Welcome to my blog all about the things I love to grow and cook. You'll find a collection of seasonal gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan-friendly recipe posts, as well as a round up of my gardening throughout the year. I wish you good reading, happy cooking and perfect planting!
Hello again. What a glorious time of the year it is in the garden. Some of my favourite plants and flowers are at their best right now, and this year so many spring flowers seems to be blooming better than ever.
The primroses started flowering in March, but the clumps of flowers are just getting bigger and bigger. They grow at their best in the dampest, shadiest part of the garden, and they really bring these borders to life. The Hellebores are beginning to go over now having been flowering for several weeks. They become more upright the longer they have been blooming which makes them so much easier to photograph.
The new kids on the block are the bluebells. We’ve had a few chilly, grey days here, but now things are brightening up again, the pretty blue flower heads are opening up all over the garden.
First of the bluebells. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Another spring favourite of mine are the unusual looking Snakeshead Fritillary. Alongside the well known pink variety with it’s petals patterned like snake’s skin, a white variety has also become established.
White and pink Snakeshead Fritillary. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The Chionodoxa that runs wild all over the paths and flowerbeds from late February into March has been replaced by tiny violets. They have a delicate delicious sweet fragrance as well as looking so pretty.
Garden violets. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
I am very happy to see all the small fruit trees in full blossom now. I am looking forward to a good crop of Morello cherries again (fingers crossed). There seem to be lots of bees around so hopefully they are doing a good job of helping to set the fruit. Only the miniature apple tree is in blossom at the moment, but I can see quite a lot of flower buds on the large tree so with a few warm days, I think they will open up.
Late April fruit blossom – Morello cherry, Conference pear and Victoria plum. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
First of the apple blossom. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
One of my favourite annual tasks in the garden is dead-heading the Hydrangeas. I can stay upright for this job, little bending or kneeling is required, unlike most of the gardening chores.
Hydrangea haircut – before and after. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
I hope you have enjoyed my pictures of spring. May is just around the corner which means even more colour in the garden. Looking forward to the warmer, even longer days, so until next time, enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds of this special time of the year. Thanks for stopping by and take care.
Garden snowdrops in the February sunshine. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
It has been a lovely sunny day here today, so different to the weather we experienced in the middle of the week. My post to round off the month is one that I had intended to write last year but never quite got all the images together in time. Now more than ever, it seems very fitting to write about this peaceful-looking, delicate little flower, a symbol of hope for many, and one that brings signs of new life and spring at this time of year.
Snow-fall earlier this week. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
The snowdrop (Galanthus nivalus) is one of the first signs of spring for many of us. Although they look so fragile and vulnerable, they are very hardy, and I can prove it. After several centimetres of snowfall this week, every single one in the garden has bounced back completely unharmed.
The pure white flowers with their bright green flashes can be found all over Europe from the beginning of the year onwards. They are native to southern Europe. In the UK, their history is a bit unclear but they have been noted in garden journals for a few hundred years, escaping to the wild some time later. During the Crimean War of the 1850’s, the hills surrounding the battlefields were reportedly covered in snowdrops. Soldiers returning from this war brought the bulbs back to their wives and sweethearts in the UK, and the Crimean snowdrop (Galanthus plicatus) took up its residence as part of the British landscape. There are over 2000 varieties of snowdrop, and the national collection of 350 varieties are grown on the Cambo Estate in Fife, East Scotland.
Snowdrops in my garden today. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
In February last year, I was taking a walk around some nearby country roads, admiring the scenery and enjoying the peace. Monzie is a small hamlet at the foothills of the Highlands, right behind the town where I live. I had never done the walk at this time of the year so it was a lovely surprise to round the corner in the road and come across so many wild snowdrops growing over the banks, over the old stone bridge and in the grounds of the local church, Monzie Kirk.
When I was taking the photographs today in the garden, I noticed a couple of flower-heads had upturned. This is the first time I have seen the underside of the petals. Very pretty they are too.
Japanese maple tree lit up in November sunshine. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
It’s been a late Autumn here in central Scotland. The leaves stayed on the trees longer than I anticipated and the weather has been fine. Most of the month has been mild with glorious blue-sky days which highlighted the golden tones in the garden a few days ago. Fortunately I got to the Japanese Maple tree before the rain fell and captured the rich yellow leaves before they were washed off the branches. The next day, the paths and lawns were covered in a leafy carpet.
