Blackberries!

Whatever trials and tribulations, successes and failures there may have been over the past six summers, one thing remains gloriously constant: the bounty from the wild blackberry that was in situ long before we bought the house, long before Pat and I spent a weekend in the 1990s fencing in the sunny corner of the plot.

It gets trimmed back every autumn. That’s it for plant care. It’s never been given a drop of water. But every summer it produces more blackberries than I could possibly eat. I always give Pat some. I always end up with bags of blackberries in the freezer to keep me going over the winter. I always have lots of blackberries to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, it sometimes scratches me, but that’s a small price to pay. (Oh, and the bees love the berry blossom.)

This bowl is the first of what will be many pickings over the next few weeks.

I filled half the bowl from inside the garden. For the other half I had to go round to the road to pick the ones hanging over the fence.

Over the past few summers a number of little pine trees have sprouted on the other side of the garden fence. I didn’t try to stop them. They provide a bit more privacy and they deter bloody Bambo. So, no problem.

Well, that’s not quite true. 

When I carried the blackberry bowl around to the road, I discovered the little pine trees had grown to the point that I couldn’t actually get to the fence (and the blackberries). Thus the inclusion of the secateurs in the photo. A great deal of pruning was required before I could start filling the bowl again.

Job done. Access created. Blackberries picked. And now I’m going to have some for breakfast. Yum!

My aching butt

Oh, yes, I remember this now.  The day after the first day of really bending down and digging in: the sore legs and the aching butt. I get the leg muscles – all that stretching and crouching, but my ass? I remember posing this question on Facebook years ago, after my first big gardening day in Walthamstow. Someone – I vaguely remember it being Birgit –  who clearly paid more attention in anatomy classes than I ever did, replied with the information that there are butt muscles (glutes?) attached to the thigh muscles which I’d also been stretching more than usual. How annoying is that? Not quite as annoying as the clear recollection that tomorrow it will be worse. That just doesn’t seem fair.

Anyway… 

During all the bending and stretching yesterday, I spot the first flowers opening on the strawberry plants. I haven’t put a seed in the ground yet (must get on to that) and already food is beginning to appear. Hurrah.

Tiny, tiny flowers are starting to appear on the raspberry plants. There are also tons of flowers on the blueberry and black currant plants and lots of berries already sprouting on the gooseberry.

This is all very promising, I think, as I add compost to all these beds.

Mind you, it always seems very promising this time of year. And it all gets very exciting as we move into summer, and then this happens.

There is part of me that thinks it’s only fair that my gardening efforts (such as they are) should benefit other species. (Although never bloody Bambo.) Have I not, after all, made a concerted effort to have a bee-friendly garden? Yes, I have. So, in theory, it should be fine if the birds get something, too. It’s the ratio that’s a little galling. I figure it’s about 75/25. If I was the one getting the 75%, that would be fine, but I’m not. (With the exception of the blackberries, which for some reason the birds leave largely alone.) I mention this to Cec when he comes round to fix the fence.

Two days later, Mr Fixit, bless him, returns with this.

It is the first of four netting frames he’s decided to build for me. What a guy!

Before attaching the netting the frame needs to be either stained or painted. Which should it be? I’m pretty sure I actually have some stain stored away somewhere, but is that what I want? I’m thinking something colourful might be nice? But what colour? Day-Glo pink might be nice. Too much? Perhaps. Turquoise? There’s already a fair bit of it in the garden.

Too much if the frames are turquoise, too? Perhaps. Purple? Cobalt blue? Red? Oh, my god, I just don’t know. Decisions, decisions. Well, I need to figure it out and get on it before the birds start snarfing berries. What do you think?

Arghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I had leafy wisteria and clematis vines entwined in the back fence of the garden. Even though the clematis failed to flower this year (apparently this is not uncommon when clematises – clemati? – are replanted), the leafy vines spreading across the fence did look quite pretty. 

This morning when I went down to water the garden, there were no leaves left on the vines of either plant. 

A quick look around the rest of the garden reassures me that he didn’t get into the garden itself, merely managed to squeeze in between the trees and the fence. Bastard, bastard, bastard. 

