Anthony Davison is a fifth generation farmer, whose website, Big Barn, promotes farmer’s markets and local suppliers. He has pointed out that English apples are available in 1,050 of his outlets, but haven’t yet made their way into any of the big three supermarkets. Of course, those supermarkets are busy selling apples by the lorry-load, but they are all imported, all absolutely uniform and all suffering the deleterious effects of being stored for far too long. No doubt the PR departments of the big supermarkets will continue to maintain that they sell local produce, but for the most part that is a lie. Everyone who shops in supermarkets at the expense of local suppliers is helping to support that lie.
Here at Yewbarrow House we have been picking apples for several weeks now and Margaret baked our first blackberry and apple pie on 19th August. Delicious it was too. If we are picking apples so far north, I’m sure that the orchards of Kent will be harvesting theirs too. If supermarkets really did support local producers, they would be selling them.
Archive for the ‘Garden’ Category
Sunday, September 5th, 2010
National Gardens Scheme Open Day
At our last Open Day, in August, we were over-run with visitors, which caused traffic congestion, leading to rows with exasperated motorists and, after an old gentleman had collapsed in our kitchen garden, a prolonged drama involving three “First Responders” who arrived in separate cars and an ambulance which couldn’t get through. Today, in comparison, we had a dream day. 346 visitors came, with the good sense not to arrive all at once; the weather was fine but not too hot and we raised a very handsome £1,781 for the NGS. I spend the day with a bucket and secateurs, dead-heading and tidying up, but mainly chatting amiably to the visitors, and doing my best to answer their questions. Margaret has the hellish job of serving endless teas, helped by her friend Joyce and our eldest daughter Jo. Meanwhile our youngest, Sara, is in charge of the bottom gate, helped by Matt, and our middle daughter Georgie looks after the top gate and the plant stall, helped today by another young volunteer, Chelsea. These girls have worked patiently in all weathers all day for all four of our open days this year, without a single word of complaint, which has made their old dad very proud.
The photo is of Sara and two of her friends on an earlier day putting on an impromptu ‘synchronised swimming’ show for astonished visitors in the Orangery.
Saturday, September 4th, 2010
The Horticultural Show- A great British Tradition
Roger Binghams’s name is rarely used without the prefix “irrepressible”- there is a hint as to why in this photo of him. Roger was a guest today at our annual garden party and although there were weightier matters to hand, he was full of irrepressible excitement at his success in the Milnthorpe Horticultural Society, from which he had just come. He clutched a handful of certificates for prizes, in 3rd, 2nd and 1st places, in categories such as Lemon Curd and Raspberry Jam (if my memory serves me well). He was particularly proud of the fact that he has been winning prizes at this show since 1952, when he was 5 years old.
Roger’s exuberance reminded me of Antonio Carluccio’s rant against the English, when he said they couldn’t care less about food (see my posting for August 26th, headed ‘Antonio Carluccio talking nonsense’). What Mr Carluccio doesn’t understand and probably doesn’t know is that every town and village in England is holding similar events to the one attended by Roger, and they are all well attended by people passionate about food. As an example, the Evening Mail today has an article about the 68th annual Greenodd and District Horticultural Show, held in their Village Hall. The show attracted a record 759 entries, from people of all ages, including 190 from the village primary school and prizes were awarded in categories as diverse as “the best plate of coloured potatoes” and “the best exhibit of tomatoes”. I’m certain that in 50 years time some of those schoolchildren will be exitedly clutching prize certificates, much as Roger did today.
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
“Graceful Dahlias” 1910 Style
An item in this week’s Country Life headed “Graceful Dahlias” began as follows:
“It is interesting, and not a little curious, to note the change in public taste concerning the dahlia. Ten years ago the large, double show and fancy varieties with their symmetrical dense heads of cone-like petals, were most in demand, yet they are seldom seen at any exhibition now. At the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hall on Tuesday last Dahlias were very largely shown, yet very few of the type mentioned above were to be seen”.
This is curious, I thought. Why is Country Life, which is normally so sniffy about dahlias suddenly taking them to heart? It was then that I noticed that the article was headed “100 Years Ago” and was in fact a re-print from the edition of 3rd September 1910. During the last 100 years dahlias have gone in and out of fashion and it is only in the last ten years that they have become acceptable again. Well, in the case of Country Life readers acceptable if they have dark leaves. It would be interesting to know the names of the varieties being exhibited at the RHS Hall in 1910- such are the changes in fashion that I doubt if many of them are available today.
