MICKEY’S BLOG
In the days before Instagram, Mickey kept a regular blog of snippets from Glenmore House.
You may enjoy looking back through them!
Of roses, philadelphus & raspberry jam….
An afternoon filled with wafting aromas: roses for the kitchen table, philadelphus en route to the dressing table and raspberry jam bubbling away on the cooktop. Richly scented hues of spring indeed....
Poppy seed to potatoes….
I'm so sorry for lack of posts last week.....it seemed to be rather chaotic.....hopefully I'll make up for it this week! Friday's Kitchen Gardening was a lovely day with a terrific group of participants. On the spur of the moment, (as seed saving was a bit of a...
Musk rose….
Constance Spry nods about in the breeze, above clouds of lime/yellow euphorbia....
Whimsical baskets….
Today's group of participants made a delightful collection of randomly woven baskets at our workshop with Harriet Goodall. There's always a race to show 'n tell time and its amazing to see the flutter of activity (after such great concentration), to bring each...
Green velvet….
The first of the lovage and last of the peas......make a velvety green, intoxicating soup.... It's a new recipe - well, I've been sitting on it for over a year, but the lovely chef at the Dean Street Hotel in London was kind enough to part with it when I asked...
Armfuls of Elderflower….
There's nothing I love more than bringing armfuls of flowers....literally, into the house! It brings such a sense of joy and abundance. Finally one of my elder bushes is so enormous that I can gather vast quantities and it's even struggle to get the bunch in...
Twenty-seven peas….
In the evening light....They are truly dwindling now - in fact, I'd written off anymore pea collecting. So it was with great delight that I pounced upon these this evening. All twenty-seven of them! Do you count things? I don't normally, but I always seem to...
Food Writers’ Festival….
The inaugural Food Writers' Festival was held at The Mint on Saturday, and I thought I'd go along out of pure curiosity, (not that I consider myself to be a food writer - heaven help us; nor do I consider myself to be a 'foodie', much as I love my food and...
Summer dreaming….!
This quirky image conjures for me the rural version of a surfboard against a beachouse wall! What do you think? I was doing a bit of experimental pruning of the agaves and I just can't bring myself to part with the hugely weighty, blue/grey serrated leaves. I...
Broad beans passing….
Oh what tragedy that it's almost over....and all too soon! We sped from the very first baby beans in their downy pods - a succulent few shared on August's Kitchen Gardening Day, to a full blown harvest a month later. At this point - they must be cooked briefly...
Artichoke hearts coming up….
Doesn't this look like I"ve been on a wildly extravagant shopping spree at Fratelli Fresh?!! In fact, I just took a knife and cut these beauties outside the kitchen door....and there's a whole new generation coming up behind.... (And if you don't have these in...
Hip Lilies….
Hippeastrum or Amaryllis? It seems conjecture over the name has been going on for centuries, but I just read a rather charming description for amaryllis which states they are "sold as ready to bloom for the holidays"! Whichever you choose to call them, (and its...
It’s beginning to smell a lot like….
You guessed it! It's the last day of the school holidays (I've been trying to do this for the last fortnight!), but as long as it happens IN the school holidays it's OK! There must always be someone to give the Christmas Cake a magic final stir, and scrape the...
Beetroot harvest….
Out with the old......its crop rotation time and the root veg were in the way of the coming season's legume crop. And so...out they came! Looks like roast beetroot and borscht are on this week's agenda....
Cabbage days….
Despite all good intentions to grow for self-sufficiency (and I do pretty well on that front!), I do sometimes wonder if deep down I don't really just grow for the decorative aspect - its impossible to leave all those years behind! Still life abounds in the...
Poppies a-flutter….
Just look at the markings of this spectacular, (yet simple) peony poppy! I first spotted them in a beautiful garden over twenty years ago, in the Clare Valley, South Australia, and the owner was kind enough to post me some seed. Some are single while others are...
In the pink….
If I was ever to be told I could grow only one rose.....it would be a most difficult decision to make. For me, choosing roses has been as much based upon their romantic history as their beauty, scent or growth habit. When I first began reading about roses,...
Purple as promised….
I think Kohl Rabi is quite exquisite. I don't mind eating it - cut into fine slices & drizzled with lemon juice it is very fresh and crisp! Steamed lightly or baked, it also has a 'clean' taste. But to be honest, I think I grow it for its magnificent ribbed...
Tis the season of purple & green….
How thrilling are the first purple asparagus to push through the earth? And they're just in time to join the multitude of peas. This year we have LOTS of shelling peas - I'm obsessed. They're sweetest straight from the pod of course, but I think I might actually...
Stall at Camden Park….
What a weekend! Simply glorious for all, and especially for those who managed to get along to the Camden Park Open Days. I always enjoy setting up a stall and this time one splendid kohl rabi (picked from the garden on Saturday morning), stole the show! It caused...