Fruit

Glen_Ample_raspberries — Home-grown Scottish raspberries. Image copyright: Kathryn Hawkins

Raspberries grow very well here in central Scotland. They love all the rain we have! Unlike other species of berries I grow, raspberries seem to ripen without the sunshine, and I am always taken aback to see how quickly they turn from pale pink to rich pinkish red, even during the dullest days of the Summer.

The first plants I bought for the garden when I moved here were 6 raspberry canes. That was Autumn 2004, and here we are some 11 ½ years later, still enjoying their produce. The variety is Glen Ample; I chose this raspberry because the fruits are large and juicy, perfect for jam making. I have been picking the berries for about 3 weeks now, and already, I have packed away over 5kg in the freezer. I rarely have time to make jam in the summer, so I do my preserving from the frozen berries later in the year. Raspberries are one of the most successful frozen fruits for jam making, they lose little of their flavour or setting properties through freezing.

Ingredients_for_making_rose_and_raspberry_vodka — Rose and raspberry vodka ingredients. Image copyright: Kathryn Hawkins

Apart from enjoying the raspberries fresh and in jam, I do like to put some in sweet vinegar for salad dressings, and I also make flavoured tipples for a festive drink. This is one of my favourites.

Makes: 70cl

4 small fragrant rose heads
A large handful of fresh raspberries
70cl bottle gluten-free vodka (such as Smirnoff – look for a vodka that is made distilled from corn, potatoes or grapes)

Carefully rinse and pat dry the rose petals and raspberries, taking care not to bruise or crush them.
Break up the petals and put them in the bottom of a large sterilised, sealable glass jar along with the raspberries.
Pour over the vodka, seal and label. Gently swirl the contents every day for 2 weeks.
After 3 weeks or so, taste the vodka and see whether it is to your taste. If the vodka is flavoured sufficiently, strain completely and rebottle in a clean, sterilised bottle. For more flavour, strain and add fresh petals and/or raspberries, then continue to store as above. Store in a cool, cupboard to preserve the flavour and colour. You’ll notice that after a few days, the colour quickly fades from the petals and berries and begins to colour and flavour the vodka.
Enjoy the vodka chilled over ice, or use as a base for punches and longer drinks. For a sweeter drink, add 25-50g caster sugar to the mix along with the petals and fruit.

Fragrant_rose_petals_and_fresh_raspberries_to_flavour_vodka — Rose petals and fresh raspberries in preserving jar. Image copyright: Kathryn Hawkins

Rose_and_raspberry_vodka_in_preserving_jar — Rose and raspberry vodka. Image copyright: Kathryn Hawkins

The last day of the month is the time for me to catch up with how the garden produce is coming along.

The weather, here in Perthshire this month, has been a real mixed bag. A few sunny days along with some pretty miserable and wet ones. We have had several blustery winds and a couple of much cooler nights. All that said, the garden is looking good.

I keep a sowing and planting diary from year to year, and take a few pictures of the garden each month in order to keep a progress record. Compared to previous times, most of my edibles are at about the same stage as usual, but the runner beans and potatoes seem to be a bit more advanced – fingers crossed, I may get an earlier harvest! The fruit trees are bearing much more fruit than ever before as they become more established in the garden – last year was a poor season with no apples on the miniature trees, only a handful of plums and a solitary pear. I have much higher hopes for this year’s harvest.

June's_green_fruits_and_shoots — **From top left**: Concorde pears; miniature “Solo” apple tree; Glen Ample raspberries, Hinnonmaki Red gooseberries. **From bottom left**: Brodie F1 Brussels sprouts; Scarlet Emperor runner beans; **and** **in the greenhouse:** Gardener’s Delight tomatoes, and Beth Alpha cucumber

My favourite flower bed at this time of year is full of colour, fragrance and delicate petals. It is home to a combination of peonies, Welsh poppies, white and blue campanulas and foxgloves. Sadly the flowers often get windblown and damaged by heavy rain, but there has been nothing too destructive so far.

I have managed to capture a little of its beauty in the image below.

campanulas_peonies_Welsh_poppies_foxgloves — My favourite flower bed. Image copyright: Kathryn Hawkins

I adore peonies; their perfume is quite overwhelming – I only wish I could post the aroma via my blog. I inherited 4 varieties in this bed, they were very well established when I got here. I have no idea of their varieties, but these are my favourites. They have bloomed without fail for the 12 years I have had the garden; I hardly ever do anything by way of maintenance, except give them an occasional feed.