Category: Features

THE following was received recently from someone researching their family history:
Dear Editor
I am trying to trace members of the Honniball family who are linked to my own family through my late Grandfather Frank Jarvis, who founded the Conway Stewart Pen Company in the early 1900s. Frank’s sister Kate Jarvis married Evan Honniball and they had three or four sons who attended Epsom College.

I would very much appreciate any information on this branch of my family who are also related to Lionel Crabb, the naval diver and war hero who disappeared in 1956.
Yours sincerely

Lomond Handley
rossmorefriends@yahoo.co.uk

Rossmore Community Library
Poole Dorset
BH12 4HR

AFTER years of decline at the hands of lap-dancers and then ravers ? the nadir being a stabbing incident in October ? The Three Pigeons at Milton Common has new owners.
The freehold has been bought by LASSCO (The London Architectural Salvage & Supply Co.) who, with a thirty year history of buying and renovating dilapidated historic buildings and putting them to use, has been tackling the immediate problems on site; fly-tipping, rat infestation and serious flooding being foremost amongst these. A spectacular architectural salvage shop is soon to welcome its first customers.

LASSCO deals in architectural antiques with an internationally celebrated shop on the southern end of Vauxhall Bridge in London – in the Duke of Brunswick?s Georgian mansion ?Brunswick House?. Saving elements from London?s most interesting demolitions and strip-outs ? be it the stone portico, the fireplaces, floorboards, radiators or railings, the garden ornament or doorknobs, LASSCO has been the pioneer in the restoring and selling of these ?Relics of Old London? for thirty years. Recently the BBC followed the company for their series ?The Reclaimers?.

The purchase of The Three Pigeons and continuing refurbishments in Brunswick House, has realised enough space to enable the company to relinquish its original headquarters at St. Michael?s Church in Shoreditch, East London, and centre its activities in Vauxhall with its grand eighteenth century spaces and central location on one hand complimented by the space and accessibility offered by the Milton Common site on the other.

Latest clearances, all on offer at ?LASSCO Three Pigeons? include a wide selection of marble and scagliola sculpture pedestals from The National Portrait Gallery and numerous display cabinets as well as Victorian plaster casts and further marble pedestals from The Victoria & Albert Museum. In the gardens, currently undergoing landscaping, can be found a series of enormous relief-carved stone plaques ? an half-ton each ? depicting the old signs of The City. These remarkable sculptures, the work of Sir Charles Wheeler, President of the Royal Academy in the 1950s, were commissioned for the Lombard Street home of Barclays Bank. A delightful panelled room of nineteenth century Chinese wall-papers laid onto mahogany panels has just gone on display having been removed from an huge demolition underway next door to St. Paul?s Cathedral. You can buy large chunks of Piccadilly stonework for the garden or perhaps the staircase balustrade from the Royal Albert Hall? the list goes on.

LASSCO, characteristically, has committed wholeheartedly to the Three Pigeons project. Anthony Reeve who has managed the Shoreditch shop for a number of years has moved to Great Milton and enlisted the help of Amanda Garrett to run the shop and numerous Oxfordshire tradespeople have already been involved in the project.

Anthony and Amanda are researching the history of The Three Pigeons and are keen to track down source material and any records of the site ? particularly its early days: How soon after the intersection of the turnpikes were buildings first erected? Was ?The Hutte? located on the Three Pigeons site? Did the ?Three Pigeons? name come from a precedent in Thame or was it Tetsworth? Does anyone have references to the gibbet at Milton Common and the hanging-in-chains of John Price in 1785?! ? or of his victim Thomas Knight who lived in Great Milton.

The opening of the shop will soon be announced ? all are welcome to come and marvel at the latest discoveries. Readers of the Thame News are welcome to come to a preview if they telephone prior.

or more information see: www.lassco.co.uk
Contact Anthony or Amanda on 01844 278328 or 3pigeons@lassco.co.uk

I HOPE you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. We had a very relaxed time catching up on everything, including sleep and I am feeling really excited about 2007. I have some lovely projects either underway or about to start and plenty more to design. My ?to do? list now runs to three pages!