Japanese Maple before and after the rain. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Golden leafy carpet. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Accompanying the fair-weather days have been glowing sunrises and blazing sunsets. Both come and go with speed but are truly spectacular if you are in the right place at the right time. The front of the house faces the sun rising over the Ochil Hills, then in the back garden, a few hours later, you are able to see the sun setting.
Sun-up in mid November. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Blazing November sunsets. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
In the garden, here and there, signs of life continue. Some of the plants and shrubs have been confused by the warm weather this month and there are unseasonal second and third flowerings taking place.
A November Welsh poppy and Sharon Rose. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
November lavender, Images: Kathryn Hawkins
I cleared out the greenhouse a couple of weeks ago and picked off the last few tomatoes. They are now ripening indoors. I also harvested my first basket of greens; they haven’t done that well and got badly attacked by caterpillars, but there is enough for a few meals. A few more baby purple carrots as well.
Last of the tomatoes, some baby carrots and the first of the greens. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
It’s been a wonderful autumn for fungus of all kinds. I have seen so many images on social media, I never realised that there were so many different mushrooms and toadstools out there. Each year, to varying degrees, this bracket fungus grows on a old tree stump in the garden. I think this year it has surpassed itself. I love the arch of colours on each piece.
Rainbow bracket fungus. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
I’m going to finish my post with something a little bit festive. Most of the fruiting trees around and about the garden are covered in berries this year, and the holly is no exception. The red berries seem to get picked off first leaving the yellow variety behind. Perhaps they taste different? No matter, I am happy for them to remain on the tree to give a great splash of colour to the garden and look magnificent against a blue sky. Until next time, take care and keep safe 🙂
Golden yellow holly berries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The gold and blue of late summer, Golden Rod (Solidago) and Echinops. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Hello everyone. I hope you are well. I have been enjoying some lovely weather in the garden this week, and both myself and the bees (and other flying insects) have been making the most of the later flowering plants and shrubs that have opened up in the past couple of weeks or so. This post is a collection of my current favourites in the garden right now. I hope you enjoy the colours as much as I do 🙂
The bees favourite, Echinops. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
I was fortunate to be given this wonderful Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) at the end of last summer. It travelled back with me from a visit to see my mother in Sussex, to its new home here in central Scotland. After over-wintering in a large pot in my unheated greenhouse, I put it outside in early July and it has flourished. It stands an impressive 1.25m from base of stem to the top of the flower ball. The colour is such a vibrant blue, it looks stunning up against the fresh bright green leaves of the beech hedge. The bees love it as well.
Agapanthus Regal Beauty. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
It’s not all blue in the garden, plenty of pink and orange splashes here and there. The stunning Star-gazer lilies are growing in 2 places in the garden, in both locations partly shielded by shrubs, and both growing very tall this year. At the front of house, the heathers thrive, and there are also a few foxgloves producing second flowers. The Crocosmia Mombretia is one of the signs to me that the year is moving on but I do love their vibrancy, and after a rocky start, the pink Lavatera has rallied and has a fine crops of pink petals.
Bold and bright, Star-gazer lilies. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Pink foxglove and Autumn heathers. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Late summer oranges and pinks. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
It wouldn’t be a proper late summer post from me without a mention or a show of Japanese anemones. There are more than ever this year, mostly white, but I am trying to get more of the pink variety settled in the garden. Apparently they don’t like having their roots disturbed so it is quite a challenge to get them to take off, but slowly, slowly they are settling in.
Late summer white and pink anemones. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
To end my post this week, one of the definite signs that a different season approaches. In the gloom and shade of a large shrub I spied the first of the Autumn crocus appearing out of the darkness. They are lovely to look at, but at the same time, I am always a little disappointed to see them.
A floral sign of Autumn. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
I hope you are able to enjoy what is left of the summer in the next few weeks, and I look forward to posting again, from my kitchen, in a couple of weeks or so. Until then, my very best wishes to you.
Hello again. I hope you are keeping well and enjoying the summer. I have made an interesting discovery since my last post. The berries I thought I had growing in my garden (and have been cooking for a few years each Summer) are not Aronia berries after all, they are in fact Salal or Shallon berries. Fortunately for me, they are edible – thank goodness! The shrub, like the blueberry, is part of the heather (Ericaceae) family and is called Gaultheria; it hails from north-west America, and seems very much at home here in central Scotland.
