Charming Chillies!

This week I 'ave bin mostly ...



...pickin', drying, 'n stringin' chillies!  The moral is: never to rub an itchy nose when handling Apache chillies!!!  Everyone knows you shouldn't but it's so very easy to forget - ahem!

I've been doing this as they ripen, thus you can see both dried and drying fruits. As well as being endlessly useful in the kitchen, they do look quite decorative. Somehow, I don't think we can eat all these and there's more to pick!

Hops - V - Noisy Kitchen Extractor Fans!

Fuggles hops & home dried flowers

Before the clean up!

Last year's home grown hops were looking very sparse, tired and faded. A little late but, at last, I got around to replacing them.  I adore the smell of new hops and this variety is Fuggles (isn't that a great name?!)  This year I went to The Haven, Dilwyn in Herefordshire where a lovely lady helped me choose a bine, carefully wrap in a dust sheet and even carry it out to the car. If you're in need of hops, The Haven is well worth a visit.

Their use in the kitchen is more than just decorative. They absorb cooking odours really well. I know that with an Aga, there are no cooking smells but, a garland of hops has to be nicer than a loudly whirring kitchen extractor fan and, dare I say, 'greener' ?  Well, their colour does fade over the year.

Of course, there were hops E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E!  In my hair, stuck to my clothing all over the floor, the kitchen surfaces, trails of them from the back door and utility room but I just didn't care. I added some home dried Roses, Hydrangeas and Achilleas to fill out one end of the beam and, job done. It was huge fun and an equally HUGE mess. A good clear up followed and, the kitchen is now filled with the scent of hops! In a few days time when the scent fades, I'll spray them with hair lacquer to reduce petal fall but, until then, we're just enjoying them.

A Late Surprise

The surprise silver cup!

The winning basket of produce

It was a bit of a surprise to receive an email saying that I'd won a challenge cup and forgotten to pick it up. The thing is: I was (of course) working in the garden and it was one's Ever Loving Husband who kindly returned to the show - (for the fourth time that day!) to pick up all exhibits and prize cards. I was busy pruning the Wisteria with Chris and a silver cup had never crossed my mind so I didn't stay for the presentation of awards. However, allow me to present the Stoke Bliss Perpetual Silver Challenge cup for a basket of produce! Now then, with what should it be filled???

Midsummer to Midwinter - Dual Use?

Swap summer flowers for baubles.

Imagine snow!

Although I made these in the summer for our Twilight Garden Opening, it occurs to me that they'd be ideal for...........whoops, dare I use the 'C' word so early?

 C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s!

I found the pattern in Landscape Magazine and they take about 20 minutes to make. You do need to imagine more wintry surroundings! Maybe hung on a gnarled leafless tree touched by Jack Frost's long cold fingers? Could a monochrome edit will look a tad more wintry.

EARLY BIRDS

A thrush in our old pear tree

The Fieldfares arrived here 2 weeks ago!! Now that's just amazingly early!! They fly in from Scandinavia and Russia and don't usually arrive here until well into October! Why are they so very early this year? Dare I ask: are we to expect a hard winter?? We love snow!

Thrush on the wall

They arrive in big flocks and, as well as enjoying berries, they feast on fallen apples in the orchards that surround us. A flock of 25 or so have been enjoying Sorbus berries in the garden. Like redwings, they are a member of the thrush family and the likeness can easily be seen. The twitterings of these large flocks is a very welcome and distinctive sound.

A fieldfare - not taken by me

Rodent Repairs!

Dave & Jamie

A couple of weeks back, we had a major lights failure in the garden. For some inexplicable reason, the lights around the pond and the culvert failed so it was time to call in Dave of the famed DSM Electrical Installations. He and Jamie spent 3 evenings trying to find the fault - in the dark! After hours of puzzling, head scratching, worries about accidental damage, complex investigations and 'driver' changes, it turned out that a rodent had crept into the pipe and completely gnawed through a cable! The were teeth marks either side of the severed section.  This damaged section was under the grass midway between the pond and the culvert so could NOT have occurred in a worse spot. Luckily, Dave & Jamie were able to feed through replacement cable without the need to dig up a large area of turf! What makes plastic so attractive when there is fallen fruit for them to eat?

Tea (& chocolate cake) break!