I spent New Year?s Day with my Marshall?s Seed catalogue planning the vegetable garden for this year. I invested in a new juicer over the break and have been stunned at the delicious recipes. My veg patch is going to reflect a lot of the ingredients I will need, including a new blueberry shrub. I have also decided to get rid of my fruit cage and all the fruit bar one row of raspberries. I think they are past their sell by date and I found I couldn?t physically eat all the fruit. This will give the extra space needed for the more exotic vegetables I want to grow.
www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk

If you missed sowing sweet peas last year, Marshalls offer plug plants which they send out at the appropriate time.
My grand hopes of digging it all over during the break were thwarted by the inclement weather and lack of physical energy, (plus needing to do three months worth of accounts) but hopefully I can get out there this weekend and start preparing the ground. The timing will be perfect particularly if we get some sharp frosts as these help to break down the soil ready for planting in the spring. It will also be a great opportunity to empty my compost bins and incorporate this into the soil.

Thank you to everyone who gave me contacts for the database. I have had to put this on hold for a wee while, but having said that a friend gave me a very good idea on New Year?s Eve which could push the whole idea ahead more quickly than I anticipated. I just need to find time to make some phone calls and find out how much it might all cost.

NOTE: We have been experiencing technical difficulties with my website. If anyone has tried to reach me via the ?Contact? page, do please try again, or give me a call. We think it has been out of order since May!!

RECIPE
Roast Vegetables
1 Squash Sweet potato (optional)
Carrots Parma ham
Potatoes Peccorino cheese
Garlic
Rosemary
Olive oil

This combination goes really well with almost anything and has a slight sweetness to it. It is equally good as a meal in itself.
Chop all the vegetables into equal sizes. The sweet potato is optional ? not a favourite of mine, so I tend to leave it out. Leave the skin on the garlic and bash it with the back of a knife. Use about five cloves. Chop up the rosemary and toss everything in plenty of oil.
Put into an oven about Gas Mark 5 or 180 Electric and roast for about 30 minutes until golden brown and not too soft. Add the parma ham, ripped up and return to the oven for about 5 minutes. Flake the peccorino cheese (you could use Parmesan) and sprinkle over.

SEASONAL TIPS
Although we still have a few months of horrible dank, cold weather to endure, I can?t help getting excited at this time of year. As already mentioned the seed order is in the post and I will probably get some of them started in the kitchen as soon as I can, in the hope of an early crop.

I finally pulled, or dragged would be more appropriate, my pots of Agapanthus into the greenhouse and hope they will be comfortable there for the winter. As mentioned last month, do start putting protection around the more tender plants, such as Phormiums and Astelias, particularly if they were planted this year. If you need any advice, please contact me.

All my tools are sitting in the shed ready for a clean. This is a good time to do it, although it is best to clean tools after each use. My intentions are always good, but I am guilty of not following my own advice and tend to leave it. I also try and wash all my pots ready for all those seedlings, using warm water and washing up liquid. At the same time the greenhouse will get a good clean and tidy up.

Some of my grasses, particularly Miscanthus floridulus and Miscanthus zebrinus have really taken a battering by the wind. Normally, I would leave them until early spring before cutting them down, but they are looking tatty rather than attractive, so I shall have a bonfire very soon. I have also lost a huge branch of my buddliea, so this will be going the same way. The rest of the garden is looking remarkably good and just needs a gentle tidy up. I shall be removing any diseased leaves from the hellebores so that I can get the full benefit of their lovely nodding blooms over the next few weeks.

Despite the drought conditions this year, we now have some very wet lawns. Try not to walk on them too much ? this goes for frost as well. The compaction damages the roots and will result in brown patches.

Plant or transplant trees and hedging.
Continue to check ties. The winds have been very strong.

VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
Sow broad bean, leek, brassicas and onion seeds under glass.
Marshalls sell onion sets and I can thoroughly recommend ?Red Baron?. 100 onions cost about

WHY jump in the car and leave town for Christmas shopping when here in Thame we have so many wonderful shops of our own?
Let Thame.Net guide and inspire you to find the ideal gift for everyone.
SEE Link

IT seems a bit ridiculous to wish you all a very Happy Christmas when it?s still November ? but here goes. I do hope you all have a wonderful time and it doesn?t all get too stressful. Jim is coming home for a few days so it will be lovely to relax and catch up with not a turkey in sight.

