Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter. Do we actually have four seasons?

Hello again and how the weather has changed from my last post, where I mentioned signs of spring and how the garden was starting to stir. That progress has well and truly been halted over the past two weeks as a combination of snow, rain and frost have all battered the garden. Although we have had a couple of days where the wind has dropped and it has been relatively warm, the garden is still waiting for some consistent weather before properly starting.

Present
I recently bought some new plants to add to the long border, which providing they get through the snow should help to fill the border and add seasonal interest across the early and late summer. I have  planted Papavaer Orientale 'Royal Wedding' and 'Princess Victoria Louise' and also Lupin 'Red Rum' in the white, pink and red part of the border along with the peonies planted last year. I had been meaning to plant more, but I am glad that I have not as im not sure they would have got through the prolonged winter. Now that there seems to be some more consistent weather on the horizon, it is an ideal time to plant perennials that you didn't get chance to last autumn as providing we get the weather, they should establish quickly.

In my last post I started to discuss the spring border and the types of plants that are there. I shall discuss my thinking behind the border including its location and why I want a border dedicated to spring colour and bulbs. The spring bulbs provide hope. Hope that the winter is drawing to an end and that summer is not far away. In addition, spring bulbs provide the first real colour of the year, whether snowdrops in January, daffodils in March or tulips in May. Although only six months old, it is starting to take shape and I intend to add Hellebores, mainly dark and white to contrast with the daffodils and crocus.

The following pictures show what the border looked like before and how it has changed and developed.












The border was expanded from behind the dogwoods, and the water pump added. I will plant a range of Hosta's around the base of it, which should compliment the spring bulbs. I would also like to plant a crabapple 'red sentinel' in the middle (where the chimney pot is), which will extend the seasonal interest in the autumn.


Recipe
I confess to not being a huge fan of growing brassicas, mainly due to the length of time that they occupy ground and their draw to pigeons, which we seem to have a lot of. However, I picked up a pack of red cabbage seed and decided to give them a go. Whilst the crop was not your typical oversized supermarket veg, I was happy with the outcome. I turned the cabbage into a spiced red cabbage chutney which is great with sandwiches, cheese boards or as a flavour enhancer to gravies.

1kg Red Cabbage (Shredded)
2 medium sized onions
2 apples
2 tsp mixed spice
50-100g brown sugar (depending on sweetness of apples)
3 tbsp cider vinegar
250 ml cider
25g butter

(recipe adapted from BBC GoodFood)