Dear LPG readers,  

I want to talk about our gardens, well, at least one aspect of mine.  I have lived in my present home for the past 40 years and, although green nail varnish is not my favourite colour, I do get out, down and dirty every now and then.  

It is not the best kept bit of real estate on God’s earth and the attention I lavish on it is seriously dependent on the weather, but I do my best to keep the grass at a tolerable level.  The flower beds are not much to look at but there is the odd bit of edible plant life to be seen.   

Over the past 40 years, family members have felt a bit sorry for my patch of green and the help and advice about what to do to improve my space has been forthcoming.   I have done things to it myself, although I question if my attentions can be identified as actual ‘gardening’.  In earlier times I used to have the occasional Percy Thrower / Alan Titchmarsh inspired moments which would find me at the local garden centre buying a few things designed to improve the space although there are not many of those left these days, and buying plants using internet-image-instinct has never really worked for me either.  

Another approach I have used over the years is the ‘mid garden tour’ acquisition approach to finding something new to add.  Every now and then during a visit which encompasses a tour of a friend's garden, I adopt the ‘nick a bit of something green’ approach to gardening when, just at the right time you say, ‘Oh that plant is lovely, do you think a shoot would survive in my garden?’, and I want to tell you about one of the few roots I was given  that ‘took’ as they say. 

It was a gnarly looking thing but the friend who’s garden was forced to offer up this shoot said that all I had to do is put it in the ground (right way up) and I could not go wrong.  I did as told and it has survived in spite of my bad gardening.  It grew up to be a rhubarb plant and has survived many a year in spite of my neglect.  Every year it offers up those red storks and looking at it reminds me that I am not a complete garden failure.    Annually, it yields its couple of pounds of the stuff and I also have an apple tree that never fails.   

But there is something about rhubarb; you either really like it or you don’t.  I have always found rhubarb a challenge to the taste buds unless lots of sugar is added to a crumble which features the stuff  but this year  I decided on something a little different.   

Did you know that you can make rhubarb wine? I don’t really drink and the thought of adding yeast and having it going off (I mean fermenting) in a jar for ages really puts me off a bit.   I was having such thoughts when I discovered  a really simple recipe that promised a relatively non-alcoholic result and I felt the need to have a go.     

With a ‘vintage’ of  just one month from soil to the serving glass I, and all of the people I roped into tasting a glassful, were pleasantly surprised at the result.     

So, if you find rhubarb causes a bit of a challenge when it comes into contact with your  tongue, I can highly recommend disguising it in this way…  

CB, Lewisham    

 

 

 

    CB shares the recipe in question…

 

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… and a few related links…

 

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