It has been an incredibly busy month. I think I had six projects confirmed within four days of each other and all with a deadline of 1st December. I am still quietly working my way through them whilst fitting in five planting jobs, plus on-going builds. It is all a bit crazy, but I love it.

The developer has taken me on, so I am now working on what can only be likened to cliff faces. Perhaps there was no one else daft enough to take on the challenge!! As a lot of you know I actually enjoy working with levels, but these are the worst I have encountered. I am off to Perpignan next week to look at a site ? 8 acres in total – and this one is on the top of a mountain!

The bulbs finally arrived and I have now distributed most of them and they should all be planted by the end of this month. Thank you all for your patience.

Is there anyone out there who knows someone who could help me build a database? I had a meeting recently with three very lovely girls from Lord Bills in Thame and they have encouraged me to get my plant database underway. This would mean I could produce individual Plant Schedules for each and every client, personalised to their garden with details and photographs of each plant and instructions for maintenance. It will probably take me a year to put together?

NOTE: We have been experiencing technical difficulties with my website. If anyone has tried to reach me via the ?Contact? page, do please try again, or give me a call. We think it has been out of order since May!

RECIPE
Jane?s Crostini
1 baguette or ciabatta Red onions
butter anchovies
garlic black olives
sun dried tomato paste Gruyere cheese
dried oregano

Cut the bread into thin slices. Mix together the butter and
crushed garlic and spread on to the bread. Bake in the oven
until crisp and lightly browned.
Cut the onion into thin slices and let them sotter away in a good
lump of melted butter until they become caramelised. Whilst they are cooking and the bread has cooled, spread a thin layer of sun dried tomato paste on to each crostini. Allow the onions to cool and then spread a teaspoonful, or so, on top of the tomato paste.
Finely chop the anchovies and black peppers and sprinkle over the onion. Thinly slice the Gruyere cheese and put slices on top.
You can freeze them at this stage. Finally, sprinkle over the oregano and cook in the oven until the cheese melts.

These do take ages to prepare, but I guarantee your guests will love them.

SEASONAL TIPS
December is the month when we can relax in the garden.
However, this year autumn has come so late, I am still doing jobs
I might normally have undertaken in October/November.

It sounds as though we might be in for a cold winter, so it would be a good time to protect the more tender plants (see November newsletter). I would also suggest you move terracotta pots to more sheltered positions. If you have delicate plants in the borders, mulch around the stem to give extra protection.

This is a good time to make leaf mould. Rake up leaves from the lawn, preferably after it has rained so they are nice and damp. Pop them into a black plastic bag, tie at the top and store. The leaves will take about a year to break down and can then be used as a great conditioner to the flower borders.

Burn any leaves or diseased plant material you might find when you are tidying up the borders. Once the leaves are fallen look carefully at deciduous climbers. Cut out any tangled stems and re-train if necessary.

Clear leaves from ponds. If they are left to decompose they can affect the natural balance of the pond. Put a small ball in the water to act as a float. This helps to stop if freezing over.

I think (?) we have probably come to the end of the mowing season so this is a good time to clean the mower and all your other tools, including pots.

Continue to provide food and water for the birds. Make sure you clean off the tables and bird feeders from time to time to avoid a build up of bacteria.

Check on any stored fruit to make sure it isn?t rotting.

Continue to check stakes and ties after gales.

Start looking through seed catalogues, particularly if you are a vegetable gardener.

VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
A lot of the tips mentioned in last month?s newsletter still apply.

If you have mint in the garden you can take a small handful of roots and pot them up in a multi-purpose compost. Bring them inside for a winter supply.

It is not too late to prune soft fruit. Apples and pears can also be cut back. Remove any diseased or weak branches.

Protect rhubarb to encourage early growth. Get some straw from the pet shop and pack it around the base of the plant, then cover with a bucket or pot (with a brick on top) to avoid it being blown over.

GREENHOUSE
If you haven?t already done so, clean out the greenhouse and remove algae and leaves from the gutters.

