Copper Load of This!

Right! That's IT. I'm having the garden concreted over. I can't stand the stress of coming down every morning to witness a new disaster.

There! That's better.

I hadn't seen a single snail or slug this year (must be the hot, dry spring) so I thought it would be safe to plant some lupins - not in the ground, that would be asking for trouble but in a pretty fluted urn near the gazebo. Just to be on the safe side I ran a strip of copper slug tape around the edge. The idea is that the creatures get some kind of strange buzzy sensation that they don't like when their slimy bodies touch the copper (how does anyone know this?) so they turn around and slither off. Now I like a bit of functional copper but not sure it works so well in the garden but am prepared to overlook the aesthetic if it means my lovely violet-blue lupins are protected.

Seems the copper/snail theory is an unproven one as this morning the lupins were chomped and sparkly trails criss-crossed the copper boundary.

Tonight I'm going to stand guard by the urn and catch them in the act. Brian and I can exchange morale boosting banter as he waits beside the Annabelles with a golf umbrella at the ready.

Lowdrangeas

I'm gutted! The gorgeous Annabelle Hydrangeas that I've been waiting ALL YEAR to admire have been battered to the ground by the stupid torrential rain. Sob.... 

That's Nice

The crew yesterday left us a note!

 

Helado de Limon

There are times when only a lemon will do and I'll go to any lengths (including sending Brian out in the rain) to get hold of one. Most fish is inedible without a squeeze of the acidy juice, icy jugs of water boring, salads bland and gin and tonics humdrum. I love lemons. When the boys ask me what I want for my birthday or Christmas I say 'a box of lemons', and I mean it. I wish they grew here - how heavenly to step out into the sunshine and pick one whenever the need arose. I smiled when I read Chris Stewart's description of driving through a valley in Southern Spain. Lemon groves stretched into the distance on either side. One lemon had fallen from a tree and rolled into the middle of the road. He braked, backed up and drove around it, That's what I'd do. I could never run over a lemon. I could cut the top off and gouge out the innards though.

Whole Foods have huge Mediterranean lemons this week - 5 for £1. (Seems wrong that a lemon is worth so little.) Anyway, looked like a good time to have a go at the lemon ice cream that I've been planning. Removing the inside of the lemon wasn't as difficult as I had feared. I scraped it out with a teaspoon (remember to do the lid too) into a bowl and then strained the juice off as I wanted the ice cream to be smooth - no bits. You won't need the juice of all five lemons; two will be enough (the extra can be bottled and kept in the fridge).

Use a large, high sided bowl and dissolve 100grams of icing sugar in the lemon juice. Empty in a smallish (227ml) carton of double cream and beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is thick and soft but not stiff.

I balanced the lemons in a glass while I filled them. Add an extra dollop on the top and finish with a flourish (the space inside the lid will accommodate it once frozen). Put them in the freezer still in the glass.

I made a hole in the lid with a cocktail stick (that's a lie - Brian got the DeWalt out and drilled a hole in the lid as the lid was frozen solid) - so, BEFORE you freeze the lid make a hole close to where the stalk would be, then when you take it out of the freezer you can insert a couple of leaves (these ones were taken from the massive jasmine bush outside the back door and I think they look quite convincing).

              Eat in front of the computer while booking a holiday to the Costa Brava!!  

Calm in the Midst of Chaos

A well known store are shooting their furniture and home-ware collection here today.

They've shoved all our stuff - including the dog into the front room.

Flower of the Month

My mate Tom is shooting at the house today. He's worked here a lot; slogging away day after day, photographing Page 3 girls for lingerie catalogues or calendars.

Evenings and weekends are idled away feeding the chickens and tending to the vegetables in his country garden with his wife and young children. He's really excited today; he has just taken delivery of one of those lawn mowers that you ride on!

Tom likes this place; it's perfect for the shoots he does. Starting in the opulent French boudoir, with elegant chaise and silk-covered bed, then moving onto the Barbarella basement, complete with metal 'parrot-cage' hanging chair, he can easily squeeze Madamoiselle May through to Dominatrix December into an afternoon. But what he likes most about working here is the garden. He always has a stroll around with a coffee while the girls are in hair and make-up. Today we stand at the window, overlooking the hydrangeas. 

One or two have turned bright white but most are still a creamy green. Hydrangeas do so well here; they've grown into huge bushes forming a high canopy over the path.

The Annabelles are my favourites - they're just on the turn. Still like spheres of pale green coral but in a week or two they'll be fully blown puff-balls of delicate white petals. Tom is very interested in the hydrangeas and wants to know all about them. One of the models trots in wearing impossibly high shoes and little else. 
'I'll be with you in a minute.' He says, barely turning round. 'So when is the best time to prune them?'

The Eagle has Landed