Broad Bean Harvest

Well, its been a busy couple of weeks, hence lack of blog activity - sorry!

Managed to get round to harvesting our broad beans

Not a bad crop this year, and hardly any blackfly for a change. Maybe they dont like the long dry spell we have had? I say long, its only been 3 weeks or so, but a fair length for us here in the UK.

When you harvest the remainder of the beans, cut the plants down but leave in the roots or dig the roots in as they hold nitrogen nodules, so giving nitrogen for the next crop. This is the same for all beans and peas.

Once harvested, I realised there were far too many to eat fresh so have frozen them. Some people like to blanche the beans first - cook in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and place straight into ice cold water. Other suggest there is no need to blanche, just pop them in bags and into the freezer. Husband wanted to try both. Unfortunately, while blanching he forgot to keep an eye on the clock, got distracted, so we got some well cooked beans!! Lucky he didnt do this to all of them :)

Will have a look out for some recipes for you to try. Did come across a houmous recipe but found it to be rather bland, so won't bore you with the details!

Too Hot For Gardening

Phew, the hottest July for a few years! The flower garden is suffering a bit with a few plants flagging even though established. My Rudbeckia is really struggling, one plant I have to water. The lawn is turning brown but I dont mind that as it will be removed to allow for a new path and the rest reseeded at the end of August (a great time to seed as there are heavy dews in the warm mornings to help germination).

Still, have had a glut of strawberries, enought to make jam and now the raspberries are on offer. The courgettes are loving the heat and I have to check them every day so they dont get too big. Broad beans and peas are now on the menu too along with salad leaves.

My Philadelphus coronarius is now in full flower and smells delicious

Have a closer look at the flowers, can you smell the sweet scent?!

The swifts are still here, they actually flew up to our house and landed, clingin to the wall. I tried to get some shots, not very clear am afraid, they are called swifts for a reason...

Come back!!

Moths

Lucky enough to get photos of two of our native moths yesterday in a clients garden.

Lime Hawk Moth  Mimas tiliae

Poplar Hawk Moth  Laothoe populi

Beautiful arent they? Not sure about this fella though.....

I think its a Weaver Beetle, Lamia textor. Never seen one before, not sure if they are common here in the UK but are found in many countries.

Tune in to Radio 4

I had the radio on in the car today on the way back from walking the dog on the moor - it was a beautiful morning but unfortunately my phone battery was dead so no pics, sorry. The programme was so interesting I had to tell you about it, you can hear it on this link
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036xyxh
It was about the various bugs in our uk gardens, giving really interesting nuggets of info on woodlice, bees and froghoppers - these little fellas are masters when it comes to camouflage, can you see him?

They are amzing creatures, just listen to the programme!

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Lupins!

Lupinus  'The Governer' is a magificent herbaceous perennial, producing many brightly coloured spikes of flowers upto around 120cm high. It suits most soils, though does best in lighter sandier soils with a pH thats acid to neutral. It will grow in sun or light shade and would suit many garden styles. Lupins do tend to need staking as the flower spikes are heavy. Remove the flowerheads as they start to seed to encourage more!

Elders - the plant, not older people!

The Elder (Sambucus nigra) is common throughout Britain, in hedgerows, wasteland, even in gardens - such as mine.

Its a fantastic plant, a large shrub rather than a tree, and is looking at its best right now. Time to make Elderflower cordial (see my recipe page).

The Elder is an incredibly useful plant, as well as cordial, the flowers can be eaten as fritters and the berries can be made into wine or jam.

There are also numerous medicinal treatments available from this plant including the bark for arthritic conditions, flowers and fruit to treat fever and the leaves and bark for minor burns.

 For the gardener is the use of the leaves as a natural insecticide. Boil 1/2 lt water, add approx 225g elder leaves, simmer 30 mins. With another 1/2lt warm water add 1 tblsp castile (vegetable based) soap. Mix the elder water and the soap water together, strain and use in a sprayer.

Elders are steeped in folklore, plant one near the house to keep the devil away, dont burn the wood or the devil will appear. They were planted around dairy farms to stop the milk turning. Handy tips!

As well as the native plant, there are a number of cultivated varieties including variegated, yellow and black. I have Sambucus Black Beauty in my garden, very quick growing and a real showy plant.

Theres loads more I could tell you about Elders but I think thats enough here.
Dont forget to check the recipe page :)