Blackcurrant leaf tea - delicious and free from my garden

Hi there

A while ago I bought a blackcurrant bush - Big Ben - Since then I've made a couple more bushes for free by taking a stem and putting in the ground in autumn and just leaving until its rooted.

I was browsing the web for infusions/teas and found that blackcurrant leaf tea is recommended

I put a few leaves in a teapot and steeped for 10 to 15 minutes and served with sugar in a posh white cup. It helps the flavour - honest!

It is really delicious  and smells gorgeous - all the flavour of blackcurrants with no acidity. Perhaps my favourite ever free tea from my garden.

I use the mature leaves (the young ones don't have much taste) but not from late summer onwards as they lose their flavour again. I pick a few from each stem - usually near the top of the stems. The leaves freeze well and make just as good tea so you can treat yourself throughout the winter .

Hope you try it

Caroline
x


To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

Lavender tea, (from my garden) with homemade scones butter and lavender honey - and "Sunshine on Leith" - HEAVEN

Hi

Thanks for dropping by .

I love to make teas from things that grow in my garden - Lavender tea is one of my favourite. It freezes well. I have a lot of lavender in my garden so lots of free tea for me!

The young leaves or young flowers make the best tea - a few sprigs in a tea pot and let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Then pour into a nice broad cup so that you can best smell the tea. A white china cup is nicest - it needs sugar or best of all honey in it I find.

My lovely husband gave me some lavender honey for Christmas. It is really delicious. Its from Littleover apiary.

Lavender Honey Link to buy

I often make scones - some butter, self raising flour, sugar and milk - flatten gently then bake on 180 degrees fan oven. I measure it by eye I'm afraid. 

I laid a tray with all these goodies and put on Sunshine on Leith  - a wonderful feel good film. The ending sequence makes you smile from ear to ear - its based on the music of the proclaimers and the song for the final sequence is - if I could walk 500 miles... I expect you know it.

Below is a link to the final scene - my favourite!

Link to final scene of Sunshine on Leith

Anyway - my tea tray plus that film made for a lovely treat.

Love
Caroline
x


To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

Viburnum Tinis - taming the monster - loads of free stuff!

Hi there

Beautiful flowers aren't they. This is Viburnam Tinis - perhaps its seems the perfect bush - lovely glossy evergreen leaves. Beautiful flowers from around late November well into Spring with a lovely delicate scent. What's not to like?

Well we have one in our front garden - its around 35 years old and in spite of regular pruning its about 20 foot by 15 foot. It should be pruned after flowering but that is when its full of nesting birds so we can't touch it. If we prune earlier we miss out on the lovely flowers.

I decided to "lift the crown". Cutting back the lower branches to leave the arching leaves and flowers at the top of the bush. The birds can still nest in it and we can still enjoy the flowers.

My lovely husband stepped into the cold with his electric saw and special blade for cutting green wood. Half an hour later the job was done. The cuts look raw at the moment but they will soon blacken up and not be so noticeable.

As a result of our labours we now have many free sacks of small logs which we will mature for a year or so then use on our open fire. We also a free sack or two of small twigs for kindling as well as some sacks of greenery to shred to make free mulch.

Just to complete the list of freebies we also have two vases of the flowers from the bush gently spreading scent in the house.

A good mornings work and enjoyable - We are now rewarding ourselves with cheesy chips. Well we must have burned off a few calories!

Just as I finished clearing away I  noticed Mr and Mrs Robin from a previous blog finding lots to eat around the area we had been working.

I'm a happy frugal gardener!

Take care

Caroline

xx

To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/