Autumn vibes

September 24, 2022September 24, 2022 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ Leave a comment

Japanese_maple_leaves_against_a_blue_sky — Blue sky and autumn leaves. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. It’s been a lovely weekend so far here in central Scotland. Lots of sunshine and blue sky which really shows off these Japanese maple leaves, slowly on the turn from green to gold, and finally to red before they fall. The temperature has dropped a few degrees, and the forecast is for a much cooler week ahead, so I think the new season has well and truly arrived.

Pink_Scottish_heather_Autumn_2022 — Scottish autumn-flowering heather. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The garden is still looking quite flowery which is good news for the bees. It’s been a great year for all the heathers, with the autumn varieties looking particularly pretty and laden with tiny blooms.

White_Hydrangea_fading_in_late_September — Fading white Hydrangea.. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The well-established white Hydrangea shrub has been heavy with flowers this year. A victim of its own success, its thin stems and branches have bowed with the weight of all the flower-heads. Whilst most have a pinkish or brown tinge, there are still one or two perfectly white blooms visible with their pin-head-sized tiny blue centres.

Blue_and_pale_pink_Campanulas_September_2022 — Late flowering Campanulas. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The Campanulas have been out in flower for a while. I keep trimming away the spent flower-heads and new ones have been forming lower down the stems which is why they are still flowering so late in the year. The same goes for the deep-pink Verbascum which is now flowering for the third time this year.

Flowering_in_late_September_deep_pink_Verbascum — Deep pink Verbascum. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

When I was out in the garden today, I was happy to see so many bees and flying insects enjoying the flowers and sunshine as much as I was. All the lavender bushes in the garden have a few late sprigs of flowers which these insects particularly love.

Autumn_flowering_lavender — Autumn lavender flowers. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

It’s not all blue, purple and pink in the garden, the Rose of Sharon has produced a few more golden yellow flowers which have a waxy-look to the petals in the sunshine.

Rose_of_Sharon_flowers_late_September_2022 — Second flowers on Rose of Sharon (Hypericum). Images: Kathryn Hawkins

My final image is of my favourite Lupin which has broken my back garden record this year, with its third flowering of the year. It’s not fully open yet but it’s not far off. All the other Lupin bushes have died down completely yet this one has stayed lush and healthy. Alongside is one of my Borage flowers; these have only just decided to put in an appearance this week. Better late than never though 🙂

Late_September_lupin_flower_and_flowering_borage — Third flowering Lupin and the first Borage flowers of the season. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I hope you have enjoyed my images this week. I will be back in the kitchen for my next post. Until then, take care and thanks, as always, for stopping by.

Summer garden

July 9, 2022 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 6 Comments

July_flowers_and_shrubs_in_a_Scottish_garden — My Scottish country garden early July 2022. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Summer is in full swing as I sit down to type my post this week. There’s been plenty of sunshine this week and the garden is in full bloom. I haven’t been able to spend as much time outside as I would have liked these past few days but I have managed to capture a few highlights to share with you in my post this week. I hope you enjoy them.

July_2022_summer_lavender_with_bee — Summer lavender. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Along the front of the house and in several of the sunny borders, the lavender grows very well. The bees love it and the perfume in the warm breeze was heavenly as I took these pictures.

Blue_hebe_and_yellow_brachyclottis — Blue Hebe and Yellow Brachyclottis. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

These 2 shrubs have been sitting side by side for years. Both have done very well this year and are packed with flowers. I love blue and yellow combinations; the garden has quite a few plants in these colours. Below are Campanulas which grow all over the garden, and Lysimachia which takes over one whole flowerbed at this time of year with a blaze of sunny blooms.

Campanulas_and_Lysemachia — Blue Campanula and yellow Lysimachia. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I’m not sure where this fine fellow came from. Perhaps a seed from the bird food brought in to the greenhouse by a mouse? For a while, back in the spring, I thought it was a self-seeding courgette plant (!) but as it grew taller, I realised what it was. Rather challenging to capture because of its position up against the glass, hence the sideways angle. I am going to leave it to dry out and then feed the birds with the seeds.

