Making elderflower cordial

I paid a third visit to 'my' elder tree (on foot this time), and while a lot of it was still partially or entirely in bud, I decided I could probably snip off sufficient fully-opened sub-sprays to form the equivalent of the thirty heads of blossom required by the cordial recipe. (It's pretty concentrated, which is why it's a lot better value for effort than the traditional 'elderflower champagne', which requires pressurised bottles and only keeps a couple of weeks or so — but it does require more blossom to make. A lot more.)( Read more... )

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I used the spent compost from the little tub of 'microgreens' on my windowsill (which had been through about three generations of seedlings in addition to its original pea-shoots, and was full of compost flies) as top-dressing for my miniature rose in its little pot, having no other means of disposing of it. Several days later, I observe that I now have several red-legged beet seedlings and a couple of coriander stems coming up around the base of the rose! It's amazing how simply turning over soil can make abandoned seeds germinate.