Howe's about that

Howe Gelb and Giant Sand played in Winchester, which was a rare and wonderful treat. I would cast him as the devil in double denim and worn down boot heels.

Supporting acts

I have two problems; I've got some holes in the borders and I've planted up too many beans. The solution? Planting beans in the flower beds. But in order to look pretty enough to fit in and have enough support, I've put in some shapely willow obelisks which I bought at the Long Barn. A mixture of borlotti beans and dwarf runner beans are planted round the base andwill, with any luck, soon shoot up and cover the obelisk with beans and flowers.

Meanwhile, other things are growing, shoots are shooting and fruits are fruiting. As the veggies get bigger, everything needs a bit of support to do it's things, especially the pot bound ones. I've created a climbing frame for cucumbers and an eight foot pole for the turks turban squash.

The rest of the holes have been filled with an amazing Cosmos called Mochachoca, with deep rich petals and a delicious chocolate scent and Verbena Bonariensis, my best beloved's favourite flowers. I've also popped in a sentimental blue agapanthus which reminds me of my Nan's garden in Falmouth and featured at my parents wedding.

And the beet goes on...

Having grown a fine batch of beetroot, most people would not choose to drown their handiwork in vinegar, but I blimmin love pickled beetroot, so I did.

I searched high, low and in between for a good recipe, but no two are the same and some seemed a little lacklustre, so I decided to combine them all and make my own up. The mothership and I lifted the ruby red spheres out of the ground this afternoon, trimmed the leaves off to about half an inch and washed them off, being careful not to damage the skin (lest the clarety juice should leak out.)

I wrapped them in tinfoil and roasted them at 180 degrees for 2 hours. Meanwhile, I started to mix the vinegar; 500ml of malt pickling vinegar, a tablespoon of pink peppercorns, one bay leaf, 10 cloves and 80g of sugar, to take the edge off the vinegar. I brought it to the boil and then left it to infuse for two hours.

Once the roasted beets had cooled down, I peeled them, sliced them and layered them in a sterilised jar before pouring the cooled vinegar all over them.

Pickly deliciousness...

how does your garden grow?

Everything's coming up at last, the flowers proceed the fruit, so with aubergine, courgette, climbing beans, tomatoes and potatoes all in flower, it can't be long before Meadowside starts being truly productive. So far we've only really had salads and mangetout. I'm longing for a full plate of Meadowside goodness...

baking with flower

Today I made lavender biscuits for my lovely sister's birthday. With four massive lavender bushes in the garden, there's plenty to pick and they've been in perfect bloom for the last few weeks. I wanted to make the most of them before they get dry and dusty.

150g of butter

80g of caster sugar and 10g of vanilla sugar

230g Plain Flour

1 free range egg yolk

1 small handful of finely chopped lavender leaves

1 small handful of lavender flowers

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add flour, lavender leaves and egg yolk. Mix together and roll out into a long log, chop into 20 disks and place on a greased baking tray. Press a pinch of lavender flowers onto the biscuits. Cook for 15 minutes, allow to cool and transfer to a wire tray to set and then feverishly devour them.