As I write in June, the winter this year has been very wet and cold. The rainfall has exceeded the average and temperatures have plummeted to “freezing” on several occasions. Here at Rokewood we even experienced a rare frost and various plants have been damaged. The stalwarts of camellia, rosemary, lavender, rock rose and azaleas continue to thrive. The bulbs of bluebells, iris, daffodils, a few tulips and hellebore plants positively welcome the cold.

Winter is a time of garden activity during the day…roses and grape vines to be pruned, weeds always to be dealt with, the summer growth controlled and autumn leaves and foliage managed. A log fire at night is a welcome ritual

It’s always a surprise to see the green leaves of bulbs that have lain dormant and forgotten in either the garden or pots suddenly make a welcome appearance with green leaves.

So, planning for the Spring Festival of Country Gardens generates an anticipation of kinder things to come.

The Autumn Festival of Country Gardens will be on again soon – first weekend of May 6, 7, and 8 when gardens in Bridgetown are splendid with autumn colours. Here at Rokewood we have a fabulous Glory Vine covering a pergola.

We will have the garden open with a special afternoon treat for Sunday – Mother’s Day.

Visit the web site of the Festival for more information and details of the other gardens.

http://blackwoodcountrygardens.com

Special recipe we enjoyed during the Easter weekend –

Autumnal fruit and almond cake  (a David Herbert cake)

• 185g butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g self-raising flour
• ½ teasp baking powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsps milk
• 1 teasp vanilla
• 300g fresh or frozen blackberries
• 2 tbsps raw sugar
• 2 tbsps flaked almonds

Heat oven to 180°C. Grease and line base of a 20cm springform or loose-bottom cake tin. Dice butter; place in bowl with caster sugar, flour, baking powder, almonds, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer for 3-4 minutes, until just combined. Fold in ¾ of the fruit; spoon into tin. Scatter with remaining fruit, raw sugar and almonds. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until firm and a skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Leave in tin for 10 minutes before cooling on a wire rack. Serves 8-10

Our daughter has been visiting from Sydney and helping us set up our social media accounts and website. She took some wonderful photos of the garden we wanted to share. You can see these flowers in person next weekend, 10-11 October, as part of the Festival of Country Gardens.

Lee will be posting regular updates on the garden via Instagram – you can follow her by searching for @rosal_rokewood or #rokewoodgarden.