I have just been for my walk and picked up 2.5kg of pears and about 60g of sloes. I could have taken plenty more sloes but I don't need them. When you forage for free hedgerow produce please only take what you need. Other people or wildlife can enjoy them too.
I intend to wash then prick the sloes and add them to a cheap bottle of red wine. I will stir in some sugar and rebottle it all before putting it away for Christmas. I have never done this before so it might be a waste of money but it might also give me a lovely bottle of wine. While picking up the pears I thought about moving again. I suddenly realised that I don't need space to grow fruit. In my neighbourhood I can pick free from the hedgerows several varieties of apple, pears, plums, greengages and two other varieties of greengage sized plums. I can pick blackberries, raspberries, hazelnuts, walnuts and cherries. Why do I need to grow my own when they are there for the picking. As suggested in a comment left I am going to take a good hard look at my garden and see how I can maximise the food production in it next year.
Yesterday I used some of my dried lavender and made flat pads to pop inside the pillowcases on the bed. It was wonderful last night with the gentle fragrance of lavender wafting around me. The pads are about ten inches square so quite a good size. I sandwiched the dried lavender between layers of wadding and then quilted through all the layers.
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| I wish all my mitred corners were this neat but I am getting better. |
I did read your post about thinking of moving home but didn't get around to commenting yesterday. With all the lovely things you can forage in your locality, it does indeed seem that a large garden isn't necessary for your needs. A small garden could produce some lovely veg (which aren't available for foraging). A small house like our new build does have a tiny garden but the house is so much easier to clean and cheaper to heat too. You will know when the time is right to move.
ReplyDeleteI love the lavender pads, Cherie, they are beautiful and I adore the scent of lavender too.
Stay well x
Thank you. I can see the advantage of a new build as the spec for insulation these days is really high.
DeleteThe lavender pads are great , they'd make lovely presents to slip into pillows.
ReplyDeleteThey would indeed. I would be chuffed to bits if someone gave me a set.
DeleteYou definitely don't seem to need an orchard with being able to pick all that different fruit, so I suppose it's mainly veg you want to grow, so lots of thinking over winter. Who wants to move with all this mayhem going on around us. Just a thought. Your lavender pads look gorgeous & I wonder if something like that would help me sleep any better. Take care, stay safe & huggles.
ReplyDeleteLovely foraging and lavender is my absolutely favourite scent. The patchwork design is very pretty indeed.
ReplyDeletexx