Showing posts with label walled garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walled garden. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 August 2013

Harvest Festival


When we took on this massive walled garden of ours, we knew that it was originally the kitchen garden for the 'Big House' on the estate. However we didnt realise in the bleak midwinter when we saw it, just how much it is still producing. Bearing in mind the land has had no-one working on it for 8 years. Mother nature still amazes us. We have started to harvest the small amount of veg we have, however it seem this earth is good to the humble fruit n veg.... 

                              

One whole wall once had trained fruit trees...however they have broken out of their restrictive wires and have been allowed to create mayhem... they are amazingly full of fruit, each tree seems to be a different variety of pear. The 'Big House' must have loved Pears!!

                           
                              

This building would have been the hot fruit house....it has the most amazing grape vine going through it...the acid green is neon at the moment. The fig trees grow 3 foot through the plastic roof, tantalizing us with is huge fruit, which we will be unable to reach to pick. 


                              

There are blackberries, a whole coffee cup here...craving apple and blackberry crumble anyone?


                             

Our little onion patch turned out to produce 91 white onions and 116 red onions....how long do you think they will last us? Stunned by the amount is an understatement.



The youngest member of the team, eats more than he picks...he had peas from the pod today...they were a huge hit. These stringless beans are tastier cooked however, but the teething toddler disagrees.

                             

Mazie, can you see their tufty heads peeking through? Martin doesn't like it...hahaha more for us then :)


                             

Our lazy tomatoes, and the colour pop of marigolds in the petit polytunnels


                            

Talking of colour...look at these red beauties! They are perfect for mash.


                           
                             

I think Christmas presents will be pretty predictable this year
Red onion marmalade? Yummy.


Monday, 22 July 2013

Evening Heat


               

Well it is safe to say that the Summer is here...it might only last two weeks so we are soaking it all up! The heat in the Walled garden is immense...not a smidge of shade to be found. The sweetpeas are finally flowering, and we now are stocking them in the shop...the dream is finally becoming a reality and we couldn't be more thrilled.

               

Our plant sales man for the shop kindly gave us some of his New Zealand spinach...perfect eaten right off the plant and such firm leaves...he has 30 acres.... and we thought 2 was hard work!
The first courgette was harvested and roasted...the smallest member of M&TM devoured it in surprising speed, so has the official seal of approval.

                

Evening gardening is the only way in this heat. however this energy zapping sun has us watering and weeding in record speed...and we harvest in the cool of the morning. 

Fresh for the shop today is clary sage, ammi, cornflowers, mixed ageratum and sweetpeas! Why don't you pop in and treat yourselves to a bunch. You can be safe in the knowledge that they are the freshest, most locally sourced and grown flowers around.


                

The drive home is glorious...the golden wheat fields and ripening oilseed rape fields remind me of my childhood...and the warm air blowing in our faces is very welcome after the gardens heat.

We are so proud that our dream is blooming into something so exciting...the hard work is paying off...now all we need is a cover for our rather mahoosive polytunnel and we can get working on next years master plan!


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