The Spotted orchids are not so common here, compared to the plentiful Marsh Orchids, and to see this group of six on the croft is particularly pleasing : we hope they multiply and spread, and the ‘purposeful re-wilding’ of our croft should provide the conditions for them to do so.

The garden birds raid the bushes greedily, and if it wasn’t for our rough-and-ready covering of fine netting, the currants would be always ripening … almost ripe … but never a single one ripe – for us, at least. The bushes are slow to mature, but they eventually produce prolific quantities of delicate translucent scarlet-red currants suspended on long racimes.

This year I’m making wine with the Careless gooseberries only when they are fully ripe (deep red, soft and sweet). I’m hoping that this method will result in a more appealing wine.  Well, the fermentation has now slowed somewhat, and I have transferred the brew from the fermentation bucket to a demi-john : now we have to wait and see!

We’ve been feasting on radishes, lettuces and other salads and herbs for quite a while, but it’s the arrival of the ‘main attractions’ that mark out the seasons. The first potatoes (Charlotte) and tomatoes (Alicante) were harvested almost a week ago, marking the start of the season of plenty!

Reluctantly, we’ve had to cut back some of the New Zealand Flax that had encroached on the drive – revealing an extraordinary hidden pattern.

New Zealand Flax flower stems grow 15-30cm a day. The sheaths around flower bracts fall away, the bracts unfold and already the tips of the stamens are visible