Oscars in the Garden

Who deserves an Oscar in the garden?
Well, what could be prettier, be more productive, or be so versatile, than an apple tree? Glorious blossom in spring, fruit in autumn, pies and juice all year! Even better when there are eight of them including four different varieties. Simon has been busy pruning them for the last few weekends and has now brilliantly completed the task! Meanwhile I have been mulching the clematis, well I have made a start; twenty five down, probably another hundred to go. Thats a lot of compost!

Violet Jelly

I have so many apples in the orchard and chillies in my containers, and rosemary growing in the borders that I have been making all sorts of jellies...apple and chilly, apple and rosemary, apple chilly and rosemary. Chutney too, yes with chillies and apricots. But, oh dear, I still have lots of apples left, so today I thought I would try and make violet jelly using apple as the base then adding in some violet syrup which I bought from France. It had just reached the setting point when I remembered that I had seen some violets flowering in the garden (odd you might think, but lots of spring flowers like to flaunt themselves a little in autumn too) , so I went on a hunt to find them. I discovered about a dozen, nestling among their leaves, and was able to stir them into the jelly as it cooled. I thought I might freeze some of the extra apple juice and wait until more flowers appear in the spring. Don't know whether it will freeze well or not? Will the pectin content change?

Now violet jelly is great with scones or crumpets; so roll on the weekend!