Elderflower Cordial

It's that time of year again, the sky is blue, the birds are singing and plants are bursting into flower...and I'm sneezing, rubbing my eyes and cursing nature!
I love elderflower cordial, there is nothing more refreshing than a glass of this mixed with fizzy water, ice and a slice of lemon. I also enjoyed it with a dash of gin last year...hic! I am sure that Mum won't mind me posting her recipe here for you all to enjoy. It's so simple and makes a great present too.

Elderflower Cordial

20 heads of Elderflowers

2 pints boiling water

2 kg sugar

2 lemons, zested then sliced

80g citric acid (available from brewing shops and some chemists...I got the third degree last year when trying to buy it from a chemist)

Boil the water (I use the kettle for speed and efficiency) and pour over the sugar which you've already put in a large pan, heat until it comes back to the boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat and add the lemon zest, sliced lemons and citric acid. Pour this mixture over the elderflowers - shake them first to get rid of any lingering insects, there's usually a small spider or two! - and cover. Leave for at least 12 hours to infuse. It's such a delicate floral flavour that you really need to let it develop for as long as you can.

Sieve the cordial and then strain through muslin. Store in clean bottles in a cool dark place.

Serve diluted with fizzy water and/or a splash of gin, ice and a slice.

Got gooseberrys? Make an elderflower and gooseberry crumble using the cordial. Yum!

Enjoy your summer, Ali x

How does my garden grow, week 2

Sullivan. He's a great little boy. Great fun, always wanting kisses and cuddles yet very good at entertaining himself. He's playing 'This Little Piggy' in this picture.

I took these photos last Tuesday, things have changed since then. In the small yogurt pots are tomatoes and french beans. The larger yogurt pots have got butternut squash and courgettes. In the middle you can see my chillis, dwarf french beans and two herb pots. I'm really enjoying gardening this year. Nurturing these tiny seedlings is becoming an important part of my day, satisfying and rewarding as well calming and soothing.

Below you can see the children's beans and the newspaper pots I made. These pots are great, cheap, recycled and totally biodegradable (although I'm not sure about the chemicals in the printing ink). You just have to be careful not to rip them once they are damp...don't ask!

This is my little wall mounted basket, usually it has some sort of trailing flower in it but this year we have salad leaves. I thought it would be great on wet, grey days to be able to open the front door and harvest myself a sunny summer salad. The seedlings seem to like the warmth reflected from the bricks and are growing well.

I've been shown into the dark side. I've experimented with dyeing yarn using plants. Today I did my first ever dye job using dandelions, Thanks Helen. Photos to follow, along with a knitting and spinning update.

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My big girl, Emilia went on her first Brownie holiday this weekend. She was so worried that school told me to take her home after she ran out of school after I had left her in her classroom. Luckily someone we know found her looking for me and kept her until I came out of Maddie's class!

She had some tears getting on the minibus, but Maddie cried more! I didn't cry, but wanted to. She had a great time abseiling, climbing, fencing, singing around a camp fire and watching fireworks. The weekend was organised to celebrate 100 years of Girl Guiding in the UK and was attended by Brownies from all over Devon. I am so proud of her, I don't think I'd have been able to get on the bus!

Off to bed now, had too many late nights recently....

Oh, one last thing. Don't forget to vote next Thursday. It really is important to have your say.

Our Garden

The Back Garden

We are in the process of updating/rejigging/sorting out our back garden. Jez built the raised beds last summer and we have been slowly filling them with top soil. We got a load from freecycle last year which filled one of the beds but the one on the side remained empty.

Last week I decided that the children's playmats (recycled car tyre mats for use in playgrounds) needed a proper home so I chose the location and we started digging. It took most of Saturday but we did it - well Jez did it! The soil that came out of the hole for the mats has filled in most of the long bed on the left of the garden. The next job is to fill the hole with hardcore, sand and cement to make a stable base for the mats. They are going to have a deckboard edge so the children are going to end up with about 2 square metres of all weather play area.

Photos taken from the top of the steps.

The big wall at the end of the garden is a flood defence wall, the River Taw flows behind it and it is a tidal river which often has 8-9 metre tides.

The photo above shows where we could site the chickens if the council allows us to keep them. I don't hold out much hope so it'll probably get filled with more soil eventually. The henhouse would go where you can see the shed and the square bed would become their run.

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The Front Garden

The front garden/yard is a hotbed of activity at the moment. I bought the plastic greenhouse today from Wilkinson for £12. A bargain!

In the greenhouse we have:

Sugarsnap peas

Mange Tout

Broad beans

Dwarf french beans

French beans

Courgettes

Butternut squash

Beetroot

Lollo Rossa

Chillies

Sweet peppers

Sage

Flat leaf parsley

Basil

Beefsteak tomatoes

Gardeners Delight tomatoes

Sunflowers

Rosemary

Fingers crossed for a bumper harvest! I still want some rocket and sweetcorn.

In the drainpipes we have carrots for our annual longest carrot competition. There's also chives, parsley, more rosemary, strawberries, salad leaves and a cranberry bush in pots.

Exochorda x macrantha 'The Bride'
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Emilia had her 9th birthday during the Easter holidays. She requested the usual stack of gooey chocolate brownies for her cake. Ooh yum!


She wanted a Roman theme for her party as that has been her topic at school. It was a fun theme and I enjoyed making their costumes. All the children who came had made such an effort too.

My little Roman Soldier.
and my army!


Emilia asked for a sewing kit for her birthday and choose this skirt from Clothkits.com. She was brilliant with the sewing machine and did loads of it herself. I can see Clothkits making me broke!