Greenhouse_sunflower — My rogue sunflower. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

For several years I have been trying to grow Himalayan poppies in the garden. I have tried several spots, and only ever managed to achieve a flower once. So last year, I dug up my latest attempt and put it in a pot in the shadiest spot I could find. I kept it watered and, lo and behold, it has had 3 beautiful blooms from a tall and willowy single stem.

Scottish_grown_Mecanopsis — Mecanopsis (Himalayan poppy). Images: Kathryn Hawkins

It’s not all blue and yellow in the garden, there are some pinks here and there as well. I grew this rather odd looking Dianthus from seed last year and was delighted to see that it has come back again with more blooms than ever. It’s called Superbus which I like to pronounce as Super bus 🙂 The pink Kalmia is a very old shrub in the garden, but it’s produced another fine display of flowers this year.

Dianthus_and_Kalmia — Dianthus Superbus and Kalmia. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

More blue from these dynamic looking Hydrangeas. This one started life a deep red colour but has reverted back to the blue which I believe is because the soil here is acidic. I was surprised to see a couple of Japanese anemones out in flower already this week. Very early for this garden.

Blue_Hydrangea_and_early_pink_Japanese_anemone — Blue Hydrangea and an early pink Japanese anemone. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

And finally, I am rather proud of my barrel container of plants. Usually home to runner beans or potatoes, this year I decided to plant it with flowers instead. Planted at the end of May, they have been flowering non stop for 6 weeks, so I am well chuffed. There is a combination of Viola “Dawn”, Nemesia “Evening Dusk”, Brachyscome “Brasco Violet” and yellow Bidens.

Barrel_of_bedding_plants — My barrel of bedding plants. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Enjoy the sunshine and I will be back posting again soon. Until then, my best wishes to you as always.

New Year 2022

January 3, 2022January 3, 2022 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 2 Comments

Happy New Year! I hope you have enjoyed a good Christmas and new year holiday. Now it’s time to get on with 2022. Let’s hope it’s a good year for all of us.

It’s been very mild here in the UK all over the holiday period. I believe the warmest UK New Year’s Day temperature on record was recorded. Sadly it’s also been mostly damp, misty and wet, so not much fun being outside. However, it’s all set to change, with colder air moving in, clearer skies on the horizon, and snow and ice in the forecast. Brrrrrr…………

I haven’t spent much time that much time out in the garden recently, but I have noticed a few changes this year compared to other years. I expected to have some nice images of snowdrops or the perennial primrose to show you, but no sign so far. No rhododendron blooms nor hellebore buds either. Instead, I found a few surprises.

Yellow_poppy_flowering_in_winter_2022 — New year poppy. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

This poppy was in flower at the beginning of December and you can see the buds of flowers yet to come. The second image was take on New Year’s Eve when the last of the buds opened.

Pink_rose-buds_flowering_in_winter_2022 — January rose-buds. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

These buds are on 2 different rose bushes in different locations in the garden. I had thought that the buds might open up, but I suspect that the lack of sunshine and shorter daylight hours have kept them closed tight. With the temperature on the way down now, I picked them today and now have a delightfully fragrant, home-grown posy on my desk 🙂

Freshly_picked_pink_roses — New year roses. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Looking a wee bit sad now, this is the last of the carnations. The plants have been in flower since early September so I think they deserve a rest now. And, flowering on and off for many weeks now, the trailing campanula is still producing fresh flowers in the more sheltered parts of the garden.

Orange-red_carnation_and_trailing_purple_campanula — January Carnation and Campanula. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Something more seasonal to end my post with, the winter-flowering heathers have started to open up. Usually, the plants are covered in flowers by now, but this year, there are only a few sprigs in bloom at the moment.

White_and_pink_winter_flowering_heather_2022 — Winter flowering heathers. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I will be in the kitchen again for my next post, so until then, I hope you keep well and stay safe, and I send you my very best wishes for the year ahead.

Midsummer rainbow garden

June 24, 2021June 24, 2021 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 3 Comments

Midsummer_in_a_Scottish_garden — Midsummer garden. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone. I hope you well and that the sun has been shining wherever you are. It’s been a mixed bag here. Some sunshine, some rain, but warmer temperatures on the whole.

