promise of 'blight free', all were touched a bit and we shall await and see if and how they have been affected, but not so bad yet. Beetroot and carrots are still sweet and full of earthy flavour. Sweetcorn, turnips, cabbages, kale and brussels sprouts are left for the cooler days while tomatoes and peppers are still 'coming on' in the greenhouse. I have to say that I think the tomatoes outdoors are always a lot healthier, but maybe that's down to our inexperienced and still, pale green fingers. Courgettes on the other hand, well - do they need any looking after at all I wonder? They just bolted from early summer - small baby courgettes were savoured first followed by later brothers and sisters of gigantic proportions. Still tasty despite the size and I recommend growing these to everyone - especially those who have little time to be worrying about more delicate species!

And so, just this week I spread some of our green manure seed onto the ground left bare by peas and those spuds devoured. We'll invest more time this year - I think, I hope - in getting more winter crops going. But in the meantime, we shall await the coming of the two tiny pears and the dozen or so apples that are slowly ripening down fruit alley. 

Summer delights

It's funny, but this summer seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. Not to worry, still plenty of nasturtium colour and lavender scented pathways to keep us happy. And shur, autumn is always a crowd pleaser despite its more fickle summer predecessor. Enjoy the last days and be sure to pack in plenty of sunshine to savour in the darker days. 

Jam, Set and Match

It's a jam thing 

It's all about strawberries these days in the Holly Cottage. We've been watching them since February, minding them, more watching them, feeding and netting them, and so on it goes in the gardening way. And now that it's all happening, we're finding it hard to keep up with the harvest and keep ahead of the host of centipedes, slugs, ants and blackbirds that have suddenly appeared in a feasting army to unleash the magical strawberry elixir. Even Holly has been caught raiding the strawberry beds in previous years - she's being extra good this year though, although maybe we just haven't caught her in the act yet ;) 

What to do with this bounty? Well, the obvious delight is the jam thing - the easiest thing in the world since cutting a slice of homemade brown bread or a delicious fruit scone and making a cup of tea, all the things that go so well with the sweet, sticky magic of strawberry jam. And all while one is partaking in the entertainment that is Wimbledon and tennis - they take their strawberries straight - no mixers - with cream there (hence the Jam, Set and Match spin). Take a kilo of fruit, a kilo of sugar, all in the pot - melt the sugar down on gentle heat, then bring it all up to a boil and simmer until setting point is reached. The setting point can be a make or break moment, but if you really get it wrong - how bad? Strawberry sauce in a jar to pour over vanilla ice cream in the depths of winter - mmmm. If you have a lot of rhubarb to play with, like we do, then make a half and half batch of both fruits - its a really nice combination especially for those nervous of the rhubarb variety. 

dreamy, creamy, cheesy, strawberryyyyy....

The other creation of the day is a strawberry cheesecake, based on a blueberry cheesecake recipe by Rachel Allen. Take your favourite biscuit base - digestive and a melted butter was easiest for us this evening. Top this with freshly picked strawberries and leave to chill while you making the topping. For the top - now this is a half of the recipe since it's just the two of us - 225g cream cheese, 75g castor sugar, 2 eggs, half teasp vanilla essence all whizzed up together until smooth and creamy, mmmm ;) Pour this sweet and cheesy creamy promise over the biscuit and strawberry base and into the oven at 180deg for 40mins.....the result is waiting for us as we speak! It always shocks me really when I see the price of a slice of cake in shops and cafes especially when they taste so good straight from your own oven, and I guess what you're really paying for is service and atmosphere. Take my favourite cafe of the moment in Dublin city - Keoghs on Trinity Street - there's always a buzz of people coming in and grabbing coffee to go or one of their amazing selection of scones (brown raisin and cinnamon, and vanilla and pear deliciousness). And there is always a strange and eclectic mix - from the Samuel Beckett quotes on the wall to the cross section of native Dubs having their morning sugar fix. I like to think my odd splurge there is helping a bit to sustain places like that, however small that might be, but these small shops are the remedy to the one size fits all type of franchise cafes that seem to be squeezing out the last of the  brave, individualistic types. 

Shades of summer 

Having said all that and nodding my head to the buzz and vibrancy of an early morning coffee on the streets of Dublin city, there is such enormous satisfaction in being the master or mistress of your own sweet selection, and savouring each mouthful as you watch the sun gradually descend in the sky on the last day of June. Especially in the knowledge of: i. passing your practical yoga class exam the day before (phew), ii. having all the rooms in the Holly Cottage painted, iii. having all the outside windows and sills cleaned down and painted, iv. all the rubbish and clutter built up over the longest winter cleared, v . the array of colours in the garden - purple seems to feature a lot! vi. the first potatoes of the season dug and officially the best tasting spuds ever (again) and blissfully clear of blight (yay) and vii. it's lovely calm Sunday evening again ;) 

It's the simple pleasures that we bask in here...and oh yes, there is that deliciously creamy, dreamy, homemade strawberry cheesecake waiting to be to cut into as well.......