Gaultheria Shallon. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Starry Salal berries. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Gaultheria Shallon is evergreen and likes acidic soil. It is pretty invasive and has a tendency to spread all over the place. It throws up suckers which can be quite challenging to restrain. This August the shrubs in my garden have produced a bumper crop of berries which I (and the blackbirds) have been able to enjoy safe in the knowledge that I actually know what I’m cooking this year (!). The berries are deep purple and fleshy when ripe and have a soft bristly skin. They are quite difficult to pick individually so I pick small bundles and then strip the berries off the stalks later on.
Stripping the berries from the stalks. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
When ripe, Salal berries are very soft and squishy. They are attached to the main stalk by tiny woody ends. I have found that using scissors to pull the berries from the stalks is quite successful. If you don’t mind blue-stained fingers, then you can also gently pinch them off. To eat, the skin is very tender and the centre of the berry is very pulpy and full of tiny seeds. The flavour is much like a watery blueberry but without the slight acidity/tannins in the skin. Salal berries have a high Vitamin C content and the leaves have anti-inflammatory properties, although I have yet to try this out.
Washing Salal berries. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
After stripping the berries from the stalks, I put them in a large colander (strainer) and dunk them a few times in a large bowl of cold water. This gets rid of dust and the little bits of leaf and stem which get through your fingers. To cook with them, I treat them as I would blueberries but they do benefit from adding a little acidity such as lemon juice, which gives them a little extra tanginess.
If you are able to find some Salal berries or if you have them growing in your garden and didn’t realise what they were, I have a couple of basic recipes to share with you. The first is a very basic jam recipe (naturally gluten-free and vegan), and the second a gluten-free and vegan sweet muffin recipe; both recipes have been adapted from blueberry versions.
Homemade Salal berry jam. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Makes about 650g jam
Ingredients
500g washed and prepared ripe Salal berries
450g granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1. Put the berries in a large saucepan, heat gently until steam rises then cover with a lid and cook for about 10-15 minutes to soften.
2. Add the sugar and lemon juice, and cook gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, then raise the heat and boil rapidly for 8-10 minutes until setting point is reached – between 104°C and 105°C.
3. Ladle into clean, hot jam jars and seal well. Cool and label.
Making Salal berry jam. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Fresh out of the pot, Salal berry jam. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Salal berry muffins. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Makes: 12
Ingredients
175g gluten-free plain flour blend
12g gluten-free baking powder
100g ground almonds
100g soft light brown sugar
60g plain plant-based yogurt
115g dairy-free margarine, melted
150ml plant-based milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
165g washed and prepared Salal berries
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C fan oven, gas 6. Line 12 muffin tins with paper cases.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well, pressing out any lumps in the flour and sugar. Make a well in the centre.
3. Add the yogurt, melted margarine, milk and vanilla and mix into the dry ingredients to make a thick smooth batter. Gently fold in the berries.
4. Divide between the muffin cases and bake for about 25 minutes until risen and lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. They should keep for 3-4 days, and will freeze well.
Making Salal berry muffins. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Muffins cooling. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Light, crumbly and very fruity. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
I hope you have a good few days ahead. I look forward to posting again soon. Until then, take care and stay well.
Hello everyone. I hope you well and that the sun has been shining wherever you are. It’s been a mixed bag here. Some sunshine, some rain, but warmer temperatures on the whole.
I have a very simple post this week. Several plants in the garden are about 2 weeks behind this year, and this has enabled me to put together a post I have wanted to do for a while but have not, until now, had the selection of colours to make it work.
Below is a compilation of flowering plants from my garden photographed this week from Midsummer’s Day on Monday through to this morning. All the colours of the rainbow plus a couple more. I hope you enjoy them.