Remember to remove snow from the roof. It blocks out the light.

PLACES TO VISIT

National Tree Week ? 22nd November ? 3rd December
For details of walks, plantings, woodcrafts and storytelling
contact : www.treecouncil.org.uk

EVENTS
Stowe Landscape Gardens
3rd December 2006
Festive workshop using materials collected from the
gardens
01280 822850

IT’S another beautiful day and I am just wondering how much longer we can enjoy this Indian summer? Rain is forecast for later this week. This can only be a good thing with the number of plantings I am doing at the moment!
By the way, the bulbs are delayed. My supplier is having problems with the tulips. Don?t worry – as soon as they arrive I shall be sending teams out to
plant them. We still have plenty of time.
I am keeping very busy and have some really lovely jobs on.
Whether a coincidence or not, I was contacted by a developer last week who builds only ?very prestigious? homes in South Bucks,Hertfordshire and Derbyshire. I have a meeting with him tomorrow to discuss designing his show homes and possibly for
individual buyers. This could be very exciting and might even lead to me entering the New Homes Garden Awards next year.
One of my clients, Clive and Caroline, sent me some great photos of their recently completed garden and I have sent these off to the developer who built their house in the hope that he might like to use my services on future developments. I?ll keep you
posted.
It?s been great fun these last few weekends to actually get down to re-designing the borders in my own garden. I was so inspired at a recent seminar that I have decided to experiment with a few
varieties I am not so familiar with. I have planted the giant Eupatorium purpureum ?Atropurpurem?. This reaches over 2m and has wonderful purple stems and pink flowers. Persicaria polymorpha is another beast, very vigorous with lovely white flowers. I have mixed these with Verbena bonariensis (still the designer?s favourite plant) and black and pale blue Irises. These
are flanked with Molina caerulea ?Transparent? which has to be my favourite grass. It is so delicate and reaches a height of nearly 2m. In a few weeks? time it will gradually change colour to the
most wonderful oaty/orange mix and give so much for weeks to come.
NOTE: We have been experiencing technical difficulties with my website. If anyone has tried to reach me via the ?Contact? page, do please try again, or give me a call. We think it has been out of order since May!!

SEASONAL RECIPE
Roast Pumpkin Soup
I medium pumpkin Olive Oil
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock 5 cloves of garlic
Salt and Black Pepper Curry powder
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the pips. Chop into chunks, skin and all. Put into a large roasting tin and drizzle the oil over them. Crush the garlic cloves, leaving the skin on and add to the pan. I usually mix it all up with my hands at this stage.
Bake in the over for about 40 minutes (Gas 5/Elec. 190), turning a
couple of times. When they are tender, scrape the flesh from the skin and squeeze out the flesh from the garlic. Add this and the curry powder to the stock and then liquidise until you have a soft
smooth consistency.
If you can?t get pumpkin, you could always use another form of squash.

SEASONAL TIPS
We are doing a lot of splitting of perennials this month. The beauty is you get ?free? plants to infill any gaps and the parent plant will benefit. It is also a good time to move plants ? they may have become overcrowded or you may feel like a change.
This is also a good month for taking hardwood cuttings of shrubs. By now (November) the soft summer growth has become woodier.

Evergreens
Take 20 ?30cm cuttings from stems that are about the size of a pencil. Cut just below a leaf node at an angle. Remove any leaves. Root into pots filled with multi-purpose compost and grit and place in a cold frame or cold greenhouse. Sink two thirds of
the cutting into the compost and leave a third above.

Deciduous
These can be put into the open ground. Dig a v-shaped trench, with one side of it vertical. Put some grit in the bottom of the trench to help with drainage. Line the cuttings along the vertical side and infill with soil. With any luck you will have new shrubs
for next autumn.

