Archive for August 2016

Battersea Flower Station

Published on 10:10 By Karen

Last week I went to London town to stay with my good friend Emily, who I lived with at university back in the day. She and her boyfriend have recently come back from travelling South America (lucky for some eh)! and just moved into the loveliest flat in Balham.

Being in new accommodation, she was lacking greenery and got me on board to help her on her mission to transform the front door space into a mini forest. Several of her neighbours had pots on pots of Geraniums and Fuchsias etc, so adding to the colour was kinda needed really, and I was fully game for this challenge!

Emily had just the place in mind; Battersea Flower Station, and I couldn't be more happier she took me!

It's given itself the title of the longest garden centre in London, and others would be challenged to compete with it! Even though it's quite narrow, the stretch of gravel goes on forever and tons of plants spring out from every angle. I could have spent the entire morning there!

They had a small greenhouse area dedicated to indoor plants which I really liked as most garden centres lack this, just catering for the outdoors. It had the cutest selections of succulents which seems to be a huge fad across the board nowadays; gardeners and non gardeners alike! Also several ferns, ivy and spider plants, all ideal on bookshelves to trail to their hearts content.

Emily couldn't resist the smaller succulents and now has one pride of place in her kitchen on the windowsill.

Emily is a huge animal lover and loved the idea of having some plants that would attract the bees and butterflies to her front doorstep, so I got to work suggesting several perennial plants that would be ideal for this. Lavender was the first plant that came to mind, as not only do the insects love it, it smells gorgeous on a summer evening!

There was a few varieties of Lavender so she picked an English and French variety- both lovely. As you can see from the photographs the Flower Station is adorable, with bunting and lamp shades zig-zagged across the strip. The website shows pictures in their gallery of the space lit up and it really is beautiful.

However, what I really loved about this garden centre, compared to others, is the approachable and friendly nature of everyone who worked there! Emily had several questions about how to care for the various plants she was spying on, and the two people who were on shift were more than happy to help.

It went beyond great service when Em asked if she could pot the plants up into the terracotta pots on site. I was super sure they would say they cannot offer that and we'd have to do so at home - boy was I wrong!

The French man - gorgeous French accent, had to mention - set us up a 'potting up station' by the entrance and let us loose on the compost and shovel for no extra fee. I quickly discarded the shovel and got stuck in with my hands!

I'm clearly not as great at it as I thought I was, and the poor man had to re-do one of the pots. Oh the shame! But we got there in the end, and all 3 plants were potted up and ready to take home.

I also really liked the mini sheds they had for different items; a gift shed with smaller pots, shovels, gloves, books and much more. Also, a pot shed (as seen in the picture) full of hundreds of different shapes and sizes. They even had 1930's clay pots that were tiny on sale for £2.50, and they were so so tempting, but I knew I'd break them on my journey back to Suffolk.

All of the plants and pots were reasonable prices and the whole experience was brilliant. As we walked to the end of stretch we came across the florist shop right on the street/road for passer-bys to buy a stem or bunch. They had the biggest bouquet of blue and purple Hydrangeas; a current obsession of mine, but again struggled with the idea of transporting them safely home.

Instead we took Emily's new friends home and set them up outside her new flat. Since I've been home Em has text me to tell me they're slowly dying. Turns out she just needs to water them more regularly. Love her!

If you're in London any time soon I cannot recommend checking this place out enough.
Website link and location: http://www.batterseaflowerstation.co.uk/

Let me know your thoughts if you go!

xo

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Summer Tips

cut flowers

Published on 08:58 By Karen

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Summer is a brilliant season in the gardening world for many obvious reasons; loads of colour, smells and produce to pick! I've been mucking around in my garden for nearly a year now and am learning an incredible amount each month. It's really amazing to see the difference I've made each season and the experiences that help me improve with every plant I grow.

I started with just plug plants and now I'm growing from seed. My Cosmos and Rudbeckia plants are all thriving and it's so exciting knowing I nursed them on in my bedroom on the windowsill from seeds (lacking the greenhouse still). I have different varieties of tomatoes growing from last year and I'm also trying new vegetables such as courgettes after growing vegetables I didn't eat much of last year, such as sweetcorn.

So I thought I'd write down, just as much for myself as for any readers, some top tips to keep handy for each year to come!