I have a very simple post this week. Several plants in the garden are about 2 weeks behind this year, and this has enabled me to put together a post I have wanted to do for a while but have not, until now, had the selection of colours to make it work.

Below is a compilation of flowering plants from my garden photographed this week from Midsummer’s Day on Monday through to this morning. All the colours of the rainbow plus a couple more. I hope you enjoy them.

Deep_red_Aquilegia_plume_thistle_and_Skimmia_Japonica_berries — The reds: Aquilegia; Plume thistle, and Skimmia Japonica berries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Peachy-red_Azalea_orange-yellow_lupin_and_Pilosella — The oranges: Azalea, Lupin and Pilosella (fox and cubs). Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Yellow_flowering_Sedum_Lysimachia_and_Day_Lilies. — The yellows: Sedum, Lysimachia and Day Lilies. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Green_Euphorbia_flowers_lemon_thyme_and_fresh_sage_plants — The greens: Euphorbia, lemon Thyme, and sage. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Geranium_Magnificum_nlue_Campanula_and_Centaurea_Montana — The blues: Geranium Magnificum, Campanula and Centaurea Montana. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Purple_lupin_trailing_Campanula_and_deep_violet_violas — The violets: Lupin, trailing Campanula and Violas. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Gertrude_Jekyll_rose_deep_pink_Foxglove_and_white_and_pink_lupin — The pinks: Gertrude Jekyll rose, Foxglove and Lupin. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

White_hebe_flowers_white_Veronica_and_white_foxglove — The whites: Hebe, Veronica and Foxglove. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I’m heading back to the kitchen for my next post. I will see again in a few days. Until then, take care and keep safe 🙂

Birds, bees, flowers and fruit

July 18, 2020July 19, 2020 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments

Freshly_picked_Scottish_Morello_cherries — Morello cherries just picked today. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. I hope you are well and enjoying some fine weather. It’s been a busy few days since my last post. The garden is thriving thanks to a mixture of sunshine and showers. There’s lots to do, and at last the soft fruit is ripe. I picked these cherries from the small espalier tree in the garden today. Just under 800g. Not bad at all 🙂

Scottish_Glen_Ample_raspberries — Glen Ample raspberries. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The raspberries have been coming thick and fast since my last post too, and there are still lots more to come. As well as the cherries and berries, my runner beans and potatoes are coming along nicely.

Runner_bean_plants_in_flower_and_a_beer_barrel_containing_potatoes — Runner beans and my tub of tatties. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

In the flower borders, there is a predominance of yellow interspersed with shades of pink and lilac. The lavender season is in full swing here at the moment. I love the yellow cotton lavender with its silvery foliage which grows alongside the purple and lilac varieties. This is a very fragrant part of the garden.

Cotton_lavender_and_purple_lavender — The lavenders. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The palest coloured lavender is at the front of the house. It is full of blooms this year and the bees love it. This pale pink Campanula has just come out this past week. It was new in the garden last year and I am very pleased to see that it is blooming again and seems to have doubled in size.

Pale_pink_lavender_and_Campanula — Lavender and Campanula. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

More splashes of vibrant colour from the Lysimachia which has run a bit wild down one border but it does provide colour for several weeks; and the delightfully named “Banana Cream” Leusanthemum which sounds good enough to eat!

Lysimachia_and_Leusanthemum_Banana_cream — Lysimachia and Leusanthemum. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Happy to see so many bees in the garden again this year. My recent gardening activity has been accompanied by the sound of gentle buzzing; they are always busy gathering pollen and enjoying the summer flowers no matter which part of the garden I am in.

Garden_flowers_and_bees — Busy bees on Scabious, Salvia and Geranium flowers. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

As well as the bees, the garden attracts many feathered friends too. Blackbirds and robins are by far the friendliest and really do seem to make themselves at home in amongst the plants and flowers.

Baby_blackbird_baby_robin_sunbathing_blackbird — Baby blackbird and robin, and a sunbathing adult blackbird. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

That’s it from me this week. I hope you enjoyed the post and pictures. I will be back in the kitchen before the end of the month. See you then. Best wishes and take care 🙂

My July garden retrospective

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 2 Comments

End_of_July_in_a_Scottish_garden_with_orange_lilies — End of July in the garden. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone. We’re almost at the end of another month; how time flies. I’ve been taking some time off work and my blog this month but I found some time to capture some of the flowery and fruity delights that have come and gone these past 4 weeks.

