Summer Edible Flower Salad

The garden has started to run riot now that we have had a few days of rain. I usually have salad leaves growing in the greenhouse and tonight I added some of the first edible flowers to appear in the garden.

Borage, Calendula and nasturtium

Blue borage flowers have a delicate taste which is similar to cucumber. While the vermilion Nasturtium and slender calendula petals taste slightly peppery. All three flowers are really easy to grow and borage is especially loved by bees. I would really like to keep bees you know...maybe one day.

Fabric Covered Buttons

Seeing as I can't help hoarding even the smallest pieces of fabric left over from a project, it was about time I try put them to good use. I didn't have much success with my hand button covering tool in the past so I treating myself to a button covering press.

My husband was mildly impressed that his wife had gone out and bought herself a 'fly-press' (albeit a small one). To be honest I have hardly had a look in since. He set it up for me because the instructions were for a different machine which was kind of him. 

I don't think this kindness was completely for my benefit. Now that he has sussed out how it works he wants to make some modifications for his own use. That's worrying because he's a workshop, lathe, grease and swarf kind of man. I'm going have to put my foot down!

Here's my first attempt (after a bit of head scratching!)

Recipe ~ How to Make Elderflower Cordial

We were given this recipe a couple of years ago and it's the best we have tried yet. We have tried several recipes before and this particular one doesn't taste too sweet. It's best to pick elderflower heads on a warm sunny day.

25 elderflower heads

2lb sugar

2oz citric acid

2 pints boiled water - cooled

1 lemon zested, squeezed and remains chopped

1. Pick or snip flowers off their stalks and put them into a bowl

2. Add all the other ingredients and stir

3. Cover and leave for 2 days

4. Stir occasionally until all the sugar is dissolved

5. Strain through muslin and pour into sterilized bottles

6. Keep in the fridge

It's possible to freeze batches of cordial but make sure you leave a little room for expansion in the bottle or container. Dilute to taste with water, about 1/10 cordial to water but I like less. 

Try it with cold sparkling water on a hot day. 

Cornish Garden ~ June ~ Flowers and Bees

There are a lot of 'self-set' plants in our garden. I suppose technically they should be called weeds. To be honest some of them are so pretty it would be a shame to pull them up. Especially when the seed pods are just as interesting to look at as the blooms.





We live in a valley which leads to the sea. The garden can be exposed to high winds and salty air so many plants can't cope unless they are in a sheltered nook. 

Sometimes it's better to let nature take it's course, these plants can take whatever conditions are thrown at them. The local bees seem to appreciate them too.

Bunting in Soft Pastel Flowers

I'll admit to having one of those unfinished sewing projects that I've done my best to avoid recently. So, instead of watching YouTube tutorials on how to sew with elasticated thread...I've made bunting! 

This little piece of procrastination was made with three My Minds Eye - Penny Lane 'Petals' fat quarters in pink, blue and green. Each FQ made five double sided flags.

The only puzzle was trying to work out how on earth should I photograph it!