Back to the Holly Cottage Garden

The last two weeks have been busy, and in that time it seems that everything has changed. While I was busy driving around this small nation - from Dublin to Galway and down and up and across the fair Midlands - the birds, plants, flowers, trees, shrubs and even humans were subtly being transformed by the onset of spring. 

Defiant winter beauty

Let me fill you in. All of the snowdrops are up now - it started with one or two at the front of the house in early January, but now they are in great abundance and in rich clumps down through the length of fruit alley in the Holly Cottage garden. And then there are the other arrivals - irises and crocuses, some delicate, some beautifully strong and defiant (even when the scary neighbour dog comes in and kicks the crap out of them with his hind legs...grrrrr). The climbing roses are showing signs of new growth and blackcurrant and raspberry are showing those first yellow green leaves of 2013. Let me share with ye however the most significant and wonderful of all changes - the day is gloriously brighter and last week it truly, madly, deeply felt like spring. Happy days!!!! In fact, if the weather people are to be trusted (I know, it's ok to be guided by their past failures but let's be positive) it's not going to rain for at least five days!!! Bring on the sun screen!

It wasn't all quiet in the Holly Cottage garden this year and somehow we managed to get a few things done in between the showers. The whole garden was dug over, save for the broccoli and leek rows. The strawberry beds were gutted and old and new plants re-spaced. This was one of the great successes of 2012. From humble beginnings of 6 humble plants in 2011, we now have at least 160 ready for 2013, and if the bumper crop of 2012's 80 or so plants is anything to go by, we will be giving Wexford Strawberries a run for their money! We still have huge bags frozen from last year - great in smoothies. 

Following from the strawberry plants coup of the former herb, rhubarb and strawberry bed (they are certainly a dominating plant if you let the runners off - just cut them back if you  have enough plants), we had to extend again to find a new home home for the super rhubarb and the precious thyme, rosemary, lavender, oregano and mint members of the garden family. This time we passed on back breaking digging and used heavy duty fabric to cover a former grassy patch and just planted in the herbs at intervals. This will hopefully save on a bout of weeding in the height of the summer sun. Another small job back in December was planting the garlic - hopefully a better crop than last year's, and this time we got garlic bulbs for planting as opposed to garlic from who knows where that we sprouted from the shelves of the local supermarket. You live and learn, everyday. 

This weekend was for tidying up the last few standing after the winter - last of the parsnips are buried in a soup pot, straggly scallions that were a harbour for insatiable slugs are in the compost bin and the few tiny leeks that made it through are waiting patiently for tonight's risotto. There's still enough onions hanging in the shed to last until Easter and beyond and the spring broccoli will hopefully make up its mind soon to do it's thing...any second now.....

Last year was a tough year for gardeners and farmers, but we had a few highlights. The strawberries were amazing, some were the size of small lemons and they didn't suffer from lack of taste. The onions, carrots and parsnips faired well although there were mixed results from the beetroot. Those cucumbers were sensational and the tomatoes just OK, while we still have bright red chillies in the freezer to heart us from the inside on cold nights. These chillies and some mini, late scotch bonnets have become the base for some very tasty pepper sauce creations by the man of the house - bringing back memories of hot pepper sauce with everything in Barbados ;) The celery was a learning curve, don't think we'll go there again and the spuds were a disaster. Blight hit them early and there was no going back after that. This year we've order three blight resistant types - Orla (first earlies),  Sarpo mira and Sarpo axons. We'll see. Ordered from www.gardencentre.ie 

The future ;)

Now is the time for looking back and seeing what worked, and looking forward to see what we can handle in 2013. Everything though is reliant on the weather, and someday (when we grow up) we'll hopefully have a polytunnel to help extend our growing season and keep us out of the rain. We'll throw in a few new things here and there of course - always exciting to try a new crop. I'll keep ye posted. In the meantime, in my absence last week the other gardener was busy too and seed trays have been started with tomatoes, marjoram, basil, sweet peppers and some early rocket for the greenhouse. Other things started a while ago is a batch of lime pickle - takes about four weeks plus. This one was inspired by New Year's eve's trip to the local indian restaurant - again, I'll keep ye posted. 

In the meantime, there's some seeds to be planted today and hopefully some sun and cosmic rays to warm myself and Holly as we get finally, and thankfully get back out in action to the tiny wondrous world that is the Holly Cottage garden. 

Just one other thing - while walking out on a bog last week I was distracted by overwhelming grunting and well, sounds that would make you wonder! It was an orgy of frogs - amazing really. Tens of frogs all getting down together. Funny thing, it was Valentine's Day......what a sight  and sound spectacle ;)

There's a party going on just under that tree....