Velvet Brown - Home Accessories

…..Delia that is.  It’s good to have her back on our screens.  I don’t entirely agree with her new ‘cheating’ at cooking methods but at least you know her recipes are guaranteed to be successful and will be packed with flavour.  I’m not sure I can bring myself to put frozen mashed potato in my shopping trolley just yet, besides I enjoy peeling a few spuds and making mashed potato but perhaps if I’m really tired one evening I’ll be very glad of that tin of minced beef in the store cupboard and that bag of cheese that somebody else has grated for me.  Now Delia says it’s OK to use convenience foods, I no longer need to feel guilty if I haven’t stood there chopping, kneading rubbing in or creaming!

 We’ll still have her delicious roasted tomatoes with garlic on a regular basis and I’ll still make her caramelised orange trifle for special occasions but perhaps I could add her hot smoked salmon pie to the repertoire and not feel guilty that it mostly came out of a packet?

The cut flower to buy in March has to be the tulip - one of our favourites.  Always buy tulips when the flower head is closed but showing good colour, the leaves should be crisp and green.  When you get your tulips home, leave them in their paper then cut approx half inch off the base of the stems.  Stand the tulips in tepid water, still wrapped in their paper, for approx an hour before arranging.  This will ensure your tulips stay straight and firm.  You can then arrange your tulips in a clean vase or jug, but don’t put too much water in the vase - about 4 or 5 cm of water is plenty. 

Tulips are greedy flowers and will continue to grow in length in the vase.  By topping up your tulips with fresh water, little and often, you will help prolong their vase life.  As we like to say ‘Keep them hungry’ ! To keep your tulips tidy, you can trim their stems every 3-4 days although we love it when they continue to grow and become all wiggly and take on their own personality! Some of our favourite tulips available in good florists are: ‘Strong Gold’ (yellow - very long lasting), ‘Princess Irene’ (Orange with a mauve stripe), White Weber Parrot Tulips (a parrot-tulip with a hint of pink), Flaming Parrot (a long-stemmed French Tulip with yellow and red stripes).

For a fascinating insight into the history of tulips, read ‘The Tulip’ by Anna Pavord.  See www.annapavord.com for details.

It will soon be that time again to drool over the gardens at The Chelsea Flower Show. The Flagship of all gardens shows in the UK. We’ve been going to Chelsea for a number of years and always been lucky with the weather and the crowds. We’ll often save the gardens until late in the day when things are a little bit quieter and you can get a bettter view. The rest of the day can be put aside for shopping, eating and drinking and soaking up the atmosphere and people watching. One of our favourite days out of the year. Here are just a few of the amazing and exciting gardens of recent years.

Most of these designs were shown at Chelsea 2004, 2006 and 2007, also Hampton Court 2007, Ellerslie Flower Show 2005.

Andy Sturgeon Garden Design, Chelsea 2006 // Low allergen garden

Cocoon, by Jack Merlo

Low allergen garden, Lucy Lee, Ellerslie Flower Show 2005, Auckland, New Zealand
(more…)