Save the excess -

I love growing Runner Beans! I grew a few last year and they were brilliant, so had to do the same this year. I changed the variety and amount though and now have ended up with SO many I can't pick them quick enough. Rather than letting them go to waste I thought what better than store away so I can enjoy in the winter months when I have nothing growing!

I'd read about various ways to store your beans - some say to blanche them first, some say they don't taste as nice if you do. Some others say not blanching them is better, but won't last as long. So I decided to try both options and make my own mind up.

I cut my beans into chunks and gave them a good rinse before blanching in boiling water for 2 minutes. I then ran them under cold water to stop the cooking process and popped them into freezable bags. Not forgetting to label which were which too!

You can do this with so many fruit and veg. I hate having to go back to buying them at the supermarkets as they just taste like water and nothingness, so this way I have them for much longer. These beans will last right up until my Christmas dinner. Brilliant addition!

Deadheading -

Deadheading your plants is a crucial summer task as this encourages more blooms to grow right through the season.

It also neatens up the display. Easy to do, just by plucking the dead blooms from the plant. The pictures above show my Petunia Night Sky, one of my absolute favourites! The white speckles change depending on the amount of sun exposure and they're so beautiful in my pots. Petunias are so easy to deadhead but they do leave an annoying stickyness on your fingers. I'm also deadheading my other summer bedding plants such as Marigolds, Busy Lizzies, Cosmos and Rudbeckia.

Watering -

Might sound silly but it's easy to forget, especially when it's heatwave season like we've had recently and everyone's out in beer gardens! People also make the common mistake when it rains, to not bother. However, several plants are left thirsty as the roots haven't experienced the rainwater and have just bounced off the leaves! So remember to fill up those watering cans on a daily basis.

Cut flowers for indoors -

I absolutely adore my new additions to my borders this year, especially my Cosmos and Rudbeckia. As I'm trialling new plants I learn a lot. For example, the final positions these plants are in are probably not the most ideal as they drown out my smaller bedding plants such as Busy Lizzies and Marigolds, due to the height of them. I'll definitely remember this for next year and position them elsewhere.

But I've also learnt they're great flowers to cut for indoor pleasure! There are so many blooms on each plant, so plenty to enjoy outdoors and still able to take several cuttings for indoors too.

Perfect use for some of my empty Kilner jars laying around the house! I just took my scissors and cut close to the main stem to allow the plants to carry on thriving indoors for as long as possible. I absolutely love them - saves so many pennies on shop bought bouquets and I can just pick more as they bloom outdoors!

Lastly - Sit and enjoy! Summer won't be around forever, so enjoy the colour around you in the garden. Grab some pimms & friends, and sit outdoors all day long; bliss. And if you don't have your own garden then get out to one of the open gardens near you! If you're local and haven't visited Beth Chatto Gardens, I highly recommend!

What're you up to in your garden this summer, and what're your summer tips? I'd love to know! xo

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Japanese Maples

acer

Published on 07:04 By Karen

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After visiting several garden centres and gardens around the UK, I've been craving a Japanese Maple tree in my own garden. I particularly wanted the Orange Dream variety, and was lucky enough to be given one as a present from a colleague at work, however the re-potting and transit had shocked it to death! I was devastated!

My luck turned around when Thompson and Morgan offered me a Starfish variety for a reasonable price; I was so, so happy. I love the bright red foliage and shape of the leaves, as it's quite different to the standard ones I've seen about.

I got it a couple of months ago, but have left it much longer than intended to pot it on, and was a little concerned I was slowly killing it. I had a look on several trusty websites and forums, such as RHS, to check what could be going wrong. Apparently Acers suffer from scorching, which can be from windy or sunny spots in the garden where they don't have that much protection. Go figure, mine was smack in the middle of my garden where it has a hit from the midday sun and all the winds from the East. So I moved it into a more sheltered position and went on a hunt for the ideal pot to put it in!

I've always struggled with pot shopping. There's either too much choice or they're too expensive! A Japanese Maple needs a large pot as they grow fairly big, and I wanted to find one that would suit the vision I had for my square patch.

There's quite a few like the ones above, with a modern twist and quirky writing on the side. There's also lots of deep blue coloured pots which would match well with the pots I have my Raspberry Ruby Beauty in. However, the large ones needed for my Acer were just so expensive, and anyone that knows me knows I love a bargain, so I left empty handed yet again.

