Friday 6 September 2013

The Garden in late August/early September


Figs ready to harvest
I like to cook them with bacon and cheese.
Cut figs in half - sandwich together with a good flavoured cheese -  English Blue Stilton - then wrap round with some smoked bacon to form a neat parcel - roast in the oven.

60 comments:

  1. Beautiful!
    And your roast fig recipe sounds utterly delicious. I don't grow them, but will be buying some to try it.

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    1. They are nice served with a green salad and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

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  2. Wow! All the bright colours are amazing. I just LOVE the pink poppies. Pink is favourite colour. We have a fig tree but we don't get any figs off it. Thanks for commenting on my blog :)

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    1. May be your fig tree needs to mature then hopefully some figs will grow. I must admit that the pink flowers do resemble poppies but they are in fact Japanese Anemones.

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  3. Dear Rosemary, Fantastic images from your garden. If only I could grow a fig tree! Your figs with bacon and blue cheese recipe is awesome. I will give it a try.
    I know of a nursery that has fig trees in planters. I'm going to try and grow one and then take it into the greenhouse for the cold winter months.

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    1. A fig tree in a planter would be totally alright Gina. It is possible to keep it in the same container for all of its life as they like to have their roots restricted. If the roots seem to be getting too much for the pot it is possible to take it out of the pot in the spring and trim them right back then popping it back in the same pot with some new soil.

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  4. Like images from an expensive and glossy gardening book - just beautiful. The fig/cheese/bacon combination sounds delicious! You'll have caused a global run on all three ingredients!

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    1. We are having the figs tonight - must use them up. Thank you for your kind remark re images. I think that it perhaps because everything has done so well this year. The flowers and trees seemed to have enjoyed the chilly spring followed by the long warm summer.

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  5. Nice! Thanks for the recipe for figs. Bacon and blue cheese, yum! I love the poppy seed head!

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    1. The poppy seed heads are very sculptural, I think - natures wonderful little containers.

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  6. Beautiful photos Rosemary of your late summer flowers. I make a starter dish using figs with blue cheese and parma ham and as you say its delicious. Have a good weekend.
    Patricia x

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    1. Thanks Patricia - the gardens this year have performed really well - we have had so many runner beans that I feel as if I am beginning to look like one.

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    1. thank you for your visit Julie, and kind comment.

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  8. The last time I was bitten by a wasp, I wondered what else it was good for. The I learned from a crossword puzzle that wasps pollinate figs, so now I have a greater appreciation for them. And I'm guessing that you have wasps in your garden.

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    1. I haven't really noticed many wasps in the garden Mark so that is interesting. I have never really understood how the figs are produced. The tree does not have any blossom unlike other fruit trees, for example apples, plums etc. In the autumn it has tiny little green nodes on the branches, and you have to remove all of the ones bigger than a pea, the rest are left to develop into next years figs. Our fig tree was pulled up out of the ground when we were in France one year, it was about 20cms high and growing through an old pavement near out hotel!!!

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  9. Our figs, here in Caunes, are about a month behind last year. I am hoping they will have a last growing spurt and turn purple in the next couple of weeks. So far, only a couple have done so...the rest are still quite small and very green. If things go according to plan, I will have hundreds to deal with by the end of September...so that recipe sounds excellent. Thanks Rosemary. J.

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    1. The trouble with figs is that they go over so quickly - one day they are fine and then you visit the tree the next day and they are already getting too soft. You could also make some fig jam, and bottle some if you have lots.

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  10. Beautiful photos! That recipe looks really good too.

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    1. Thank you - lots of bright colours and textures in the garden at the moment particularly as the fruit ripens.

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  11. Mmm....I love figs, the recipe you give, i think i love it, i try sometimes...
    The photo's are really verry beautiful.
    Have a nice weekend Rosemary.

    Greetings,
    Inge, my choice

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    1. Thank you Inge - have a good weekend yourself - I appreciate your kind comment.

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  12. Good pictures, it looks like you have a very big garden.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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    1. We could not cope with it being any bigger.

