Delicious UK - (07)July 2020

orange, lemon, foxley (a broad-
leafed thyme with cream-flecked
leaves I’m very much enjoying
cooking with this summer), silver
posie, doone valley and peter davis.
The latter always makes me want to
say, “Good morning to you sir,” as
I wander past his pot each morning.
I’ve also repurposed a massive
colander that I hardly ever used
as a hanging basket for cherry
tomatoes, which are as beautiful
as they are flavoursome, and also
ripen much more cheerfully in our
unreliable climate than their larger,
beefier brothers and sisters.
Importantly, none of this is very
difficult. I’ve long been a proponent
of pyjama gardening. I come out
early in the morning with my cup
of coffee, to snip some tarragon to
go with my breakfast eggs or to cut
a rose for my desk, and suddenly

it’s two hours later and my coffee’s

cold and my neighbours are startled,

but that raised bed in the corner is

looking admirably weed free, thank

you very much. I also enjoy the

post-6pmequivalent,when

everythinginthegardenis rosé.

It might be a bit late to sow

anything more ambitious than

lettuces and radishes from seed

this year, but you can buy herb

and vegetable plants now garden

centres are open and nurseries are

making deliveries. Experiment. See

what you enjoy growingandeating,

and make plans for whatyoumight

grow from seed nextyear.There’s

nothing like gardeningtogiveus

something to look forwardto.

If you don’t have agarden,you

can still grow some ofyourdinner.

I’ve cultivated chives,basil,parsley,

sage, oregano, parsley,chilliesand

salad leaves quite successfullyon

my kitchen counter, thoughI put

them out on the windowsillfrom

time to time for a fresh-airholiday.

Just pick a bright spotawayfrom

draughts and keep aneyeonthe

watering. The good thingis,the

more you clip them, themoreyou

use them, the bettertheyperform.

It makes me think ofthatfavourite

saying of the late AntonioCarluccio:

“Minimum effort, maximum

flavour!” As summermottoesgo,

that is surely hard tobeat.

D

My garden gives

me food, fragrance,

beauty, tranquillity,

therapy – and my

favourite seat on

the terrace

ADDRESSBOOK

Thesearethree

ofthemailorder

plantplacesI’ve

foundwonderfully

usefulthisspring.

lFibrex

Nurseries

fibrex.co.uk

Forscented

pelargoniums

(geraniums)to

useinbaking.

lOtterFarm

otterfarm.co.uk

Sellsrareedible

varietiesof

seeds,plants,

shrubsandtrees.

lPepperpot

Nursery

pepperpot

herbplants.co.uk

SouthDowns

nursery,a source

of 200 different

culinaryherbs.

food for thought.