Last week I went on a drive out to Southwold for the day with my best friend Lizzie and she insisted on taking me to one of her favourite garden centres; Katie's Garden along the way. And I'm so glad she did. We were meandering around the various areas of perennials and we came across a greenhouse full of sale plants (of course I made my way straight in) and came across a few pots scattered about. Sat amongst them was a huge, beautiful terracotta pot with a pretty design around the rim reduced from £35.00 to £24.99. I made Lizzie stand with me and 'urm and ahh' about it for a good 10 minutes and then decided to leave it...

...only to come back 10 minutes later to speak to the lovely woman running the place to see if I could haggle down the price due to a chunk taken out of one of the sides. After all, the chunk only adds a quirkiness to it. And there my bargain was, reduced even further to £15.00 - winner winner, chicken dinner.

I got it home and planted up my Acer, which desperately needed it after over a month stuck in the small pot it arrived in. I spent about 30 minutes dragging it around the square patch decided where looked best. It wouldn't have taken as long if the 2 wasps hadn't have been tormenting me, and if I had spent more time in the gym recently! I settled on the middle to make it more of a feature for my medium sized garden. That way the shrubs I have can be planted in and around the Acer.

Potting up: I added some stones to the bottom for extra drainage and made sure I had some multipurpose compost with added John Innes (it had been suggested to use John Innes No. 2 or 3). I gently prized the tree from the pot and loosened the soil around the roots to help establish itself in it's new home.

The previous soil was fairly moist so I didn't give it a drink as was extremely conscious of it being waterlogged and rotting. It already looks worse for wear and I'm praying it will perk up. Although, I do have a back up as I'm growing on a classic Acer 'Atropurpureum' in a smaller pot, and it can always go into the large pot if the worst comes to worst (keep your fingers crossed it doesn't please)!

I found some cute little slate stones in an old container and arranged them around the Acer to create a stepping stone pathway through the square area, weaving in and around the Acer, Heuchera and Hosta. I plan to replace these will real tree stump stepping stones once I have planned in better detail the shrubs and plants to go around the feature Acer.

I'll let you know how the Acer gets on over the next couple of months. If anyone has any ideas for perennial plants or shrubs that you think would work well or look good in this area, please feel free to drop me a comment or message. I'd love to hear from you!

xo

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Broad Bean & Pea Paté

allotment

Published on 10:59 By Karen

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Another recipe using fresh produce from your garden because, well, I couldn't resist!

I'm actually cheating a little with this one, as they're not from my garden, but from my dads. Him and his partner have such a huge veggie patch and I couldn't be more envious. They have everything growing from potatoes, shallots and garlic, to runner beans, cauliflowers and horseradish! It's a dreamy place to visit.

So last week I went down the bottom of their land to pinch some of their produce (well, they have plenty and couldn't possibly eat it all - I was only helping!) I picked a bag full of broad beans, peas, a fat courgette and some rhubarb. Perfect assortment to make some tasty dinners and desserts in the kitchen with.

A few months ago, in a quirky and highly recommended café in Ipswich (Applaud Coffee), I came across Broad Bean pate on toast and thought it was phenomenal. Therefore knew exactly what I'd be attempting when I got home...

You will need:
600-700g of Broad Beans/Peas
Handful of Mint
Handful of Corriander
Handful of Parsley
Handful of Basil
1 Clove of Garlic (crushed/chopped finely)
1 Lime
Olive Oil (good quality one!)

Start by popping your beans outta their pods. Great fun for the first few, but does take up a lot of time and slowly gets boring! But the task has to be done!

Put them in a pan of boiling water and boil for 4-5 minutes to soften.

Whilst that's bubblin' away I picked some herbs from my little patch. I can't explain how satisfying that was to have ALL of my ingredients in my cupboard or in the garden. I will eventually have more and more each year, which means less and less time in Tesco stocking up to make a recipe!

Crush your garlic and sizzle away in some olive oil in a pan. Don't let it burn, only needs a few minutes. Then remove from heat.

Find yourself a decent food processor and add all of your ingredients - all the herbs, the garlic, squeezed lime, cooked peas and beans.

Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a lug of olive oil. Whizz away.

Find some containers to pop your pate into and some bread to dip with - all ready to serve. I highly recommend some prosecco and some amazing garlic and herb bread. My mouth is watering just looking back at the pictures.

It really is super easy! Let me know if you give it a try! xo

The Young Gardener