Thursday 31 July 2014

Kitchen Garden Notes - Gone, going and coming

I'll start off with something non-edible for once and it concerns the mystery plant pictured above. “Why, it's pink hydrangea.” I hear you cry. Of course I know that but the mystery is where it has come from. The other two hydrangea in the garden were here when we moved in 12 years ago. This one though has appeared under the white hydrangea and has just two blooms to it. I can't tell if it is a separate plant or a rouge offshoot of the white one. Whatever its origin it is a very welcome addition to the garden.

In the 'gone' category is the rocket. The remaining leaves have become quite tough now. I've been really pleased at how well it has done considering it has been the first time I have grown it. I'll certainly be growing it from seed again next year.

On Gardeners' World a couple of weeks ago Monty Don said the rocket flowers were edible. I can't say I've ever been that enticed by flowers as food so these will be cleared shortly which means more space in the greenhouse...

When it comes the French beans this year it has been a case of 'Ye of little faith'. I was unsure if any of them were going to flower and then if those flowers were going to turn into beans. How wrong could I have been? The 'speedy' beans should be renamed 'slighter quicker than the other variety' but they are now producing a good and tasty crop.

I've got to keep my eye on the courgettes as anybody who has grown courgettes know they can go from mini to marrow overnight. These are first of the crop and I think tomorrow they are destined for the chop. Plenty more from where they came from though.

I've never grown beetroot before so I'm not sure how to tell when it's ready. There's a tiny beetroot peeking through but whether this is as big as it gets I don't know. All the others are still hidden underneath the soil.

One of the things I look forward to every year are the tomatoes. The first fruits have just come through but still need a lot of growing to do. There's a total of nine tomato plants dotted around the garden so I should get tomatoes off at least one of them!

No greedy birds for you this week. There hasn't been many visitors to the garden recently. I think all the broods have fledged and found their own way in life. The favourite food is the mixed seed with a few going for the fat balls. As a weekend treat we put out dried mealworms which the robins and blackbirds love. There is also a feeder with peanuts in but generally there are no takers for it. I've seen a couple of sparrows nibbling on it but otherwise it's not popular. There are blue tits and great tits about but they don't come to the feeders. I'm thinking of replacing it with some niger seed to encourage the local goldfinches into the garden. I hear them signing on the TV aerial but I expect they are just shouting at me, “Buy me some tasty food!”


35 comments:

  1. Your flowers look so good, cant grow to save my life lol .x

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    1. Just needs patience most of the time and remembering to water!

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  2. Mmmm, courgettes (love them in risotto) and courgette flowers - my ABSOLUTE favourite (stuffed with goats cheese or ricotta, fast fried in tempera batter and drizzled with honey...

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    1. I've never tried cooking just the flowers. I know it's quite fashionable now.

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  3. I have an allotment, though ive had no time to go there so far this year and watching things burst into life is so satisfying x

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    1. We're number 29 on the allotment waiting list so I think it's going to be some time before we get the pleasure of allotment growing.

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  4. It looks brilliant! I would love to grow my own, I love saving money and I love feeling accomplished!

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    1. Just on the French beans I've saved a fortune. So nice to be able to to go out and pick dinner.

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  5. We would love to grow our own veg but do lack a bit of space x

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    1. Mine are mostly in containers which makes gardening in small spaces easy.

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  6. How strange to have one pink hydrangea bloom :) Our white hydrangea is developing pink spots but we haven't had any pink flowers popping up. Your garden looks very productive. I planted rocket this year but the seeds were old so it didn't do very well. Will try again next year though!

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    1. My white hydrangea has some blooms with pink centres and some with blue. Some of the seeds I've sown this year were well past their 'sow by' date but I've been lucky and had no failures.

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  7. it's looking great!! our veggie garden has been done for some months now and we only get the occasional flower. everything has been getting lots of rain and is super green but i miss the flowers and the tomatoes...

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    1. Everything is a bit late in my garden but I do miss the colour on our patio in the winter.

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  8. I love Hydrangeas we have two huge ones at the front and have recently added a white one. We also grow courgettes and have so many at the moment. I am just about adding courgette to everything that is edible :-) x #HDYGG

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    1. I find shop bought courgettes bitter but homegrown ones are so nice and can be easily chopped up and added to most meals.

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  9. I can just about keep a house plant alive let alone anything else! Well done! I would love to grow my own fruits and veggies!

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    1. You've just got to keep an eye on them each day. Easier than children!

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  10. We have tomatoes coming too. It is so excited and my Hydrangeas have gone wild this year

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    1. You can never have enough homegrown tomatoes!

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  11. That all looks lovely! I'm always tempted by the courgette flowers though I haven't been brave enough to cook with them yet.

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    1. I've never tried courgette flowers either. I think I'll stick to the actual courgettes!

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  12. Wow everything looks amazing, mine didn't turn out so great :(

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  13. I don't have green fingers at all. Every year I say I'll try and grow something but I never do. Next year!

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  14. I was reading up on hydrangeas, as you do, and apparently there are some types which do change colour!
    The veggies are looking wonderful, we're growing a few this year for the first time, rather exciting to see them thrive.

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  15. My rockets gone over too now - all tough leaved and a bit speckledy, tough I managed to nobble a few leaves for the linguine for tea tonight! I'm surrounded by tomatoes - all green sadly- here's to hoping we get our homegrown juicy red tomato fix this week ey?

    Thanks for joining in again, your garden is giving you lots to sink your teeth in to at the moment - literally!

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  16. Oh your garden is looking lush! Our courgettes have gone mad! I'm going to be looking up all sorts of courgette recipes tomorrow. We missed a couple the other day and now they're ENORMOUS.

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  17. Love the hydrangea. As a bit of a poor neglectful gardener, I'm always getting plants layering themselves and providing new ones. As you say, they can be a very welcome addition (love a free plant!). The rest of your garden looks very productive. Courgettes are a favourite of mine too :)

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  18. Your flowers look lovely. We just have an overgrown jungle for a garden at the moment - gardening really isn't my thing!

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  19. Looking good ... and don't pull that beetroot just yet - anything between the size of a ping pong ball and a tennis ball is ideal!

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  20. I love growing courgettes and am sad not to have done it this year. I am noticing lots less birds at the moment...at the start of the summer we had lots in our garden....I hope they come back, I love seeing them hopping about!

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  21. Your garden looks so beautiful and inviting! It's wonderful to be able to eat your own product!

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  22. You sound like you've got the whole growing thing nailed. I'm a bit jealous :(

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  23. You look like you are a great gardener. Somehow, I always manage to kill any plants I have. I only have successes with strawberry and raspberry plants at the moment! Love the hydrangea, I'd love some of those in my garden too (as long as someone else keeps it alive, of course! ;-))

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  24. Ooooh I would welcome that addition to the garden too. Beautiful shade of pink.
    x

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