Today I decided I needed to redo my window boxes, they were looking very sorry for themselves due to a couple of bad frosts. I am a bit of a novice gardener so was at a bit of a loss about what to use ... I wanted something that flowers through the winter and will survive a bad frost.
I got advice from The Fulham Palace Garden Centre. They recommended I use Cyclamen ... I am not normally a fan but they had larger plants that i had not seen before. They are more substantial than the smaller version so make more of an impact. I was really pleased with the result and have been converted ... apparently if they are well looked after they should flower until February.
If you are struggling with what to plant ... I bought four trailing ivy and one large Cyclamen (the Cyclamen came in a 13cm pot) for each of my two window boxes. I placed the Cyclamen in the middle and two ivy plants either side ... If you have any tips or ideas for other great plants that flower in the winter I would love to know them. Please leave a comment below.
After a busy, slightly messy, planting session the children and I tucked into Spaghetti Bolognese:
BOLOGNESE - Serves 10
Ingredients
2 Medium onions, 2 Garlic cloves (finely grated), 1kg Beef mince, 2 x 400g Tins of Chopped Tomatoes, 150g Mushrooms, 1 Teaspoon of sugar, 1 Teaspoon of vegetable stock powder (Bouillon), 1 Small glass of red wine (optional), 1 Tablespoon of Tomato Puree, 1 Small sprig of Rosemary, Teaspoon of dried thyme, Salt and pepper, Olive oil
- Place a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the onions with some olive oil and cook for a couple of minutes
- When the onions are soft add the garlic and cook for another minute. If any of the ingredients are getting too hot and you think it might burn have a cup of water next to the pan while cooking and add a few drops to cool it all down
- Add in the mince and 100ml of tap water (this will stop the meat sticking). Stir the meat until it is browned all over
- Once the meat is brown, add in the tinned chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, mushrooms, wine, stock powder, rosemary, thyme, sugar and another 200ml of water
- Simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally season with salt and pepper, cook for another 5 minutes then take the mince of the heat
- Serve over spaghetti, and sprinkle grated parmesan over the top
Cooking notes
This recipe will make enough for 10 portions. I normally eat some on the day that I make it, then I freeze the left overs dividing it into smaller portions for one or two people. They are perfect for babysitters or quick meals when you don’t have time to cook.
Adapting
If you are not keen on Thyme and Rosemary you can change them to herbs you prefer.
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