Prep

In Saturday’s warm spring sunshine, new leaves and buds were almost visibly unfurling as you watched.

Groundwork

Another cold but dry weekend with a bitter south-easterly wind saw us wrapping up warm again to spend as much time in the garden as we could.

Framed

The long weekend gave plenty of opportunity to get out into the garden, including two welcome days of mostly-sunshine.  The wind was icy despite the sun’s best attempts, but there was a sense of exhilaration working in its strong blasts.

Just-spring*

The ground is not quite as saturated as it has been; though the grass paths in the kitchen garden still squelch under foot, and there is more mud than grass where foot traffic is heaviest alongside the wood store.

Cold Harvests

We’re still harvesting fresh vegetables from the garden: leeks, parsnips, salsify, Brussels sprouts, cabbages and cavolo nero, which is just beginning to flower.

Comfort

The blanket of snow across the landscape has been shrinking slightly, holes appearing despite continuing squalls of fresh flakes.

Porotos Granados

At the weekend, I made the River Cottage version of this Chilean squash and bean stew, using one of our stored Crown Prince squashes.

The New Year

The first day of this new year brought a welcome burst of sunshine to coax us outside.

Homegrown Christmas

It’s possible to grow a considerable range of produce for the Christmas dinner table, from potatoes to salad.

Winter Greens

Despite low temperatures and frosty mornings, we are continuing to harvest some winter greens from the garden.