Treats made with love
Bring mixture to the boil then turn down heat to a simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour through a sieve, pressing mixture to extract as much liquid and flavour as possible. Discard the pulp.
Return liquid to the pan and add sugar. Bring to the boil for 2 minutes, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and cool.
Cordial will keep, covered in the fridge, for several weeks.
Serve diluted to taste with chilled sparkling mineral water or sparkling wine.
Makes about 1 litre cordial
Orange & almond shortbread hearts
Bake a batch of these delicate biscuits for afternoon tea or package some up to give to Mum. 250g butter, softened
cup caster sugar 2 heaped tsp orange zest 11⁄ cups plain flour cup cornflour cup ground almonds Heat oven to 160C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Using an electric beater, cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add zest then stir in flour, cornflour and almonds. Mix well then wrap dough in plastic and chill 30 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Keep one half chilled while working with the remainder.
Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to 3-5mm thick. Cut out heart shapes with cutters and transfer gently to lined trays using a metal fish slice. If shapes feel too fragile to move, chill 5 minutes until they harden. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling dough as required.
Bake 10-12 minutes until just coloured. Cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Store in an airtight container.
Makes 30-35
‘‘Sally Holmes’’, ‘‘Graham Thomas’’, ‘‘LD Braithwaite’’. Large-flowering climbers: ‘‘Compassion’’, ‘‘Dublin Bay’’, ‘‘Red Flame’’. Small-flowering climbers: ‘‘Dusky Dancer’’, ‘‘Sugar Plum’’, ‘‘Leanne Lajoie’’. Heritage roses: ‘‘Mutabilis’’, ‘‘Jean Ducher’’, ‘‘Cecile Brunner’’. For fragrance: ‘‘Margaret Merril’’, ‘‘Double Delight’’, ‘‘Aotearoa’’.
Roses aren’t only about flowers – choosing some for their hips brings colour right into winter. Good hip varieties include the moyesii and rugosa roses and their hybrids, such as ‘‘Roseraie de l’Hay’’, ‘‘Nymphenburg’’, Rosa spinosissima and ‘‘Penelope’’.
EDIBLES
Sow cold-weather lettuces, such as ‘‘Merveille des Quatre Saisons’’ and ‘‘Red Oak’’. This time of year they are best planted in full sun – they need at least four hours of sun a day.
Sow broad beans, aka fava beans.
Harvest Jerusalem artichokes. Also known as Helianthus tuberosus, these North American members of the daisy family are best harvested just before they are to be eaten.
To stop diseases lingering, remove diseased and mummified fruit from fruit trees and throw out with your rubbish or green waste bins. Do not compost.
Plant strawberries in fertile soil with a good dose of compost and fertiliser added. Water in well.
A spray of lime sulphur on deciduous ornamental and fruit trees will help control overwintering diseases and insects.
ORNAMENTALS
As chrysanthemums and dahlias finish flowering, cut back the plant by two-thirds.
Divide and replant hostas, if need be. They prefer damp yet welldrained soil.
Give roses a clean-up spray before leaf fall to control rust and black spot next season.
Continue to remove fallen leaves off paths, lawn and ponds. Add them to compost, turned into leaf mould, dug into bare ground, or used to mulch around hydrangeas, rhododendrons, azalea, citrus and other shallow-rooted plants.