Despite the mild weather we do need to think about what isaround the corner.
?Don?t forget the birds. Fill up feeders and make sure
there is fresh water for them.
?Insulate terracotta pots with bubble wrap and buy some ?feet?. This really does help against frosts. Frozen compost can kill.
?If you have planted or potted up plants such as Astelia or Phormium this year I would recommend you protect them against frost. Stuff straw in and around the leaves and cover in fleece. This does not look attractive, but it is worthwhile particularly if they are only recently planted.
Fleece is available at most garden centres and I buy the straw from the pet shop.
?If you have bay trees, it is a good idea to insulate the trunks with foam lagging ? available from DIY stores.
?Lag outdoor taps, or turn off at the mains.
?Clear leaves from paths, drains etc., and save to use as a mulch.

VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
You can sow broad beans this month ? do check the seed packets for the right varieties ?Aquadulce? is one I have used in the past.
Protect cauliflower heads from frost, by tying in their leaves across them and root crops by spreading straw around the stems.
Plant autumn onion sets and garlic provided the ground is not too wet.

Prune Redcurrants and gooseberries. Cut back this year?s growth by half and any shoots that are in the centre of the bush.
Prune blackcurrants. Take anything out that is diseased or weak.
Remove anything that is looking darker in colour ? these are shoots that are likely to be older.
Rhubarb can be split. Plant the cuttings into rich soil and well-rotted compost. Cover the crowns with straw and an up-turned pot to force an earlier crop.
If you are on clay soil ? dig over any bare patches in the garden and in the vegetable patch ? the frost helps break it down.

GREENHOUSE
Check the heating system. If you want to protect seedlings without using heat, attach bubble wrap to the glass to conserve as much heat as possible.
Pot up lettuces sown in September, or plant them in growbags.
Stop watering succulents and only water other plants sparingly, avoiding wetting the leaves.
Ventilate on sunny days and close it up by 1.00pm to conserve the heat.

INTERESTING BITS
If you have problems with squirrels digging up your bulbs there is a product called STOPPIT. These are made from renewable willow in a hoop design and act as a barrier. Available from www.peppermintgarden.com / 020 8399 5777 and cost

WHAT a beautiful month September has been. I returned from holiday on the 6th and the sun seems to have been shining ever since. The odd drop of rain has helped the gardens and it is lovely to see them looking healthier and greener.
The down side is the weeds are still growing. October is one of the busiest times in the garden and I have given some tips, below, on what you should be doing. I always think of this month being the beginning of the gardening year.
I have had a busy time this month. I attended a wonderful seminar at my nursery. As most of you know, they grow almost specifically for designers and it was a delight to walk around the nursery looking at all the new stock. I shall certainly be including some new specimens in my Planting Plans. We were discussing the impact of continuing drought conditions and seeking solutions to this ongoing problem.
I also attended the results of the New Homes Garden Awards at the Royal Garden Hotel in London last Friday. It was a fascinating day, meeting up with old colleagues and making new contacts amongst the developers. It was a very grand occasion with a champagne reception, reasonable (should have been better!) food and entertainment. We could have done without the latter, which bordered on crass, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. My very dear friend and fellow designer won her category and took the most coveted award of Best Garden of the Year. I?d like to enter next year, but the criteria might be against me. It has to be a
garden in a new build property and I rarely get to do these.
If any of you know of anyone moving into a brand new property who would like their garden designed, please do let me know.
SEASONAL RECIPE:
Roast Tomato Soup
2 kilos of ripe tomatoes 2 Cloves Garlic
Sugar Olive Oil
Seasoning Stock
Lemon juice

Slice the tomatoes in half and place on a roasting tray in a single layer, cut side up. Crush the garlic and scatter over the tomatoes.
Season well and sprinkle over some sugar, then drizzle over the olive oil.
Roast for about 30 ?45 mins (180/Gas mark 4).
Remove from the oven. When they are cooled sieve over a bowl to extract all the juices.
De-glaze the pan with a bit of the stock or water, to get all
the juices up.
Add this to the sieved tomatoes and thin with more stock until you get the consistency you like.
Add a squeeze of lemon and more sugar until you find the taste you like.

You can stop at the first stage of this recipe and use the puree
of tomatoes in stews and casseroles.