The wonderfully prickly specimen below appeared in the garden last year courtesy of the birds. It didn’t flower, but produced some magnificent spiky leaves. This year it has gone from strength to strength and this month it really took off. Sadly it was a victim of its own success and toppled over under its own weight. Most of the blooms are growing at all angles but upwards apart from this one.

Large_mult-headed_Scottish_wild_thistle — Wild thistle. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Something a little bit more delicate are the charming and dainty Campanulas which flower at the beginning and middle of the month. The flower-heads seemed a lot bigger this year. And in the picture below them, my beautiful, very fragrant and very old rose bush. It did me proud again this year and was laden with blooms. Sadly now finished, but I am ever hopeful for a second blooming later in the year.

Tall_blue_and_white_Campanulas — Early July Campanulas. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Multi-headed_heavily_scented_pink_rose_blooms — Old fashioned, highly scented rose. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The garden has been alive with bees and butterflies this summer. Lots of different varieties of bees all over the tiny petals of the Scabious (or Pincushion) flowers, it seems to be one of their favourite blooms. And here is a Scarlet Lady butterfly bathing on a very fragrant sun-bed of lavender.

Bumblebee_on_Scabious_flower_and_Painted_Lady_butterfly_on_lavender — Scabious and lavender with bumblebee and butterfly. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Aside from the delicate and fragrant, the brash and bold flowers have also been abundant. The Hydrangeas seem more colourful than ever this year, and the poppies are springing up everywhere to add bright splashes of colour to the borders and beds.

Small_blue_and_pink_hydrangea_bushes_with_tall_red_poppies — Tall red poppies and small bush Hydrangeas. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

It’s also been another good year for the outdoor soft fruit. The small espalier Morello cherry produced ¾kg cherries (all bottled and stored) and the raspberry bushes, now in their 14th year, have produced another mega-harvest of berries which I have frozen for making into jam later in the year. The dishful of berries in the picture were cooked with freshly picked rhubarb and made into a “crump”, one of my favourite desserts from my blog a couple of years ago. Here’s the link: Rhubarb, raspberry and custard crump (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)Very tasty it was too 🙂

Espalier_Morello_cherry_tree_and_freshly_picked_Morello_cherries — Mid July Morellos. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Scottish_raspberries_growing_in_a_garden_and_a_dish_of_freshly_picked_berries_with_rhubarb — Aptly named, Glen Ample raspberries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

That’s all from me for now. I look forward to sharing more recipes and garden posts in a short while.

October oddities

October 25, 2018October 25, 2018 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 2 Comments

Deep_pink_Nerine — Nerine. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The weather has been perfect for spending time in the garden this past week. Fresh and breezy, with the sun shining most days. There are leaves everywhere, and plenty of tidying up to do before the weather changes.

This time last year, I had 3 beautiful Nerine bulbs in bloom. Sadly the snails ate the shoots from the other 2 a few weeks ago, but this beauty survived. It looks like a plant that should be out in late spring or early summer, but at this time of year, it is very welcome and a stunning splash of colour.

Another favourite with the slugs and snails is the Perennial primrose, which also looks out-of-place in Autumn. I was lucky to capture such a perfect bloom for my photograph before the beasties started their lunch.

Perennial_primrose_in_flower_in_October — Autumnal Perennial Primrose. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

On the whole, there is not much going on in the garden in Autumn, just leaves tumbling everywhere. However, there are a few plants having one last hoorah before the winter weather begins. All round the walls of the garden, creeping Campanula grows from spring and throughout the summer. This little patch of greenery on a sunny part of wall has just burst into flower again this past week.

Creeping_Campanula_or_Bellflowers — Creeping Campanula. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Back in July, the cotton lavender was ablaze with tufty yellow flowers. After cutting it back to remove the dead heads at the end of summer, there is still plenty of fragrant, silvery foliage to enjoy when the sun shines on it. Here we are a few weeks later, and the plant has bloomed again, but this time, with just one solitary flower.

