DAMSONS AND MARROWS

By the time of the going down of the cup of tea after gardening age has wearied me!

Mown all the lawns yesterday, scything today. Got out little old plastic bladed Flymo but useless - will need a metal bladed one.

Off to get yet another sack of sunflower seed, unpolished which is ok as they are cheaper but the birds leave a carpet of husks behind. 

They also throw the seed about so it sows itself - here in a pot with a lemon scented pelargonium. They will have to go when Ibring the plant in for the winter.

Off to the church with R this morning to do the flowers - lots of yellow daisy-like stuff and an arrangement in the porch - I say an arrangement but really cut some flowers and stuck them in a pot. Still they did not look too bad.

I have picked our damsons.

It is good to have some as the crop has been poor up here this year.

I have watered and fed the house plants - they starve and go thirsty too often. The most neglected is the orchid in the kitchen which is loaded with white flowers. It gets potted on every three or so years into its transparent pot in orchid compost (bits of bark), is very occasionally watered and never fed. Not bad for a cheap buy by R in Ikea.

I have attacked some of the brambles in the wood as they are regenerating despite R digging them up.

In the UK we have a Rugby Union World Cup going on. As a teenager I played at tight-head prop (look it up) but would be far too small now - I would need to be at least eighteen stone of muscle and much taller rather then ****teen stone of flab and less that six feet tall. Anyway England blew it - now they have to beat Australia.

So fine weather forecast for the whole week and my flabber is utterly ghasted (or is it blasted?). Have just come up from by the pond where I have been a tidying and weeding and shearing and stuff. The candelabra primulas are loaded with seed - it has to be sown fresh for results. 

This is them in the summer (all dead heads now.)

We have B and B coming Wednesday afternoon so I am trying to make the garden presentable. (Playing golf doesn't help with time pressure)(nor does going out to lunch with N who is recovering from having his Gall Bladder removed through keyholes and so on. I wonder if he will avoid fatty stuff?)(I doubt it.)

And so to marrows.

I should have put something beside this for scale but it is just over 2 feet (65cm) long so not enormous but big enough.
Having got your vegetable marrow, what does on do with it.
The traditional thing is to stuff it with lamb mince and onion and bake in the oven.
However marrow in itself is not strongly flavoured and it has a high water content.
We tried making a type of ratatouille and that was Okayish. I have made marrow and ginger jam - also Okayish.
Recently I did oven roasted vegetables and this worked well because of the other ingredients, especially some chorizo. (Vegetarians can omit this.)
One of the best is to cook the marrow and then plonk grated cheese on top and put back in oven or under grill if you have one)(we do not).

Of course, just up from here in West Cumbria, yer marra is yer best mate/friend.