SEASONAL TIPS
Continue to cut down the stems of perennials. After they have been in the ground for a few years some perennials really benefit from being split. This is the ideal time to do it. Cut them down leaving a few inches of stem and then dig up the clump. Tease the roots apart and either re-plant or pot up. You can be quite brutal using two spades back to back or even a knife if you come across thick roots. If you have autumn flowering perennials, such
as Asters, leave these until the spring to divide.
Remember to go and buy those sticks! When you have cut the perennials down, place a stick next to the plant so that you can identify what are perennials and what are weeds next Spring.
You can still take cuttings from shrubs and September and October are the best months for moving them if need be. If you don?t have time now, leave it until April next year.
Sew sweet pea seeds in long pots. If you plant them at this time rather than the spring, you will get the earliest flowers next year.
This goes for other hardy annuals, such as Cornflowers, Nigella and Larkspur.
Prune back young growth on Pyracanthas to expose the ripening berries.
Plant spring flowering bulbs, such as Tulips and Lilies.
This is the best month for repairing and planting new lawns.
For established lawns the best treatment is to aerate the whole area. There are gadgets available for doing this, but a good old- fashioned method is to use a fork dug into the lawn and wiggled around. This is very time consuming, but worth it. Then scarify and remove the debris to the compost heap. Top dress with a compatible seed mix together with soil or compost.
Prune roses if you did not do it last month.

VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
The tomatoes are still going strong. Trim the leaves to expose any fruits that might still be ripening. Use cloches to cover any lettuces, spinach and parsley sown in
late July. Plant spring cabbages and cauliflowers. Sow radishes and turnips to produce ?tops? for harvesting in spring and winter spinach for early winter and spring harvesting.
Spray fruits such as peaches, plums and nectarines to protect against leaf curl.
Remove fruit canes from soft fruit, such as raspberries. Cut them down to ground level and tie in the new canes.
Dismantle climbing frames and store away. Plant garlic for next year?s crop in June/July.
Continue to store apples. Pick up any fallen fruit to avoid disease.
Plant up bulbs in containers for next spring, either for displays in the house or garden.
I have just purchased another black compost bin from the council for the princely sum of

WHAT a change in the weather! At least it has meant less of the manual watering. My garden certainly looks a bit more luscious, though the vegetables have been very disappointing.
I pulled my onions last week and they are about half their normal size. The broccoli went to seed and the French beans struggled to do anything. I am hoping the Brussel Sprouts, Courgettes and Runner Beans will yield a better crop. The plants, on the other
hand, have continued to give pleasure. Some of them, such as Rosa ?New Dawn?, Helenium ?Moerheim Beauty?and Nepeta x faassinii are now in bloom again.
The Phlox, Hibiscus, Penstemon and Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonee’ are giving a wonderful display of colour.

I always feel rather sad at this time of year, knowing I will soon have to cut the perennials down and put my garden to bed. I know I mentioned it last month, and sorry to be a bore, but for those of you with newly planted gardens I strongly recommend
you mark the plants with a stick when you cut them down. They will then be easily identified in the spring when you are out there weeding and getting the garden ready for spring.
If any of you are interested in help during the busy period of September/October, just let me know and I can arrange for one of the girls, or boys, to come out and give you a hand.
I had a fascinating day judging the New Homes Garden Award at the Museum of Garden History in Lambeth. There were entries from developers, landscapers and designers and it really highlighted the enormous chasm there is between our industries.
I was judging with a fellow designer and the Chairman of the Landscape Institute and sometimes it was hard to give more than 10 marks out of 100!! We weren?t being mean, we were just astounded at the poor design and quality of the build.

I have been approached to join the Society of Garden Designers? Council and after this experience I think I might. It will be time consuming, but if I can promote good design and practice from a
higher height, then I think it will be worth it.
I am off to sunnier climes from 29th August to 7th September, but if any of you need anything just leave a message on the answerphone or send an email and I promise to deal with it when I get back.

