Santorini and home

Hardstoft Herb garden and Basil 'African Blue'

Slacking on the blog again!

Well it was a lovely holiday in Santorini, lovely accommodation, excellent weather and good food. Would definately recommend this Greek island.

The garden is very productive at the moment. Lots of new potatoes being cropped, so far we have tried the Shetland Blacks which have a fascinating blue coloured ring through the flesh and the Arran Pilots with their cream and pink skins.

Just finished off the broad beans which were really tasty - Bunyards Exhibition. Also growing salad leaves, fennel, french beans, courgettes, beetroot. I went a bit overboard with herbs this year and have a glut of sage, thyme and rosemary so have decided to have a charity plant sale which will also give me the opportunity to sell the extra flowers I have too - sunflowers, asters, verbascum, zinnias.

One thing I am missing in the garden this year is the pond. We decided that it was too much of a risk with Percy Pug and filled it in a few months ago. I still have several of the larger pond plants in trugs as I haven't given up hopes of having some form of raised pond. Paul has a lot on workwise at the mo so I know I wont be getting a brick built one so will have to look at other options.

I visited a lovely herb garden yesterday at a village called Hardstoft, near Tibshelf in Derbyshire. They have a formal garden with lots of box hedging and statues and also some smaller gardens - pot pourri, physic, lavendar. I couldn't resist going into the plant sale area and treated myself to a sage -African Blue, Rosemary-Green Ginger, and a Basilmint, I treated my Mum to a Chocolate Cosmos. The owner kindly gave me a basil plant that she was about to dispose off as it was a bit straggly but still ok. A good soak of water on arriving home perked it up!