The reds: Aquilegia; Plume thistle, and Skimmia Japonica berries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The oranges: Azalea, Lupin and Pilosella (fox and cubs). Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The yellows: Sedum, Lysimachia and Day Lilies. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The greens: Euphorbia, lemon Thyme, and sage. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The blues: Geranium Magnificum, Campanula and Centaurea Montana. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The violets: Lupin, trailing Campanula and Violas. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The pinks: Gertrude Jekyll rose, Foxglove and Lupin. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The whites: Hebe, Veronica and Foxglove. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
I’m heading back to the kitchen for my next post. I will see again in a few days. Until then, take care and keep safe 🙂
Hello again. I hope you are keeping well and that you have been enjoying some good weather. After a mostly miserable May all over the UK, the clouds finally disappeared towards the end of last month and the warmth and sunshine began in earnest. I was away from home for a few days and when I came back I was amazed at how much the garden was transformed. Every corner and flower bed was alive with golden yellow Welsh poppies.
Welsh poppies in paths, beds and rockery. Images: Kathryn Hawkins.
Poppy-filled borders. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The amount of poppies this year seems exceptional, and they are a welcome flash of brightness now that the bluebells are finishing. Quite a sight to behold when the sun is shining.
Welsh poppies ablaze in the sun. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
As you can probably imagine, the poppies seed themselves and are very well suited to the climate here. One of the most successful plants in the garden in fact. They are loved by the bees and will keep producing new flower buds well into the Autumn. Something I hadn’t noticed until this year was how they close up towards the end of the day. Given that it is light until well after 10pm at this time of the year, they seem to fold in their petals a long time before the daylight begins to fade.
Day-time and dusk. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The bright yellow petals make a great contrast with so many other plants in the borders. Also doing well this year is the aptly named Snow in Summer or Cerastium which is cascading over one of the walls at the moment, and the fresh, green Euphorbia is thriving at the very back of the garden.
Poppies amongst the Cerastium and Euphorbia. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Just a short post from me this week, but hopefully a bright and cheery one. I wish you well for the days ahead and look forward to sharing my next recipe post with you a few days time. Until then, take care and my best wishes to you 🙂
Hello again everyone. I hope you are keeping well. We have been suffering another down-turn in the weather since my last post. Very unseasonal hail storms, winds and heavy rain. It’s been chilly too. The lack of heat has helped keep some of the spring flowers going but delayed later ones like the bluebells, and some of the trees are still bare.
I have been busy with work since my last post and haven’t been able to spend much time in the kitchen. The poor weather has put pay to spending much time out of doors. However, May is my favourite month of the year and I have been eating some fine seasonal produce. And today, I ventured out into the garden to take a few images of some of the best May flowers.
British asparagus and purple sprouting broccoli, and Jersey Royal potatoes. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
When vegetables taste as good as this selection, I rarely do anything adventurous with them. The asparagus and broccoli get trimmed, brushed with oil and lightly seasoned, then roasted on a tray for a few minutes in a hot oven. As for Jersey Royals, I just steam or boil them and eat them dressed with seasoned oil or a dot or 2 of plant-butter. Simple but delicious.
Roasted asparagus and purple sprouting broccoli. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Most of my flowery images are a little bit rain-soaked this month. The tulips started flowering early this year and many have been out for 3 or 4 weeks. With the heaviness of the downpours, some have started growing horizontally.
Vertical and horizontal tulips in the rain. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
This beautiful purple tulip was actually filling up with water as I took the photo.
Rain-filled tulip. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
There are now bluebells in the garden, but the lack of sun is slowing down the opening of the flower-heads, and the rain is holding back the scent in the air which is something I love about this time of year. The forecast for the week ahead is for more of the same, so it may be a while before I am able to enjoy their sweet heady fragrance.
Bluebells springing up all over the garden. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Raindrops on bluebells. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
More blue flowers. The forget-me-nots are growing in abundance in one of the raised beds and provide quite a carpet of blue until other flowers take over. I spotted the first Centaurea or Mountain Cornflower in bloom today. These robust, thistle-like, flowers will continue multiplying and flowering well into the autumn. They are a great value garden plant and their vivid blue colour is very striking in the borders.
Usually in my May garden posts I am able to share pictures of abundantly flowering vivid pink and red Azaleas, but at the moment they remain stubbornly in bud. The scarlet rhododendron has come into flower this last week and is putting on a lovely display. It sits next to one of my favourite rhododendrons in the garden, a rich, candy-pink variety. Sadly the frost caught the other side of this mature shrub. These blooms are on the sheltered side and thankfully remain untouched.
