Sunday 26 October 2014

The garden in October: marvellous mushrooms, berries and flowers

Regular readers might have worked out by now that the garden is taking more space than the house itself in this blog. This is because we have stalled our improvement schedule until next year. My partner and I are very busy with work and family commitments and the winter weather is not that suitable for DIY or building anyway.

So here are a few photos of my garden. I hope some mushroom and plant expert can help me out to identify a few specimens. 



Is this edible? I wouldn't like to be guinea pig!

What about this one: edible or poisonous?

Another mystery mushroom. I only know Porcini,
 which are not to be found freely in the UK, at least not
 in Cambridge


This looks really like an edible one but wary...

This looks nice, edible?


A cat or other animal uprooted this, edible?
Still a few blackberries against the fence...




...and a few strawberries.

No idea what this plant this, it has followed me
 from London garden as very easy to propagate

This is my massive strawberry tree,
 which I have recently identified
This is under the strawberry tree, berries
 are edible but not great tasting

Foetida lily, it's everywhere in my garden, lovely seedheads

Michaelmas daisies and another curious mushroom on dead
 stump, we get massive shelf one earlier in the year but would
 not dare eating it

This is a Victorian plant, very easy to propagate, so it has
followed me from London garden. I got the parent plant
from museum garden sale - the local E17 museum in the
Walthamstow village: Persicaria Red Dragon

A truly curious plant, no idea what it is

Identified this thanks to the Botanic Garden, common name is
Butler's Broom, edible when young, very bitter though

A primrose, already!

A few bought plants awaiting a place in
flower border or decorative pot


Sunday 12 October 2014

What can you do with a central heating's copper pipe?

We changed our boiler last August and I kept all the good pieces of pipe that the plumber discarded.

I made these two items with one piece of pipe, hammered flat, sawed into shape and then soldered to create a big and bold jewellery set... 




Extra materials include scrapped silver and a rough emerald I was sent with a junk mail letter - my teacher told me they are real but not precious as flawed and uncut.

Saturday 4 October 2014

Get-together at my house



I had a meeting of people interested in our very local Skills exchange and above is my contribution... blackberries, flowers and borage are from my garden. I made the macaroons, which are sandwiched with thick chocolate sauce.