Lily ponds and ducklings

We met this proud mum and her darling brood on our way to the Kew Garden lily pond.

The lily pond is idyllic and the canny coots have called dibs on this prime location.

The giant lily in the lily house is as flamboyant as the sensitive mimosa is bashful.

The entrance and gangways of the lily house are strung with resplendent melons, chilies and aubergines and it is at this point that we had to concede to ourselves...

greenhouse envy, we has it!

And, the proud peacock knows it too. So we used it as an excuse to cheer ourselves up with homemade gelati from the fantasy icecream parlour. Yum.

Aint We Jammy!

We made our first ever batch of homegrown strawberry jam this evening.
♥ sweet heaven ♥

Oh Bounty

Why yes those raspberries have been collected in an unused slug trap! Hmmm we really must sort ourselves out some sort of trug for ye freshly gathered victuals.

Beans To Replace The Has Beens.

AAaaarrghhh slugs! We're struggling to produce enough beanlings to garland the bean poles.

In this time of great sogginess and damp, we've taken to growing our own sunshine.

A Veritable Feast

We finally picked enough peas to make our favourite Marcella Hazan recipe, risi e bisi. Comfort in a bowl.

The pea bed, sans la princesse.

The cauliflower patch.

No prospect of a courgette glut this year, the plants aren't thriving. We'll shelve that courgettte cake recipe for now then, bleugh.

Our dismal, rootbound tomatoes. What a disappointment after all that cosseting - we weren't able to plant them out in time for them to thrive. We'll have to try again next year. C'est la vie.

♥ Baby Bramleys ♥ Dreaming of apple pie.

Elderflower Cordial

The elderflowers have been blooming for the past three/four weeks but this is the first opportunity we've had to forage the makings of our annual batch of elderflower cordial. Oh fragrant bliss.

We noted with interest the abundance of blackberry blossom despite the battering winds.

Garden in a Bowl

We ♥ Vietnamese green papaya salad and pho.

We ♥ the green papaya salad...

... and pho served up at Tay Do Café.

You have to go early else you'll be unceremoniously crammed onto the end of someone else's party table. Don't feel you need to sit it out if they do this to you, but it's worth trying again another time. Another thing too, don't take the indifference of the waiting staff personally, the pho more than makes up for it.

First for the Season

♥ Our first strawberries and raspberries of the season. ♥

♥ Our first peas. ♥

♥ Our first turnips. ♥

Despite the squalls and storms, the blackfly are now loitering with intent...

... and ye great slug blighters have munched our brave beans what survived the frosts.

Trimmings for Dinner

Kale, beetroot thinnings for a veggie side, rhubarb for pud. The Chelsea-chopped chives for the flower vase... and a friend for company. Put out the candlestick.

A view of the length of the plot.

A Hastings Allotment

We visited friends in Hastings who have just taken tenancy of a plot on a site with a cracking view. We're green with envy, not only do they have cliffs and seascapes, they have a composting toilet, use of a communal shed and hoses and standpipes... oh AND badgers.

Inspiration for our future shed,though wethinks there will be a stipulated maximum height. The 6ftx6ft footprint of our future shed is already being monitored even though it is smaller in area than the compost bins that would have otherwise been built on the deep-shaded patch of our plot where not much is able to grow. Whatevs!

Red, White and Blue

The Spirit of Chartwell

Royal Rowbarge Gloriana

After spending yesterday out, bared to the elements (ain't we daft), celebrating the Queen's Jubilee and waving on the flotilla participating in the Thames River Pageant here are some red, white and blue pics of the allotment to continue the jubilations.

Corizus Hyoscyami