Nest lining

Globe artichoke flowers keep on giving long after the blooms have faded. Softer than a shaving brush, the bristles make good material for building nests.

And finally

The Jerusalem artichokes finally flower after reaching ten feet. Not as impressive as sunflowers, but similar and related (Helianthus) hence the name 'Jerusalem', which may be a mishearing of the Italian for sunflower, 'Girasole'. The edible tubers below ground taste nutty and give you wind; an autumnal ritual usual only observed once. If left unharvested they spread and can become invasive. Their value as a natural screen is somewhat diminished by their habit of growing too tall and requiring support and tying-up.

Cynara cardunculus

One for me one for the bee

Choked

Sunchoke

Jerusalem artichokes are neither artichokes nor have anything to do with Jerusalem. Apparently, they're a member of the Daisy family and a species of sunflower. The 'Jerusalem' bit is thought to come from the Italian word for sunflower 'Girasole'.



Although the roots / tubers are edible, they're better enjoyed for their tall, late flowers.

Artichoke

Garlic & Artichokes

Now that it's warming up, things are starting to put on some growth, like the garlic and artichokes.



James Wong was using artichoke leaves and hawthorn berries to make a chewy low cholesterol bar in the last of the series of Grow Your Own Drugs last week. My Dad takes artichoke pills to lower his cholesterol and help the digestion of fatty foods.

I like combining the garlic, with artichoke heads and a bit of butter, in about three months time.

080808 State

I harvested a couple of buds from each artichoke to eat earlier in the year and now the remaining flowers are all open, still attracting bees and comments from passers by.



Gladioli don't last very long, especially if they're thrashed around a Top Of The Pops studio by Morrissey, or in the rain, so I took nearly half of them home to enjoy indoors.



Way too many runner beans to cope with at the moment and the freezer's filling up.



Sunflower season's here - some single and giant, some multi headed. The big uns are reaching 10 ft.

Long Hot Days 2

Heard on GQT that artichokes like clay soils, which is perhaps why all mine have done well this year. Good bit of 'architectural value' too ; )

All sorts here - some celery, chard, carrots, lettuce...

Small crop of late sweetcorn - some people have cobs already, but I had a problem with germination this year.

Chard - although for a while I thought it was spinach.

Cous cous the puss is usually interested in the frogs in the pond, but today she was thirsty.

Spring Harvest

Harvested artichokes, broad beans, lettuce, rocket, radishes, peas.

Artichokes

Not sure which is best - the visual delight of a mature artichoke flower, or the unique texture and flavour of an unopened one.

Midsummer Harvest

Only intended going up the plot for an hour 'cos the weather looked iffy - but in the end the showers never came and I stayed for around five, harvesting, planting, weeding, lying on my back in the long grass.

Harvested nearly 1lb of redcurrants - which I put in the freezer when I got back - a few stalks of rhubarb, some peas, a handful of raspberries and an artichoke head : I made up some garlic butter with a little olive oil and lemon juice as a dip for the artichoke and peas and had the rhubarb stewed with some yoghurt. Yum.

Planted some more rocket, (more like ski-lift - it's really slow this year) 'cobra' climbing beans, the last of the peas, a couple more pumpkin plants and the last of the leeks.