Christmas in the Garden

It's Christmas at the Garden, so here is a picture of some of our service participants out in the cold under our slightly sorry looking Christmas tree...

and then back in the nice warm cabin where we all had Christmas Dinner.

This year we roasted a large Crown Prince Pumpkin that we had stored from earlier in the year and accompanied this with what produce is still growing outside at this time of year.

Sprouting Broccoli...

and Cavallo Nero.

The Garden will be closed over the Christmas and New Year period, we'll be locking the gates at 3pm on Friday 21st December and re-opening 10am on Wednesday 2nd January.

There is not much else to report this month, but look forward to some exciting news in the New Year. Anyway, here are some seasonal pictures from Lee, Edward and David from the Mencap photographic group:

Autumn continues in the Garden and still the leaves are falling.

We told you that the Kent Wildlife Trust Gardening for Wildlife awards would be presented in the Autumn, and so they were.

We were pleasantly surprised to be given a Silver Award at our first attempt, but already we are thinking of how to make that a Gold award for next year. We hope to be working with East Kent Mencap on a number of projects to make the Garden more wildlife friendly and to get us in the mood for that , here is a small selection of fairly seasonal pictures from the huge collection of fantastic shots the Mencap Photographic Group have taken in the Garden over the years:

In other news, we have had an extremely generous private donation which has enabled us to start work repairing our large poly tunnel which was damaged by fire last winter.

 Hopefully work will be completed by the New Year so that we will be able to get a head start on Spring sowing.

 If anyone is planning on working on their own garden over the winter and think they may need some wood chippings...

 we have just had a huge delivery, so come and see us and bring a bag, or a trailer.

Of course we still also have leaf mould, compost and manure available here, so if you need any, or know anyone who needs any, come and see us or give us a call.

TO AUTUMN

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

   Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun...

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees...

 

And still more, later flowers for the bees..."

Autumn seems to be upon us now, with leaves to rake and apples to pick, but there are still some pockets of colour to be seen in the Garden. The Jerusalem Artichokes have begun to produce their small, but vibrant yellow flowers.

Of course they aren't really Artichokes at all, nor do they come from Jerusalem. Their edible tubers do taste a lot like Artichokes though and when in flower they look a bit like Sunflowers. Their name is thought to have evolved from the Italian word for Sunflower; girasole as the flowers gyrate (gira) to face the sun (sole).

 Also in colourful bloom right now are the Amaranthus with their rich crimson heads.

We sometimes refer to them as the big finger plants.

A brand new shed has appeared in the Garden this week, 

 but it is far from just another ordinary shed,

 it is in fact our new Composting Toilet.

 This will be the new view from the Garden Gate, somewhere where we will get some of our best thinking done.

 All we need to do now is finish digging the trench and very deep pit for the soakaway, which is what will happen to all of the... well, you get the idea anyway.

 The Indian Summer seems to be with us so we are making the most of it.

It's been all hands to the pots of late, planting up shrubs and cuttings, the results of which are available in our Late Summer Shrub Sale. 

Elsewhere in the garden various weird shapes, sizes and colours of pumpkin and squash are fattening up nicely, ready to help feed us through the Winter.

 As well as the Borlotti Beans which we will dry and store for later.

Speaking of Beans, we still have Runner Beans as well as the Borlotti Beans for you to Pick Your Own.

Well, Summer didn't last too long, but it's sunny again now and parts of the garden are a riot of colour.

Produce is really starting to get going; the sweetcorn is thrusting upwards through a sea of pumpkin and squash...

Beans are in full flow too. These are the runner beans and they are still flowering as they climb skywards... 

And these are the borlotti beans; Lingua di Fouco, or tongues of fire, with their fiery red stripes.

The runner beans are delicious right now, nice and tender and not yet stringy...

We like them simply boiled and then tossed in good olive oil and some of our freshly lifted garlic. A squeeze of lemon, some crusty bread and there's lunch.

In other news, we have just been assessed by the Kent Wildlife Trust for their Gardening for Wildlife awards, apparently we garden in a very wildlife friendly fashion - although more by chance than design. We should learn how we got on in the Autumn, we'll let you know.

Summer has finally arrived at the Garden. With all the rain of the past few weeks everything has gone wild,  quite literally in the case of wild flowers, and, as ever, we're working like crazy to keep on top of the grass and the weeds...

In the polytunnel the tomatoes are all in and the salad leaves are growing nicely, the French beans are just starting to appear...

while outside the brief asparagus season has finished and currently broad beans are the bumper crop. 

We began by eating the tiny little young beans straight from the pod - delicious with a hunk of Pecorino cheese and a glass of Frascati. Now the beans are more mature they are best shelled and boiled for a couple of minutes and then mashed with olive oil and garlic to form a filling for ravioli or a topping for bruschetta.

Next up in the vegetable beds should be garlic, runner beans and the first of the main crop potatoes. In the fruit garden the raspberries are beginning to ripen and the gooseberries are tantilisingly close to being ready.

There is still lots of  weeding and watering to be done and some beds to prepare for brassicas and winter produce.

The last of the, very straggly, tomatoes, runner beans and squash that didn't get planted are still here if anyone forgot to put theirs in or need to replace failures.