The DSM Team at Work

'V' has to be for victory!

I couldn't resist taking this shot of Dave and playing around with some HDR effects!  All lights are now working again and, as the nights are beginning to draw in, their effects are appreciated more than ever.

Worcester News Article

Whoopsie! I forgot to share this on the blog:

Another mention in Worcester News  click to read

Big-hearted couple raise nearly £1,500 for charity by opening their little country cottage garden to the public

• 

  Some of the 143 tea lights creating a magical twilight event

  

  Pear Tree cottage

  

  

  

It's an article about the money we've raised this year for the National Gardens Scheme. We couldn't do it all without all the help we have from friends who make delicious cakes, sell teas and slave away washing up in the kitchen! It does however mention Chris by name.

Wisteria Pruning

Wisteria curtains

Pruning a Wisteria doesn't sound much of a job does it?  In reality, this 'King' of climbers is a real thug.Whilst I'd never be without a Wisteria (or in our case, three!) they really need to be kept in check. Yes, I know we're a month late but even so, the long whippy side shoots had found time to push their way under the eaves and into the attics. They had forced their way between the opening window lights and also between down pipes and the wall. Some were 15 feet long. This is despite an earlier pruning around the dining room window which was so overgrown in a single season, the dining room was enjoying a wonderful green filtered light! As usual we thinned out the unwanted twining stems and cut back the side shoots to about 7 buds. We now have winter light in both the dining and sitting rooms ..................that is, until next year!

Before....

..and afterwards.

Mellow Autumn Day

Jewel-like rose hips

Sedum

Autumn!  It's so nice to see the brilliant scarlets of the berries, hips and haws in the garden at this time of year - to say nothing of the brilliant red chilli peppers.  I've had 3 pickings and the results are being dried for use later on.  Also the Sedums in the borders are not only looking colourful but are covered in insects!

Cider apples in the surrounding orchards are being harvested and our own pears and apples are ripening well in the late autumn sunshine.

More sedums in the Lower Border

Show Successes!

Basket of Produce

Foliage pot plant

Surprisingly, we managed a few successes at this year's annual show at Stoke Bliss.  The biggest triumph being first in the 'Basket of Produce' class.  In total we had 4 1sts, 2 2nds and 2 thirds. Chris was dragged along despite grumbles about little work getting done!  He even found time for an ice cream!  |As it's also the venue for ploughing competitions, it's always nice to see the vintage tractors working away and the real highlight is  to see horses ploughing.  The only thing wrong is seeing someone leading them from the front! More photos can be seen here:

Stoke Bliss & District Annual Show & Ploughing Match 1026

A collection of herbs

Make mine a double!

Show Successes!

Basket of Produce

Foliage pot plant

Surprisingly, we managed a few successes at this year's annual show at Stoke Bliss.  The biggest triumph being first in the 'Basket of Produce' class.  In total we had 4 1sts, 2 2nds and 2 thirds. Chris was dragged along despite grumbles about little work getting done!  He even found time for an ice cream!  |As it's also the venue for ploughing competitions, it's always nice to see the vintage tractors working away and the real highlight is  to see horses ploughing.  The only thing wrong is seeing someone leading them from the front! More photos can be seen here:

Stoke Bliss & District Annual Show & Ploughing Match 1026

A collection of herbs

Make mine a double!

Win, Win, Win!

Achieved in 2016 just by opening the garden gate....

....and a bit of hard work!

This little garden - all alone in deepest rural Worcestershire has raised the grand total of £1450.17p for the National Garden Scheme this year.  They give to the caring charities and don't have huge numbers of executives on fat salaries unlike certain cancer charities we know!  Of course we couldn't possibly do this if it wasn't for a husband who gives me too much encouragement and help and Chris who does a zillion things including lighting 100's of candles (please save all your jam jars for next year!) and a band of dedicated and hardworking volunteers who give up their spare time to slave away making us cakes to sell, serving teas to visitors and washing up  for hours on end!

WELL DONE TEAM PTC!

Win, Win, Win!

Achieved in 2016 just by opening the garden gate....

....and a bit of hard work!

