I got the call on Sunday morning,” I have friend of a friend who has a grape vine…”. The vine grower now lives in France, but the vine in question grows in Sligo. Nobody wanted the grapes, the caller thought of me, “would I like the grapes?” Yes, definitely. We arranged to meet on TuesdayContinue reading “Fruit of the vine- a gift of grapes means lots of grape jam”
Tag Archives: gardening
Aronia Jam
We walked under the spruce trees, passed the twisted hawthorn and down the slope. The long grass brushed our knees, the mild damp autumn evening surrounded us and calmed our senses. The small river trickled over rocks, a soundtrack to soothe as we walked in to the lower part of the garden. Here trees andContinue reading “Aronia Jam”
A Saturday Night with Black Sabbath Making Rose Hip Jam…
Its coming to that time of year again, blackberries are ripe, elder berries are ripening and the rose hips are nearly there. I “look forward” to some Saturday nights making jam. During the summer I made some rose hip jam from fruits that were in the freezer, it is a delicious jam but it doesContinue reading “A Saturday Night with Black Sabbath Making Rose Hip Jam…”
I fought the root and the root won…. cooking burdock roots
The story goes, George de Mestral took his dog for a walk and then invented Velcro. The Swiss inventor took his canine for a stroll one day sometime in the 1940s and upon arriving home he noticed that his dog has in this fur the spiky seed heads of Actium minus otherwise known as Burdock.Continue reading “I fought the root and the root won…. cooking burdock roots”
Early morning in our garden in Co. Mayo – July 2012
Summer, oh where is the summer? This morning was a rare sunny start and I was up early to see the fog lifting its damp veil from around our plants. There is a saying in Ireland, “sun before seven is gone by eleven”. You really do have to get up early to get the bestContinue reading “Early morning in our garden in Co. Mayo – July 2012”
Well done to the rare un-staked! – Herbaceous Perennials that stand up for themselves…
I love gardening but there are some jobs that are laborious and feel like a waste of one’s good time if they have to be done too often, cutting the grass is one such task, staking herbaceous perennials is another. The former job is reduced by having less grass areas and more plants, and inContinue reading “Well done to the rare un-staked! – Herbaceous Perennials that stand up for themselves…”
Growing a stir fry- Pak-choi
Quick, easy, healthy and tasty, stir frying retains the goodness of your freshly harvested vegetables and with the addition of chili, garlic and spices you have a quickly prepared and flavoursome meal. This year in the garden we have grown pak-choi. It is a cabbage relative, Brassica rapa Chinensis Group with distinct wide white midribsContinue reading “Growing a stir fry- Pak-choi”
Ciaran The Gardener 