After a hectic, but oh-so-enjoyable, week in Taormina with friends, we arrived home so late last night that dawn had broken as we drove up from the airport, and it was fully daylight when we finally dragged our weary bones into bed.
A gentle, meandering day was required as part of our recuperation – so a stroll into town along the river; some coffee, and a take-away salad lunch brought us home to sit and wander in the garden.
The front garden which faces south, and gets all the attention, was becoming its usual lush summery self. The Laburnum will soon be in full yellowy bloom. The maples have put on their magenta coats, and the weeds are making their presence felt – after a few half-hearted pulls at some of them, we decided that it was a job for another day!
The Fluffster, glad to have us home :)
The north-facing back garden offered even more excitement. The gooseberries are certainly on their way. If I don’t pick them quickly as they ripen, we have some very fat pigeons who’ll do it for me!
And the blueberries are coming along nicely too – Is it totally unacceptable to think of my habit of freezing some of our own blueberries for our special Christmas Morning Blueberry Pancakes? Yes? Oh, ok..
I know they’re green, not blue, at the moment, but it’s only a matter of time..
Our lovely old Hawthorne tree (growing in our garden long before we moved here) was in it’s full, scented glory, after its rather worrying failure to flower last year. My policy of talking to it, and being nice to the Fairies has obviously worked! In Ireland, Hawthorns are known as Fairy Trees, so I’ve been very careful over the years to ensure that no harm comes to it.
Only a week’s absence has also changed the character of the weeds in the garden – the Dandelions all now sport their beautiful feathery heads.
As children we used to blow at the dandelions to see how few puffs could empty the head! And the little daisies kept us occupied for hours as we made crowns, necklaces and bracelets from daisy chains, so it’s hard not to be sentimental about these old garden perennials.
In the absence of our lovely Roy, who normally keeps our garden in check at this time of year, I’ve been learning to love all the wild flowers which appear to have popped up in the week we were away..
Apart from the Buttercups, I have no idea what the others are called!
Answers on a postcard please.. 
Some people would be ashamed of my weedy garden, but I’m not! As my Mum always said ‘a weed is just a flower growing in the wrong place’ – Thanks Mam
Have a good gardening week xx
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx