 GARDENING
You should now consider taking some pre-winter steps to protect and improve your garden
over the colder months.
Taking any warm weather plants under glass - either into the greenhouse or conservatory
- is advisable, and get down to the garden centre to add some winter colour to the garden.
It's a great time to make up planted containers. Very few plants will actually grow
during the winter months, so to ensure your containers look spectacular they need to be
planted so they look full from the start.
October is the last month to give us bees and butterflies. Red admirals feed on the
fallen fruits and drink nectar from the flowers of the Michaelmas daisies, sedums and the
last of the buddleja before they hibernate. Other butterflies such as painted lady will
migrate south before the cold season arrives.
The abundance of natural food for birds, such as seeds or fruits, mean they take less
off our bird table. Store some of these natural foods to put out later in the year. Winter
bird visitors begin to arrive such as green finch and thrush.
- Cut the lawn for the last time
- Split and divide herbaceous plants
- Weed the herbaceous border and mulch
- Prune shrubs
- Remove dead leaves and excess vegetation from the pond
- Plant spring flowering bulbs
|
 COOKS CORNER
Pork Chow Mein
6 oz medium egg noodles
2 tbsp oil
400g pork, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp ginger
1 green chilli, chopped
2 carrots, cut into sticks
2 oz baby corn, halved
4 oz mushrooms, thickly sliced
4 oz sugar snap peas
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
5 fl oz veg stock
Cook noodles.
Heat oil in a wok and fry pork until well browned and tender.
Remove and set aside.
Add garlic, ginger, chilli, carrots, baby corn and mushrooms and fry for 2 -3 mins.
Add sugar snap peas and onions fry for another 2 mins.
Return pork to the wok, together with the noodles, soy sauce and veg stock.
Cook, stirring for 1 min. Serve immediately, garnished with some shredded spring
onions. |
