It has not been a particularly good year for our cherry trees. One of the two sweet cherries, which gave us an absolute bumper crop last July, has been struck by what appears to be a nasty combination of fruit drop and cherry blackfly. The tree stands curly leafed and forlorn, surrounded by shrivelled fruits…
Drinks
Salted Chestnuts, Rosemary Marshmallows and Hot Chocolate
When we lived in London one of our favourite autumn activities was to go sweet chestnut foraging in Greenwich Park. Dotted all over the hilly parkland were huge trees that reliably fruited year on year, scattering their spiked bounty on the grass below. There is something deeply satisfying about easing the nuts from their prickly…
Gooseberry Soda
In the dappled shade of an enormous cooking apple tree sits the gooseberry patch. Three sprawling bushes that produce an abundance of bright green, delicately striped berries. They dangle from the branches like Japanese lanterns. Neighbouring the gooseberries at the moment is an untamed bed of nettles (that we haven’t had a chance to strim…
Gorse Flower and Raw Honey Mojito
Last weekend we made gorse flower rum. High up in the hills and woodland, the gorse bushes were blanketed in bright, canary-yellow petals. The individual blooms have a fragile scent that echoes a combination of coconut, vanilla and pineapple. And the collective fragrance of a whole gorse bush, amplified by the warmth of sunshine, reminds…