Red and candy-pink rhododendrons. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
That’s all for now. I’m off to start practicing my sun-dance which I hope I can perfect in order to drive the rain away for a while 🙂 Until next time, take care and keep safe.
Spring blue carpet of Scilla Chionodoxa. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Hello again everyone. Here we are almost at the end of another month. There has been a big transformation in the garden since my last out-of-doors update at the beginning of the month. We had a lovely spell of warm, sunny weather last week and as a consequence there are flowers and plants in bloom everywhere. This time of year certainly lifts the spirits as everything comes to life with such vibrancy and splendor.
Scilla Scilla everywhere, and busy bees as well. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The beds, paths and borders are once again covered in a blue carpet of tiny Chionodoxa. I did a bit of reading on the species and their common name is Glory of the Snow. We had a lot of the white stuff lying in February so I am wondering whether this has had something to do with the fact that there are so many this year.
Muscari enjoying some spring sunshine. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Whilst the Chionodoxa have done very well this year, I have lost a lot of Muscari (grape hyacinth). No idea why. This is the only patch left in the garden now. I will try to remember to plant more in the Autumn.
The last of the crocus. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
This is the last clump of crocus for another year. The bees were very busy making the most of the pollen-rich stamens before the petals curl up completely.
And now it’s time for my annual Hellebore fest. Just a couple of images this time. The reddish-burgundy varieties are looking exceptionally dramatic and bold this year. I couldn’t resist capturing them again.
March Hellebores. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
From the bold and dynamic to the tiny and delicate, this little wood anemone appears in a crack on the stone steps leading up to the top garden every year. It blooms for a very few days and then disappears without trace.
Lone purple wood anemone. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
More delicate petals, this time in the shadiest part of the garden, where the primroses grow. There are two new plants to add to the mix this year. This seems to be a good spot for the other primroses to multiply so hopefully the new plants will thrive in the same way.
Primroses, established and new. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The pink “candy-floss” rhododendron is just going over now and beginning to lose petals, but it has put on a good show this year and has had no frost to nip the blossoms.
Candy-floss pink rhododendron in full flower. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
My final image this week is set against a glorious blue-sky canvas from last week. The bell-shaped flowers of the Pieris are a sight to behold on a clear and sunny day as they sway gently in the breeze.
Blue sky and Pieris. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
In a few days it will be Easter, so I am back in the kitchen again for my next post. Until then, enjoy the spring flowers and sunshine (if you have it), and see you again soon. Take care and best wishes 🙂
Hello again. What a difference a couple of weeks has made to the weather here in central Scotland. February started off with snow and ice, and more followed. The temperatures plummeted. But as the month drew to a close, the skies cleared, the sun came out and at last the spring flowers have started to bloom.
Icy windows in early February. Images: Kathryn HawkinsMid February snowfall. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
This past week, the air temperature has increased by several degrees and there have been several “blue-sky” days. Great news for the spring flowers, the warmth and sunshine has brought a few into flower at long last. Looking back over past Februarys, I think the cold spell this year has put the garden back at least a couple of weeks. The snowdrops and Hellebores in particular seem late to open up this year.
Scottish snowdrops. Images: Kathryn HawkinsThe first of the Hellebores. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
In the sunshine, the crocuses are opening up and attracting bees which is good to see, and in the shady borders, there are primroses, one of my favourite spring flowers.
Yellow crocus and primroses. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The pink Rhododendron is gradually opening up. I love the colour of this variety, the blooms look like tufts of candyfloss.
Pink Rhododendron. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
I was given 3 Hyacinth bulbs by a gardener friends for Christmas and as I type this post, I can smell their perfume wafting around the house. They are are tallest, most flowery Hyacinths I have ever seen, and the colours in the petals ranges from deep, vibrant blue, through to lilac with hints of pink. The perfume is intensely spicy and fragrant.
Delft blue Hyacinths. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
To round off my post this week, another indoor image I captured at the weekend when the sun was shining into the conservatory. The rays hit one of my hanging crystals just at the right point and cast a rainbow on the wall. A very cheery sight.
Spring sunshine rainbow. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Until next time, I hope you are able to get outdoors and enjoy some spring sunshine and the very special flowers around at this time of year. Take care and keep safe 🙂
My Virtually Free-from Kitchen 