West Country Wanderings

Mid-September and we finally had our first 'going-away' holiday since we moved in 2008.  The weather was kind and we had a great tour of the West Country:

Exotic plants in the gardens of St Michael's Mount.
Many more of course at the Eden Project.  

The path up to Glastonbury Tor.
Stained glass at Montacute House.

A la Ronde with its diamond windows.
 More stained glass from Killerton House.

St. Ives as the evening draws in.

Alice in Wonderland scarecrows at Knightshayes Court.
The Dream Garden at Dunster Castle.

Gates and gardens and Castle Drogo. Lobster pots at Boscastle.

On the Vine

Just picked our first couple of bunches of grapes from the small greenhouse - both bunches and grapes are a little on the small side, but not bad for a first crop. They've ripened nicely as well, but while sweet enough, they are a bit more pip and skin than anything else.  We'll have to see what we get next year, and perhaps try a spot of wine-making in due course.

Courgette Recipes Please!

Our courgette crop this year has been practically non-existent, but luckily Martin's sister has been able to keep us well supplied.  Her courgettes have tended to be a little on the large side mind you - more like marrows - and today's offering has left me feeling rather daunted:

[The egg is for scale - the red thing is our first 'ripe' Scotch Bonnet chilli, which I'm also somewhat apprehensive of despite its small size!]

If anybody has any good courgette recipes, would be glad of suggestions . . .

Update: found a good use for overgrown courgettes on Twitter (thanks Amanda!) - apparently they are just the thing for scaring off your charging black bear - I guess I could try throwing it at a marauding bunny . . .

Little Green Apples

Harvested our first crop of apples this month - 12 eaters and 9 cookers - the eaters (Jonagold) were surprisingly much greener than the cookers (lost the label and can't remember the variety!).  Not sure whether the eaters were quite ready - most were a good size, but they were a bit 'tart' still.


The cookers were bigger and rosier - we stewed up the bruised / bird-pecked examples - and have some set aside for future apple pie!

**Security Camera Motion Detected**

Hmmm . . .

Awst Tywydd *

Well it wasn't the best of months August - the sunny bits were overshadowed by the cloudy and rainy ones for the most part, and it remained quite cool for the time of year:

Hoping for that September 'Indian Summer' . . .

* August Weather in Welsh

Rosebud to Rose

 

I planted a climbing rose on the trellis arch into the garden last year - I can't say it has exactly thrived, as much of its growth has been choked back by the clematis, which has really taken over.  But this year, finally, it put out a rosebud . . . and now we have a perfect rose: