The best for your blueberries

(Blueberries, raspberries and redcurrants atop a large dollop of Greek Yoghurt.  

Yum.  I'm looking forward to recreating this dessert with my own soft fruits next summer!)

Even I have to admit that it's now Autumn.  Crisp, sunny days (a rare treat) alternate with grey skies.  The ends of the day are not yet frosty but soon, I think …  weather that's giving us a sharp reminder of pre-winter work to be done in the veg patch. 

I've got broad beans to go in with the other overwintering veg - a vegetable which I'm personally not very fond of (too many memories of school dinners) but maybe Home Grown will change my mind and, if not, plenty of others have professed a liking for them.  And, of course, there's our four blueberry bushes and two lemon trees to go in, all of which need to be planted before the rest of our Orchard arrives … and the beds have to be cleared and prepared.

So, because we're not yet seasoned gardeners, I just like to have a quick nod to the experts and today's invaluable advice comes from the BBC Gardeners' World website with a little video of the correct treatment when planting blueberries (and cranberries), most importantly the use of Ericaceous Compost.  Click here if you're interested in viewing this for yourself.

I've just learned that the above video is no longer there so I've edited to include this page from Gardeners' World about blueberries. 

P.S.  The photo is of one of my favourite ways to eat fruit (i.e. over thick Greek Yoghurt) and, obviously, any fruit is nice on top but I also like to finish it with some chopped pecan nuts and a drizzle of runny honey.

One size fits all …

Folded tree on right, Snapped tree on left.  (Middle tree not a lemon)

A few weeks ago when placing our Orchard Order, we added lemon trees thinking it would be so educational for the kids to watch lemons growing… nothing at all, of course, to do with the usefulness of having a ready supply for the occasional G&T or Tequila shot - although, now you mention it …  (And yes, apparently these particular trees are hardy enough to bear fruit even in the UK.)

So, today:  Arrival of lemon trees.   In gardening terms, this is the equivalent of getting a new puppy and should have generated a surge of excitement but, as it happens, turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.   The supplier had packed them into one-size-fits-all boxes and literally folded them in half to get them in!  [Sighs with utter disbelief.]  Hello??  Is there anyone with a brain in there?  Needless to say, branches are snapped off and phone calls will be made...

Blueberry Thrill …

Welcome to our world - our new arrivals!

The hot news of the day here is the arrival of our Blueberry Bushes - were we excited?  OhYes!  We love blueberries. Immediate thoughts of next summer's harvest:  blueberry pies, blueberry cake, blueberries picked straight from the bush - blueberry heaven!   The packaging around the shrubs was Very Clearly Labelled:  Bottom (Heavy) and Top (Light) …

And then we found ourselves wondering, "Which part of that didn't the van driver understand?"  One of our bushes arrived with it's bottom in the air and understandably, after hours of plant yoga, no longer at it's best.  There is a very happy outcome to this though;  L contacted the supplier - the (newly) highly recommended Wiggly Wigglers - and they immediately offered to send another bush and gave advice on pruning the damaged one, which they said we can keep.  They are very nice people, and we thank them.