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  13. Beautiful and delicious images, Wonderful pictures!
    Congratulations and a big hug

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    1. You are always so generous with your kind comments Antonio which I appreciate greatly - thank you.

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  14. Your blooms and vegetable harvest are spectacular. The figs with bacon and cheese looks delicious and would be perfect with red wine. Amazing photos Rosemary.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind comment Pamela - the slight sweetness of the figs nicely compliments the cheese and bacon - as you mention a perfect accompaniment to a glass of red wine.

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  15. Your plants ALL look so healthy. That fig recipe sounds great - we had some fig trees on our previous property but the birds got the majority.

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    1. The plants this year have been spectacular and continue to enjoy our Indian Summer - it seems as if they liked the chilly long spring. Yes, it is us or the birds where the figs are concerned, but there are so many ripe berries that they seem to be going for them instead.

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  16. Dear Rosemary,
    these photos are a feast for the senses, a treat for the eyes! So beautiful colours, so lovely plants - and mouthwatering figs (cooked that way sounds delicious - have to try it. I do simmer them in port wine - if we don't eat them raw). Thank you!

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    1. Our figs are not really the best variety that you can get so they are better cooked. I like the idea of simmering them in port wine - thank you.

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  17. Lovely to see, I like them all. Fuchsias are wonderful with so many varieties.

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    1. This is the only fuchsia that I have, but I do like their complex flowers and colours.

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  18. Excellent bright photos Rosemary!But, I wonder, are there fig trees by you? I'll try your recipe,I love all these ingredients and I find this delicious English cheese in some supermarkets in Athens.
    Have a lovely week end!

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    1. Dear Olympia - yes, this fig tree is in our garden. It is about 15 years old and thrives happily in our walled garden. They do grow in the southern half of Britain, in fact, I know of them surviving in parts of the north, if they are sheltered.
      You can use any cheese that you particularly like.

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  19. Hello Rosemary

    Maybe you now the name date trees better.
    Also i looked on the page from painting the past, and i see that it is not availeble in youre country.
    If you want i send you a tin off Paste Wax, on the site you can looked for the colours.

    Have a nice weekend,
    Greetings,
    Inge

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    1. Dear Inge - I realised that I recognised the berries but couldn't place them. Now I do recognise them having seen them hanging on the Date Palms - thank you for letting me know.
      That is very generous of you to offer to send me some Paste Wax, but I really would not expect you to do that, postage is so very expensive. I intend to have a look at Annie Sloan's site and see if she has something suitable, but I do really, really, appreciate your kind offer - thank you very much.

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  20. Hello Rosemary, I love these photos saturated with sun and color. In addition to all the late-summer blossoms, you remind us that this is the beginning of the harvest season.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - really enjoying this lovely time of year. Normally I feel a sense of loss for the summer, but the warm, balmy weather has alleviated that feeling this year. The harvest in the garden is bountiful, hope the same applies to the farming community this year too.

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  21. Colourful flowers and a colourful harvest from your own garden Rosemary. Must be great to harvest from your own garden. O those figs. I had a figtree in a pot for some years but two years ago it didn't survive the severe winter. Haven't replaced it yet but it's on my list for next year. Hope I'll find a fig tree in a flower shop somewhere, the one I had I had grown from a cutting.
    Marian

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    1. Dear Marian - fig trees will survive very well in pots, however, it is preferable when in a pot, to place them under cover for the winter. Mine is actually growing in the garden where we have planted it so that its roots have restricted growth, which they prefer. I pulled mine up out of a derelict and cracked pavement in the South of France one year. it was very tiny. In fact I pulled about 4 little trees out of the pavement, and gave the others away. As far as I know they are all doing well.
      You could probably find a fig tree easily if you look online.

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  22. Looking beautiful for late summer! My garden is a bit overgrown and floppy. But my figs are glorious this year. Thanks for sharing that recipe, Rosemary. Sounds really good. I will have to hunt down English style bacon. Our bacon is not the same.