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
The First Figs
There’s a knack to picking figs, which is to get there before the wasps do. The little blighters have a habit of gouging out a large hole in any ripe fig- and always on the blind side. Our fig tree is an old Turkey and is one of the few plants which were there when we first came here, nearly 11 years ago. Today I picked a dozen ripe figs in perfect condition, which is the most I’ve ever managed in one day. There are dozens more to come. This abundant crop has happened by chance and we certainly don’t deserve it. There are rules for managing a fig tree which involve careful pruning and the removal of unripe fruit to overcome the fact that a tree which in its native land will produce two crops a year will only provide one crop here. I’m afraid that I’ve never managed to summon up the time or the energy to do what’s required- which makes the abundance of this year’s crop all the sweeter.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
The Leatherwood
In terms of flowers per square inch nothing beat the Leatherwood (Eucryphia). When they are in full flower they are stunning, with their pure white flowers standing out against the dark green leaves. If the weather is hot the flowers will turn brown quickly but in a cool, overcast August like this one, they will survive for a good fortnight. The flowers always seem to be covered in wasps but, strangely, never bees. The best variety is Eucryphia x nymanensis, of which we, greedily, have four in this garden. Two are in the shade and they tend to burst into flower a week or two after the others and keep their flowers for longer.
Monday, August 30th, 2010
Jack’s Black Magic
Jack Gott, the Dahlia guru, who so generously named his stunning new “petite” Dahlia after his colleague’s baby daughter (see yesterday’s posting) has developed another stunner, pictured here. We have named it “Yewbarrow Black”. Black is the Holy Grail for plant breeders, because a true black is difficult to achieve. Most “blacks” are in fact deep purples or reds. This Dahlia is exceptionally dark. The most popular dark-leafed Dahlia is the Bishop of Llandaff, which we grow here, together with other dark-leafed varieties. These plants are hybrids, which don’t come true from seed, the corollary of which is that the seed will often produce a completely new plant. Here at Yewbarrow House we have dozens of different varieties of Dahlias growing side by side, which bees and insects spend the summer busily cross-pollinating. Jack Gott has patiently collected the seed, watched it germinate and brought on the new plants in the trial beds behind the potting shed. This has produced some stunners, including the darkly exotic “Yewbarrow Black”.
Sunday, August 29th, 2010
A New Dahlia- Lilianna W
This photo is of a new kind of Dahlia, one you don’t see very often, but one which is going to become very popular, I’d guess. There are several names for it – petite; dwarf; patio; container and I’m sure that in due course one of these will become the norm. The Dahlia in the photo is very rare indeed; it is a new variety, only just registered with the RHS at Wisley and has been given the name Lilianna W.
There is a story behind the name, which concerns Matt Wilczynski and his wife Magda. Matt and Magda came to this country from Poland 7 years ago, before Poland joined the EU, when it cost £700 to purchase a visa. They both worked for me at the Newby Bridge Hotel, saving every penny, and working every hour of available overtime, to earn enough money to fulfil their dream of building a house in Poland. In 2008 they had their first baby, a girl, and just before Christmas that year they returned to Poland and started work on building their dream house. During his time here Matt used to help out in the garden at Yewbarrow House. Matt is a natural in the garden and he earned the admiration and affection of Jack Gott, our gardener. So much so, that when Jack bred the new variety of Dahlia, he named it after Matt’s newly born daughter, Lilianna.
Now Matt is back in the garden, helping out for the summer, earning the money he needs to finish off the house. Regrettably, Jack, who is a genius with Dahlias, is so busy with his Dahlia business (JRG Dahlias) that he no longer has the time to work here- so Matt is looking after Lilianna, and all the other Dahlia progeny- on his own.
Saturday, August 28th, 2010
Surprising Survivors- Part 8- Impatiens Tinctoria
This spectacular shrub, with its orchid-like flowers is rare, simply because people are wary of growing it because of its reputation for keeling over at the first sign of frost. In fact, its as tough as old boots. We planted one about five years ago in our “Shady border” and it has grown into a large and handsome plant, 7ft across and five ft high. It sailed through the harsh winters of the last two years, without any protection. It comes into flower in June and carries on flowering right through September. Its English name is Busy Lizzie, but it is nothing like its annoying little cousin of the same name.