Single_bloom_of_cotton_lavender — Cotton Lavender bloom. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I think I mentioned in my last garden round-up that I was hoping for more rose blooms this Autumn. The heat and the dry weather didn’t seem to suit them earlier in the year and the petals faded very quickly. I was delighted to see fresh buds on my very fragrant favourite rose, and now the blooms are fully open, the garden around them is smelling sweet and aromatic again.

Fragran_pink_rose_blooming_in_October — Rosa Felicia. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

There are several Hebes around the garden. It was a good year for blooms, and like the cotton lavender, these 3 bushes have started flowering again this past week, each with only a few small clusters of flowers.

Hebe_blooms — Blooming again, Hebes. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

These eye-catching seeds or berries are all that’s left of the native Iris (Iris foetidissima) apart from the green, spear-like foliage. I don’t recall that many flowers this year, but the seed pods develop and open out to form the exact same pattern of the Iris flower-heads. You can see that there are quite a few pods, so I must have missed a lot of flowers.

Orange_seeds_of_Iris_foetidissima — Iris foetidissima seed pods. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

To round off my post this week, something suitably spooky for the end of October. With Hallowe’en just round the corner, this image fits the season perfectly. This small espalier Comice pear tree only produced 4 pears this year. The small ones fell off a couple of weeks ago, but the largest one has been clinging on ever since. Now all the leaves have blown away from the tree, the bare branches made an eerie shadow against the wall this sunny afternoon. Have a good week.

Single_Comice_pear_on_a_leafless_tree — One Comice pear on a pear tree. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Mid-summer garden

July 1, 2017August 8, 2017 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ Leave a comment

Kalmia_bush_in_flower — Kalmia bush and flowers. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Half way through the year already. I can hardly believe it. It’s also just over a year since I published my first post on this blog. What a year it’s been. So many flowers, plants and recipes. So much colour and flavour.

The last week of June has been a turbulent one here in central Scotland. After several days of warm sunshine, suddenly the winds got up and the rain came down. The flowers and shrubs certainly received a bit of a battering, but most have recovered. I have two Kalmia bushes in the garden. When in bud, the bright pink tightly closed flowers remind me of pink icing piped through a star-shaped nozzle (you can see a few in the picture above). As the buds open out, the unusual pink flowers turn into little lanterns or fairy-sized lamp shades. As the petals begin to fade and fall, it looks like someone has scattered pink confetti over the lawn.

Foxgloves_campanula_and_phlomis — Blue Campanula and pink foxgloves; golden Phlomis. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Mid-June to early July is probably the best time of the year for colour variation in the garden. There are a lot dainty blue and white Campanula all over the borders as well as different shades of foxgloves – these both seed themselves year after year. I have two clumps of yellow Phlomis, with small crowns of flowers that remind me of little pineapples. The velvety, sage-green foliage comes up in mid spring and lasts long after the flowers have bloomed.

Lilium_martogan — Lilium martagon (Turk’s Head Lily). Image by Kathryn Hawkins

I discovered this small lily underneath a rhododendron in the front garden a few weeks ago. One by one the individual blooms have opened, and finally yesterday, I managed to capture them all open at the same time. It is like a small tiger-lily, so pretty and dainty. I can’t remember planting it, or even having seen it ever before!

Iris_Foedissima — Iris Foedissima. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

This fine fellow was new in the garden last year. Actually, it had probably been in the garden for a while, but it was hidden away in an old compost heap. When the compost was distributed, it sprouted up. Given a more prominent position in the garden, it started flowering last summer. This iris is one of only two native varieties in the UK; it is not the most colourful, but certainly interesting, and it has a rather unfortunate and unflattering common name: “stinking iris” – but this one doesn’t seem to smell at all!

My last image to share this month, is a plant not strictly in my garden, but something I am proud to have raised given the climate here. It is a small Oleander bush. I have kept it through the winter months, swaddled in fleece, in my unheated greenhouse, and this spring the flower buds started appearing. On warm days, it does stand outside for a few hours, and brings a hint of the Mediterranean to the more traditional flora and fauna.