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    1. Any good quality tasty bacon or pancetta will do Loi, and whatever is your favourite cheese. The garden has been great this year, very floriferous and bountiful.

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  23. I am not a lover of figs. I have about 5 trees. I do however like this recipe that you have shared with us Rosemary.. I might just try it. Its very different. I have Danish bacon.. what they call green back..I think..
    Your garden is looking stunning, so many different flowers blooming. Such wonderful veggies.
    I have come home , and its all so dry. Its still very hot here. I am sitting with the big doors open and the aircon on.
    Its amazing, how in 2 weeks the garden can look so neglected..
    lovely post Rosemary. Thank you for sharing this nice recipe..
    val

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    1. Welcome back Val - I have just this minute been looking at your stunning photos. I am so delighted that everything went so well for you all.
      We are still enjoying lovely weather too Val - an Indian Summer, the garden seems to have loved the chilly spring followed by this wonderful summer we have all enjoyed.
      Time for you to give yourself a little rest and relaxation now Val. Look forward to your post on Barcelona - my youngest son and his family have just been there too.

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  24. Hello, rosemary. Your recipe of fig with bacon and cheese reminded me of the fig pizza, which is one of the most delicious pizzas I’ve eaten. When I had it for the first time, I learned fig goes well uncured ham and cheese. I like fruit pizza like peach, blueberries, or fig, all of which go well cheese. Autumn increases eating appetite. This post aroused a sensation in me toward autumn when summer is still lingering.

    Yoko

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    1. Dear Yoko - the idea of putting them on a pizza base appeals very much - I will give that a try - hope my appetite does not increase too much with the coming autumn as I am trying to lose a few pounds - doing quite well at the moment!!!

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  25. Your harvest of figs and vegetables look enticing. The fig recipe sounds delicious, except I would swap the blue cheese for a different variety:) Fantastic close-ups.

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    1. You can use any cheese you fancy Betty, and you can also use pancetta, or parma ham instead of bacon - do give it a try. Thank you for your kind comment re the close-ups, much appreciated.

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  26. Those figs are great, My father love them but they are very difficult to find here because depending on the wind are good or not to eat. A mess. So we only have eaten them once this summer.

    Thanks for sharing your paradise

    Marina from Jerez

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    1. Thank you Marina - glad that you enjoyed seeing some of the fruits and flowers from the garden.

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  27. Your garden is a constant delight, Rosemary. The pink flower is absolutely my favourite, so delicate and pretty. I like the sound of your fig recipe, very mouth-watering. It must be great to have a fig tree, something I don't think I have seen. They must prefer a cooler climate. Figs are also expensive to buy, when we can find them, so of course I love them very much! Happy Sunday to you.

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    1. The pink flower is called a Japanese Anemone - once you have one you have a whole host of them within a couple of years. They also come in white too. Perhaps it is too hot for fig trees in Australia - I think that many years ago they did not thrive in the UK but with changing weather patterns they do now.

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  28. Lovely and bright photos ! I can not imagine how is the taste of this recipe ,I love the figs and I tried many times to make jams .It was delicious for breakfast or to make a cake !I love your garden !

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    1. Thank you for your kind comment Olympia - The figs are not overly sweet so just a succinct amount of flavour permeates the bacon and cheese.

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  29. Dear Rosemary,how much i love your garden!!!!How lucky you are!!!
    Your roast fig recipe sounds so delicious!!!I have a fig tree in my yard!!
    I make fig jams for winter!Thank you for sharing!!
    Have a lovely new week!!
    Dimi...

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    1. Dear Dimi - the garden is still holding its colour and hasn't started to switch into autumn mode yet apart from the fruit and vegetables getting ripe and ready for eating. Hope you give the fig recipe a go, you can make it with any cheese you like and also use pancetta and parma ham if you cannot get smokey bacon.

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  30. What super photos to brighten a grey and chilly autumn morning, Rosemary. :-) I'd love to have fig tree in my garden.

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    1. Our fig tree was pulled out of a derelict pathway in France several years ago, it was only about 6 inches high. Keep your eyes open next time you are in France.

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