This little garden - all alone in deepest rural Worcestershire has raised the grand total of £1450.17p for the National Garden Scheme this year.  They give to the caring charities and don't have huge numbers of executives on fat salaries unlike certain cancer charities we know!  Of course we couldn't possibly do this if it wasn't for a husband who gives me too much encouragement and help and Chris who does a zillion things including lighting 100's of candles (please save all your jam jars for next year!) and a band of dedicated and hardworking volunteers who give up their spare time to slave away making us cakes to sell, serving teas to visitors and washing up  for hours on end!

WELL DONE TEAM PTC!

Little Helpers in the Rain!

Should have used a bigger barrow!

Scooping the silt out of the culvert was a pretty messy job but made even messier with the rain and messier still with a team of 3 little helpers! Water, mud and wheelbarrows - the 3 biggest and best attractions!!

Washing muddy hands for the umpteenth time!

We bucketed out the water and, with a long handled scoop, filled 3 or 4 wheelbarrows full with silt and disposed of the contents down in Cato's Corner.  Having done that, Chris retrieved a wheelbarrow full of pebbles which Elissa and I washed - each one individually!  Definitely the world's messiest job! Afterwards, the sun came out and we had a bonfire.  Yes, of course were soaking wet and covered in mud but, who needs toys?  Result: the submersible light in the culvert looks really pretty at night again and everyone had a ball!

Chris teetering over the edge!

 

A VERY Rainy Saturday!

Couldn't get on with any seasonal jobs today!

A Fine Vine!

Vitus coignetiae also known as the Crimson Glory vine grows up Highgrove which is where this specimen originated. I took this photo before the leaves begin to turn and hope to remember to take another for purposes of colour comparison as it's so striking in autumn. It really softens the architecture and whilst Chris has shown me how to take out tiles and insert homemade lead hooks, for some reason, I really feel unsure of getting the tile back in place. Shame really as it's in dire need of more hooks. Courage!!

Vitus coignetiae - Crimson Glory Vine

Miniature but Mighty!

The Myrtle bloomed in time for open gardens. Just what's needed for a twilight garden opening as these tiny blooms shone out like stars. Don't you just love these miniature balls of fuzz? Traditionally, every British royal bride has a sprig of Myrtle in her bouquet. Whilst a Mediterranean native, this variety: communis is relatively hardy and this particular specimen has been in a pot on the west side of the house where it has thrived for 6 or 7 years quite happily with little or no attention.

Myrtus communis

Aga Dried -V- Sun Dried!

The first of the Apache's

Drying on the Aga

Here we have some Apache chilli peppers grown in the greenhouse which I am harvesting as they ripen and drying them on the Aga. Their rating on the Scoville scale is between 70,000 & 80,000 shu.  Now that's quite a lot of heat when you consider that a Jalapeno has a rating of a mere 10 - 20,000 shu.  Of course there are far hotter varieties and at the the other and hottest end of the scale is the Carolina Reaper which weighs in at a hefty 1,569,300 shu! When fresh, Apache's are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.  They also make ideal decorations when dried, threaded and hung up.  I might eventually get around to alternating some with Bay leaves and hanging them in the kitchen with the odd one finding its way into a beef chilli on a cold winter's evening!

A Hugely Successful Twilight Garden Opening

Chris's Scandinavian log candle

Rob's Retreat

More Scandinavian candle admirers

In the conservatory

After a pretty frantic week, our Twilight Garden opening was a huge success. We had the prefect weather - for once! As always, an ENORMOUS thank you to a wonderful team without whose help, we couldn't even contemplate such an event!  Eve, Dave, Di, Lyn, Lindy and Sandra for all the washing up and serving of drinks and cakes from 2 - 10pm!!  What amazing hard work.  Another thank you to  Chris who illuminated 100's of candles and placed them around the garden - definitely NOT a 5 minute task! He even made rafts and floated them out on the pond and also a Scandinavian log candle never before seen by any of the visitors.  The garden looked perfectly magical and we made a clear profit of £670.57!  How amazing is that? We had over a 100 visitors which meant that Head Gardener & Chief Blogger was too busy to take photos so these are a few that Chris took at the end of the evening. We await more from Dave!

Chris's tea light rafts

So now it's all over and we need to collect even more glass jars for next year.........that is, when we've found all the empty ones in the garden!!

Lastly, thank you to all our visitors for their support.

A few more photos!