Before leaving Herefordshire on the Thursday we had a walk down to the wildflower meadow on the caravan site. It was full of flowers such as ox-eye daisies, self heal, buttercups, common and bird's foot trefoil and a few orchids.
The tree I have been watching for nearly a year in a nearby field.
Dark Arches moth
Back home a few photos from the garden - first of all the wild flower "meadow" which is still full of Red Campion plus Buttercups, Ribwort Plantain, Common Sorrel and LOADS of Yellow Rattle which is slowly but surely suppressing the couch grass!
Clematis on the patio. There is a smaller climbing variety further up the garden with smaller purple flowers.
Choisea
Red Valerian
Mock Orange
Fuschia
A type of cranesbill geranium I think! I call it "Strawberries and Cream".
Canterbury Bells
Honeysuckle flowers have been smothering an arch on the second lawn but I forgot to take a photo before going to Herefordshire and when we returned home they had all gone past their best.
We have a small "No mow zone" on the main lawn which B cuts late summer. It is full of Cat's Ear, Common Trefoil, Lesser Trefoil and a few Ragwort plants.
Small posy of flowers from the garden.
Baking
I am not sure if I have posted a photo before of the Classic Chocolate Cake D and E made from a Great British Bake Off came box. Bake off provide the recipe, instructions, and the dry ingredients and in this box there was a cake stand. You just provide the fresh ingredients and make the cake.
We had the first of the garden strawberries last week - there were not enough for four of us to have a decent serving so I made a Strawberry, Almond and Polenta cake (recipe from the BBC Good Food website). I was quite pleased that using gluten free self raising flour seemed to work!
B was 70 last Thursday and D and E made him his favourite Black Forest Gateau.
It looks a bit messy once cut! but it was delicious.
Stay safe and well everyone.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.
10 comments:
Isn't it lovely to see all the flowers, wild and cultivated, at this time of year? Great looking bakes. Happy Birthday to B too.
Lovely photos, the wild flower meadow is wonderful and your tree is looking splendid. Garden flowers are lovely too with so many pretty colours to choose for your indoor posy. I haven't checked our 'no mow' areas lately, I must look to see what is there. The baking looks delicious. We have far too many strawberries ripening at the moment, we may have to make jam:)
Oooh you rotter, you've just made me hungry. Especially that Black Forest Gateaux - not had any for years. I am hardly baking at all these days because the oven I've inherited here cooks about 20deg. too high. I'm not playing guessing games with cakes.
Lovely wild flower meadows - both at home and at your caravan. A true delight.
Rustic Pumpkin - Thank you. May and June are such wonderful months for flowers. Thank you for birthday wishes - passed on :)
Rosie - Thank you. I do enjoy picking posies but it is a shame flowers don't last as long cut as in the garden. Ooh yummy enough strawberries for jam that is great news!
Bovey Belle - Thank you and sorry! BFG is B's favourite - time consuming to make though and we won't mention the washing up created! I remember you saying about your oven - what a dreadful pain and you bake so much too or did! Have you thought of getting an oven thermometer to check actual temp????
The flowers are wonderful and I enjoy seeing 'your tree' updates.
The polenta cake looks delicious, I would love to sample a tasty morsel :-)
CherryPie - Thank you.
Sending you a virtual slice of the cake :)
the wildlife meadow look gorgeous!!! I won't comment on the cake (something I miss now :( )
The Quacks of Life - Thanks so much Pete. Sorry about the cake :( To be honest since trying to go gluten free I miss out on many of them too :(
You must stop showing us all these delicious looking cakes and desserts!! haha, no, I love to see them.
Your wildfloweer meadows are lovely. Thankfully we have had a fair bit of rain this (late) spring/summer so there are still plenty of wildflowers around, but they are often quite different from those in the UK, depending on where we go round here (obviously close to the Med is different). I was just moaning about the lack of ox-eye daisies by the sides of the roads here when hey presto as we came home I noticed several bunches of them growing in the sloping meadow across the road from us!
Came across yellow rattle somewhere recently, think we were up in the lower mountains about 700m altitude where there were more wildflower meadows of the kind we are more used to (with Ragged Robin!!). It isn't something I've seen a lot of. It's great that your little wildflower area is doing so well. I will try to catch up with some of your other posts but I may not comment on them all, sorry. I have only just got a post up from about two weeks ago and have two more I need to start. Help!
Millymollymandy - Thanks so much. Sorry about the cakes!
I love seeing your photos of wild flowers in France especially those are different to ours and so pleased you have ox-eye daisies near you. A few weeks ago the verges over here especially on motorways were just full of them.
I rather like Ragged Robin!!! but don't see that much of it - we did have some by the garden pond but it has disappeared. Dont worry about not being able to comment - hard to keep up on blogger at times as I know myself! I have 3 to write up too!!!
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