Let's hear it for ugly fruit!

Are blotched apples safe to eat? I found out the answer is yes, and cooked up a batch for winter use.

Given that the meagre fruit from my veg patch apple trees has long gone, I could hardly believe my eyes when I walked into my niece's garden the weekend before last; at the far far end of the garden, the branches of the two eating apple trees were still weighed down with fruit. Not only that but the grass all around was littered with windfalls so the fruit was definitely ready for picking. Nature's bounty waiting to be used ...

A glimpse of the Chiltern Hills

What would make your perfect weekend?  There's always something calling for my attention so the ideal weekend for me is when I make time to step away from normal life and enjoy something different.

It's not often that a few days come together as faultlessly as they did on the weekend before last. For a start I had a free Friday (always a good start). I planned three days of bliss with one day of gardening, one day at an RHS show and Sunday walking in the Oxfordshire countryside with family. With sun:rain:sun weather, I couldn't have wished for better.