While away a Wintery Afternoon with Fork to Fork Videos

Fork to Fork is a British gardening series made a little over 10 years ago. Monty looks a good deal younger and appears in the series along with his wife Sarah and their three children.

Though there are some elements about the series that feel a bit dated, growing things organically, bringing the food you grow into the home kitchen and preparing simple, delicious meals is still very timely.

Here is what Monty Don says in his introduction:

"I am definitely a morning person; always the first one up in our house. I can't wait to get outside into the garden. Being in the open air feels like liberation. I feel like a child let out of school: rain or shine. I get a sense of what the weather has in store; taking in the quality of the light and the mood of the sky.

Accepting what nature throws at you is part of the whole organic thing. It's about going with the flow, following your instincts and doing what seems right for you. And that's what this series is all about. Over the next six weeks Fork to Fork will show you how to grow organic ingredients and turn them into some of the best food you have ever eaten."

To fill a wintery afternoon, here are the first three shows in the series:

Fork to Fork: Episode 1 

Potatoes, Carrots, Beetroot and Parsnips

Fork to Fork: Episode 2 

Tomatoes, Onions and Garlic

Fork to Fork: Episode 3 

Herbs

Getting to Know a New Enemy

They have finally arrived in my garden! 

I spotted the first one in the roses by the picket fence. I gasped in horror! There, resting comfortably on the pink petals of my rose, was one of those retched Japanese beetles. 

How did he get here, I wondered? Did he come in on some plant I purchased? Was he the only one or could there more? 

After I knocked the beetle to the ground and ruthlessly crushed it, I went to check the other roses along the picket fence. None, thank God! I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the beetle might have been alone. 

Then I remembered the John Cabot Explorer Series roses at the back gate...

Sure enough, there were beetles hiding in every rose cluster! I tried to knock a few of them to the ground, but they took flight. I had no idea the damn things could fly! 

I need help from those of you who have been fighting this invasion force for sometime. What do I do to control Japanese beetles?

At least their appetite seems to be limited (so far) to my roses.

The baby bunnies, on the other hand, don't seem to be nearly as selective. I crossed paths with this little fellow just the other evening. He did not seem to be afraid of me, but rather regarded me with frank curiosity.

On to other garden news. In the front beds, the Tigers are showing off their summer spots.

The Brown-Eyed-Susans shining are in all their late summer glory.

Providing a counterpoint to the bright orange Tigers, are the paler cantaloupe colored daylilies and a number of varieties of phlox.

I have to say, that I am disappointed with my Asiatic lilies this year. The white ones in front garden are beautiful, but the pink lilies in the back garden have failed to put in an appearance.

Here is my favourite Yarrow.

Most striking of the perrenials in the front garden is this Rudbeckia. The plant easily 

has to be as tall as I am. (5'4")

This shot gives you some idea of scale. (That is an old well in the background.)

The combination of a late spring and a hot, dry July has meant that my Pee Gee (paniculata 'P.G. compacta) and Oakleaf hydrangeas (hydrangea quercifolia) are somewhat delayed in flowering. 

Unfortunately, the recent host of problems are not limited to the front garden. We store our garbage and food waste compost in an enclosed storage area at the gate to the back garden. The doors to the storage area always remains closed and yet some nocturnal creature has been managing to squeeze its way in each evening and tear everything to shreds. 

Yesterday, I found that one of the biodegradable bags of food compost had been lifted out of its locked green bin and spread all over the ground. What a smelly mess! 

I suspect there is a clever racoon at work. How he is getting in there is still a mystery. We have checked for holes or some sort of gap. There is none.

When I went to check on my tomatoes, I found the biggest slugs I have ever seen in my life. They have been feasting on my tomatoes. I swear they were over an inch long and fat as can be! 

Do I remember rightly? Can you drown them in shallow dishes of beer or is that some other insect pest?

I want to end on a more positive note. 

I had written in one of my last posts that my hostas had finished blooming. I had forgotten all about a few of the late bloomers. 

The hosta pictured here is easily the biggest perennial in the yard (about 3 feet in every direction). The blooms are huge and glisten with water droplets from yesterday's rainfall. 

Along with the slugs, bugs, racoon and rabbits has come some much needed rain!

Today I am going to link  to Cottage Floral Thursday at Fishtail Cottage.  Tomorrow, I will link up to

Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time. I will also be linking to the Creative Exchange on Monday.

 To see other great posts, simply click the links.