An Ode to the Tulip

Is it really over a month since my last blog ... where does the time go?  Well, actually, I know where it goes, it goes into the arrival of the rush of spring and the garden suddenly bursting and crying out for attention, “weed me”, “sow me”, “prune me”, “plant me”, “pick me”, “bunch me” and so forth.  I have also had to say a sad au revoir to my tulips so I thought I would celebrate their passing and share a ‘visual ode’ to the tulip in the Foragefor cutting garden for this year.

In the garden after a hard pick for a spring wedding.

No, the ladders aren't an escape route!

The beautiful 'Irene' parrot tulip.

'Rococo'

The super, 'Super parrot' in full chaotic open mode!

'Rai'

Tight buds of 'Rococo', 'Falling in Love' and 'Uncle Tom'.

All ablaze with 'Westpoint', 'Ballerina', 'Rococo' and 'Uncle Tom'.

Preparing for spring 'tulip weddings' and events.

And of course tulips make delicious snacks too!  Here they are with scoops of dessert creams.

Orange, hazelnut and cointreau syrup cream on 'Irene' tulip petal.

Eton mess cream on 'Falling in Love' lily tulip petal.

Violet syrup and blackcurrant cream on 'Lilac Perfection'.

When I cut tulips for the vase I'm always amazed how much they continue to grow, so just to feed my curiosity, I measured the growth of a 'Blue Parrot' tulip over a week and it actually grew a heady 17cm in 7 days!

Farewell you luscious lovely tulips and adieu until 2014!

Fauna rather than Flora

Yesterday I welcomed the arrival of three new ForageFor team members, three gorgeous hedgehogs!  I picked them up early in the morning from a friend in the village who keeps a little hedgehog sanctuary.  I wanted to give them a safe home (which the walled garden should provide) and to add to my defence against slugs and snails after last year’s epidemic proportion of slug damage on the flowers (the usual suspects, delphiniums and dahlias). So I thought I’d share some pictures of their release yesterday.


Just lifted out of the box and placed near a lovely rough pile of leaves and dead branches.

Turning for a little look back, love those cute snouts!

Two made a direct beeline for the pile of twigs to get well concealed and have a good sleep.

The third one was a little more adventurous and went in a different direction to the other two. I think it wanted to see the tulips before settling (me, tulip obsessed?!)

And finally it settled ... almost invisible!

I stayed near to where I released them for a couple of hours and apart from the occasional shuffling and snuffling noises in the leaf piles, they seemed well and truly settled.




But my day of fauna wasn't over.  As well as hearing woodpeckers in the woodland surrounding the garden, as I turned to pick some tulips at the end of the day, I spotted this, a mother duck with ten ducklings.

So all in all a good day for fauna. I hope they all get along!

Snake's Head Fritillary

I adore this flower. It's chequerboard burgundy pattern gives it an 'otherworldly' look and the stems are so elegant and tall with the delicate grass like leaves staggered along the stem.  They are just at their peak in the garden at the moment and at 40cm high they look perfect in a tall thin vase.

 

A doubled headed one I picked this morning - like finding a four leaf clover!

Deconstruction

A Springboard to Spring at Last

The past two weeks of weather in the Foragefor garden have been perfect, warm and wet. The flowers are loving it and so am I.  Everything is suddenly taking on spurts of growth and colour and it feels like spring is trying to catch up. However, if the flowers are growing it also means the weeds are too, so weed vigilance is called for to slow them down before they get too big to handle. 

Here are a few pics to share from the glorious past two weeks in the garden.


Parrot tulips are on their way, a month later than last year!

Purple sensation alliums are budding up.

Astrantia and one late 'stray peony' look healthy.

I have five different muscari in the garden, the purple and ice blue colours have been flowering well in this spring weather, just waiting for more blue, pink and green to mature.

The green and yellow flowers of the primula 'Francisca' are just about to open.

The daylily leaves are getting taller by the day.  Their edible orange flowers will be great for cakes.

 

Spring is starting to feel lovely.

Easter Edibles

Easter seems to somehow lend itself to an orgy of edible flowers to complement all the traditional Easter feasts and treats, showing spring off to its full early potential of new growth... we hope!


Trying violet sugar.  I often do flower sugars but I have never tried violet sugar so I thought I'd have a go and see if it works.  I'm going to store it in a dark cupboard for a few weeks before trying.  Put it in a funky jar and it makes a nice gift too.

Primrose lollies made with the following recipe:
• 210g caster sugar
• 85ml liquid glucose or golden syrup
• Edible flowers
• flower essence to flavour
• natural food colouring of your choice if required
1. Heat the sugar, glucose and 125ml water together in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
2. Continue to boil the syrup, without stirring, until it reaches hard crack stage or 149°C to 154°C on a sugar thermometer.
3. Place flower/s into lolly moulds.
4. Once the syrup has reached the right stage, add a few drops of essence and colouring of your choice. Stir well and pour the syrup carefully over the flowers in the lolly moulds. Place a lolly stick in each and leave to set.

Chocolate flower Easter eggs using vintage egg moulds.

Primrose and white chocolate cheesecake.

Primrose, violet and viola ice bowl.

Now that was a delicious floral Easter!

Happy April! Apparently, it's going to be a cold one.