Ashridge Nurseries Blog & Recipes

Plant Based Words & Photographs about Gardens, Recipes, Design, Bees and Wildlife

Weekend Wordsearch - Garden Trees
Garden Tree Wordsearch Can you find our Garden Trees? Download the printable version, to enjoy with your morning coffee. You can see the answers at the bottom... ALDER AMELANCHIER BEECH BIRCH CEDAR CHERRY CHESTNUT CONONEASTER CRAB APPLE ELDERFLOWER ELM FIR...
Curried Carrot & Coriander Soup
Carrots are high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. This heart-warming soup is not only delicious, but a cheery eyeful of colour too. Ingredients: 150g butter 2 medium onions, finely chopped Large bag of carrots, washed and chopped (about ½ kg...
Through the Tree Hole, Georgie Newbery
Georgie Newbery is a flower farmer and florist based between Bruton and Wincanton in Somerset. For ten years she’s been growing flowers to supply two thousand bouquets by post per year, in normal times she does flowers for lots of...
Stop and Smell the Roses
I like to remember my mum smelling the roses, stopping to think, breathing in a lungful of sweet morning air (or the sharp, rich fug of a strong coffee) and listening to the excited trill of the blackbirds. She savoured...
Mulled Cider
On chilly winter days, after a bracing morning in the garden, what could be more comforting than a glass of warming mulled cider. The very thought is bliss. Ingredients 1½ l dry cider 7 tbsp apple brandy, apple liqueur, calvados...
Through the Tree Hole, Tania Compton
Garden Designer and Author Tania Compton spent twelve years as Garden Editor for British House & Garden. The site-specific ethos that underpins her approach to garden design has been published in many magazines including US Vogue, UK Vogue, US and...
Christmas Mincemeat Recipe
Homemade mincemeat is a doddle to make and beats shop-bought versions hands down… Method Soak the dried fruit in the brandy/orange/lemon juice for at least an hour and preferably overnight. Drain the fruit (which should be fat and squidgy by...
Crab Apple Trees: Year-Round Interest
Crab apples are beautiful, compact trees with vibrant autumn foliage followed by clusters of buttery yellow, bright ruby red or mellow orange fruits that adorn the branches for many months. Spring brings prolific flowering with pure white, pink and red...
Through the Tree Hole, Sophie Alexander
Sophie Alexander farms at Hemsworth in Dorset. The thousand acre organic enterprise practices a rotation of three years in premium arable crops followed by three years in diverse herbal pastures which provide year-round grazing for a new dairy herd of...
Trees for Autumn and Winter Colour
The foliage on my Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’ is on the turn. Every day, its rich plum-coloured leaves are developing more flashes of scarlet and vermillion. I’ve had this compact acer growing in a container for over a decade now...
A Wander Round Wyken Hall
Last week, we stopped by at RHS Partner Garden Wyken Hall, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. It was a blustery end-of-season kind of day but, keen to eek out the last scraps of enjoyment from our long, rather lazier...
Tomato & Chilli Chutney
This is a fantastic chutney, which accompaniments most cheeses, especially a strong and mature cheddar - yum! Ingredients 1 kilo Fresh Tomatoes 1 tin Chopped Tomatoes 150g Caster Sugar 250ml White Wine Vinegar 2 tsp Nigela Seeds 2 Chillis (remove...
Blueberry & White Chocolate Muffins
It's Blueberry picking time! With an abundance of Blueberries, why not try this lovely Blueberry & White Chocolate Muffin recipe... Ingredients 300g Blueberries 60g white chocolate buttons/chunks 350g Self-raising flour 60g Caster Sugar 60g Muscovado Sugar 3 Eggs 2 tsb...
Daffodils for Spring Splendour
I always think of March as the yellow month. As spring arrives, gardens explode with colour as forsythia, primroses, crocuses, and daffodils come into bloom. By choosing a mix of early and late flowering varieties, you can extend the "yellow...
Damson Gin
Our simple homemade Damson Gin recipe will be great in a few months, ready for autumn! Ingredients 1 Litre Gin 500g Damsons 250g Caster Sugar Method Rinse and remove any leaves and stalks from the Damsons, then pat dry. Tip...
Fig, Apple & Halloumi Salad
Ingredients 10 fresh figs halved 60g honey 100ml olive oil 2 x 250g blocks halloumi, thickly sliced, then halved 2 tbsp sherry vinegar 150g rocket 1 x eating apple, peeled, cored & finely sliced 2 tbsp flaked toasted almonds Method...
Raspberry Compote
The home-grown fruit and veg cropping in abundance bring with them the soothing, homely prospect of making jams, jellies and chutneys. Do have a look below for the Ashridge team’s favourite recipe for raspberry compote . Compote Ingredients Fresh or...
Front Gardens
Fabulous Front Gardens One of the positives to come out of lockdown was the opportunity to slow down and take in our surroundings a little more. Out and about on daily walks, it was great to be able to amble...
Sustainable Garden Design
Clear-conscience garden design A wildflower lawn is wonderful for wildlife and can look fabulous As a city-based garden designer, when I head out to meet a potential client, I’m prepared to chat about a whole host of different questions. Common...
Planting Combinations for June
The long days of summer have finally arrived. But now the last spring bulbs have faded away and with a month or so before later summer stalwarts such as rudbeckia, echinacea and salvias begin to flower, how can we enjoy...