Elsewhere, in long overdue garden news… 

The spaghetti squash plant, despite a profusion of flowers, has produced one squash. The baby watermelon plant, despite a profusion of flowers, has produced one baby watermelon. 

Disappointing realisation that all the squash seeds I planted that actually sprouted are scallopinis. Which is fine, I suppose, except I really did want more acorn squash this summer and it’s now too late to do anything about it. Oh, well.

The courgette plant, which wasn’t looking too promising, is now producing at a decent clip. (Recently made my first batch of Becky’s excellent courgette and gorgonzola soup.)

One nice surprise: For the first time since I planted it two or three years ago, the pink gooseberry bush has produced fruit this year.

Hardly enough for the gooseberry fool I was dreaming of when I planted it, but tasty nonetheless.

The cherry tomatoes are still producing an abundance of fruit.

Given the tastiness of the yellow cherry tomatoes I planted last summer (after fucking Bambo ate all the red ones), I decided to plant another one this year. This is it.

You can’t fool me. Not only are these tomatoes not yellow, they are three times the size of the cherry tomatoes. (Tasty, admittedly, but not what I thought I was buying at the market back in May.

Like the ridiculously early raspberries, the blackberries are ridiculously early this year. 

Started picking them in mid-July and genuinely cannot keep up. This would be a good year to make jam – if I was a jam maker, but I’m not. Even sharing them with Pat, there is an overabundance. I’ve already frozen about two pounds of them. (Good to know I may not have to buy any frozen berries for my cereal over the winter.)

Another nice surprise in “the back 40”. When it occurred to me a couple of months ago that deer do not eat rhododendrons, I decided to plant a couple in the back. Assumed at the time that they were well past flowering time, but look!

One of them is flowering now. And very pretty the flowers are. 

I’m pleased to report that, touch wood (short pause for me to touch both the desk and my head), the well is still holding up. (Or should I say filling up?) An ongoing worry nonetheless.

Apologies that the updates have been so few and far between, but what can I say? I’d rather be in the garden on the swing with Stella and a good book than in the house writing about the garden at my desk.

Zukes alors!

Okay, okay, okay. I know I am long overdue for an update and I do promise there will be one – eventually. For now I simply pose the question: are courgettes/zucchinis mutants?

When I left for Seattle on Sunday morning for the Mike Wallace Memorial Baseball Game, there were two young courgettes on the plant and two barely starting to grow from their flowers. When I went down to the garden this morning I had two fucking huge courgettes and two smaller ones. WTF?

Thank heavens for Becky’s courgette soup recipe, another batch of which I am about to make, otherwise I’d have to give the damn things away.

I reproduce it here for anyone having a similar problem.

Courgette and cheese soup

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 900g courgettes, trimmed and sliced
• 1 tsp dried oregano (or 3 tbsp fresh oregano)
• 600 ml veg stock
• 115g dolcelatte cheese, diced (or gorgonzola for more cheesy input)
• 300ml / 1.25 cups of single cream (Becky: I don’t think you really need this*)
• salt and pepper

1. Heat oil and butter in saucepan until foaming. Add onion and cook for about 5 mins stirring frequently until softened
2. Add the courgettes and oregano, with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 mins on medium heat, stirring.
3. Pour in stock and bring to boil, stirring frequently, lower heat and half cover pan, simmer gently for about 30 mins.
4. Stir in cheese until melted
5. Process in blender until smooth
6. Add 2/3 of the cream and stir over low heat until hot but not boiling. 
7. Adjust seasoning if you like.
8. Pour into bowls and swirl in remaining cream.

* Like Becky, I really don’t think the cream adds anything.

Elsewhere: As you can see from the photo above of today's pickings, the blackberry bush has gone mad this year, which means there will be lots to freeze. Hurrah.

The yellow cherry tomato plants – the only kind available when I needed to replace the red cherry tomato plants eaten by the deer (grr) – have been producing well and are very tasty indeed.

And, in case you’re wondering how I’m keeping further invaders out of the garden…

So far, so good. Namaste.