SEASONAL RECIPE
COURGETTE SIDE DISH
This is something I concocted when I was a student with very limited funds and now I use it to keep on top of gluts of courgettes and tomatoes:

1 ? 2 Courgettes 4 tomatoes, skinned
1 onion
Roux (butter and flour)
Milk
Cheese
Skin the courgettes and cut into 1? cubes and place in an oven proof dish. Chop the tomatoes and mix up with the courgette.
Chop the onion and fry in the butter until soft but not too brown.
Add flour and cook for a minute or two before adding the milk to form a b

THIS continuing dry spell has prompted me to sit down and write a list of drought tolerant plants readily available in the UK.
This will not only help me with future planting plans, but it is also something I thought might be of interest to you. If you want a copy just contact me and I will forward it on to you. As I was going through the list I realised that certain plants we thought of as extremely tender only a few years ago, such as Pittosporum tenuifolium ?Silver Queen?, can now quite happily survive our winters; more indications perhaps of global warming.
I was also pleased to find that I already use the vast majority as a matter of course.
Having ripped my garden apart in late July I can now sit back and think what I might plant. I removed an enormous Viburnum tinus that had spread to at least three meters, two Choisya and a Euphorbia
wulfenii. The space these have left is amazing and I can?t wait to sit down and actually design something for my own space. Whilst working in the garden we found, to my horror, an adder basking under some old bricks and he wasn?t small!! I now very gingerly
walk up the path to my office wondering if he is lurking in the undergrowth.
August is the month when we designers think things go quiet.
Not so for me, I?m afraid. I still have lots of interesting projects on the go, including the possibility of two commercial jobs. I am also quite excited at the prospect of judging the ?New Homes
Garden Awards? on the 17th.

This competition was set up a few years ago to encourage developers, designers and landscapers to
all work together. I might even enter it next year. If you are interested the website is www.newhomesgardenawards.co.ik.

A U G U S T
SEASONAL RECIPE
PISTO MANCHEGO
Great if you have a glut of courgettes.
3 tbs of fruity olive oil 1 pepper cut into squares
1 medium onion, chopped 1 courgette cubed
5 cloves of garlic minced 1lb tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tbs minced parsley salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saut

IT is the time of year when all sensible people are making Summer Pudding, one of the great creations that proves the British genius for puddings.
What’s extraordinary is that there are still some people out there who don’t know how to make it, and a lot of silly recipes around that can’t resist complicating this wonderfully simple pudding. Delia Smith’s recipe tells you to butter the bread – no, that’s just confusing Summer Pudding with Bread Pudding, a very different matter. The latter is cooked, in a custard, and contains eggs and dried fruit. The clever thing about Summer Pudding is that it’s not cooked, which is just the point of it. It was invented by frugal nannies and housewives to avoid lighting a fire or switching on an oven in summer. One recipe I found on the internet even says you can use rhubarb!! Ugh. Never put in lemon zest – the summer berries have quite enough acid of their own. And there is absolutely no need to butter the dish.

Take a mixture of summer berries, preferably picked fresh from your own garden. Strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries are all good. Raspberries on their own are excellent. Slightly squashy ones are all right so long as they are really fresh and haven’t gone off or dried out. At a pinch you can include some very ripe loganberries, but if you do, remember to double the amount of sugar. Some people use cherries, in which case you have to stone them. The fruit should be enough to nearly fill the pudding-basin you are going to use, which should have a rounded bottom. Pick out any stalks or stray insects, put the fruit in a saucepan, barely cover with water and add enough sugar to make the syrup sweet. There’s no hard and fast rule as berries and tastes vary, but about a heaped tablespoon of sugar for every handful of fruit is a good start. Raise it to simmering point for a few minutes, just long enough to dissolve the sugar, because remember, the fruit should not be cooked.

Line the pudding-basin with slices of white bread. It hasn’t got to be stale, and I think it’s well worth a bit of fresh bread. It certainly shouldn’t be more than a day old. Take off the crusts if you like, if you can’t remember the War, in which case to do so will shock you too much. After stirring and tasting the fruit, to make sure the sugar is dissolved and there’s enough, spoon it into the bowl, cover it with a last slice of bread, put a saucer on top that fits into your bowl, and weigh it down well. After chilling for a few hours in the fridge it should be ready to serve with cream. The bread, saturated with sweetened juice, will be transformed into a moist sponge the colour of claret wine.

And DON’T make another to freeze and bring it out at Christmas. Things like Summer Pudding should be enjoyed in their fleeting season, just in those few weeks when the berries are there in the garden and the days are long.