Days at Monsoon Valley Wines, Thailand

Summer, and it's the time to enjoy all those chilled glasses of rose which are so perfect for a picnic, for lunch and especially before supper on a warm evening out in the garden.
I like them dry, especially from Provence, but there's a rose from somewhere quite different which I absolutely adore.

Brace yourselves, it's from Thailand. Yes, hot and humid Thailand - from the Monsoon Valley Vineyard, set in the hills about twenty five miles from Hua Hin.  It's a Shiraz Rose which earlier this month won the title of "The World's Best Rose" in Thailand - ahead of eighty others from all around the world in a blind tasting..

I've been to that vineyard on my last three trips to Hua Hin, to taste the wines and to have lunch. The rides around the vines are optional, by elephant or jeep . Go before lunch because it's just too hot afterwards, and you will, whether you intended to or not, have drank some fabulous wines which don't mix well with the undulating motion that comes with being stuck on top of a walking elephant. That said, I wouldn't take an elephant ride in the first place.

Chalerm Yoovidhya is the very successful Thai businessman who had the vision to create Monsoon Valley Wines back at the beginning of the century, even though it wasn't a given that it could succeed.

Last year, my husband and I were in the south of Thailand in January and February, amid the terrible storms which caused widespread destruction and we were stuck on roads which had been swept away. So when we made it to the vineyard on the way back from the islands a few weeks later, we were only too well aware of the difficulties that winemakers here face weather wise.

It was a very warm and muggy Saturday, not a hint of a breeze and we couldn't wait to sit in the shade of La Sala for lunch.

Thai and European food is available - we usually stick to light dishes and salad and pair them with a flight of three wines. 



With a starter of satay pork, we drank the crisp white Columbard. It's zingy freshness worked well with the peanut and lime sauce. Then came the Shiraz Rose, which although slightly sweeter than I usually prefer, was bursting with flavour -  wild strawberries and happiness in a glass.

I also liked the Shiraz red, spicy and plummy and so likeable with a lightness of touch.

After ending our meal with a mango and sticky rice pudding with mango ice cream, we decided we weren't quite ready to go back to our hotel in Hua Hin.

We ordered a bottle of the Shiraz Rose and spent the most delicious hour chatting, eavesdropping on some very interesting conversations at nearby tables and drinking in the views across the vineyard.



My husband is already planning the next trip to Thailand - he leads a golf tour there every year, and no doubt another visit to the vineyard will be planned. Next time though, I will insist we buy a few more bottles of the Shiraz Rose to keep in our hotel fridge!

You can get to the Monsoon Valley Vineyard from the seaside resort of Hua Hin by minibus or taxi, easily arranged by your hotel or by contacting the vineyard direct. Alternatively there is a shuttle bus which runs from Villa Market twice a day  and the journey takes about 40 minutes.

One final word, do book a table for lunch as it's a long way to go and find that they are fully booked!

A day at Barnsley House, Gloucestershire









Yesterday, I was at Barnsley House in Gloucestershire with some friends from the Garden Media Guild to visit the garden. Some of us had seen this quintessential 17th century Baroque mansion before, but for me, this was my first visit to such an iconic garden.

It was Rosemary Verey, the garden designer and writer, who created  the eleven acre gardens here adn lived here from the 1950s onwards. After her death in 2001,  Barnsley House became  a very welcoming hotel.

Set in a picturesque village, as I arrived the sun was shining and everyone was in the world famous garden for a tour around by Richard Gatenby, the Head Gardener.







 He's an engaging guide, obviously very proud of what is here, and of what Rosemary Verey achieved.
 "Gifted amateurs have no boundaries. Mrs V found the experts and made her own mind up." he said.
It was Percy Cane the garden designer who told her  to include as many vistas as possible, using the longest distance, and that's exactly what she did here  - pictured from outside the temple.

He's working with Rosemary Verey's legacy and says it was the hedgerows and edge of woodland which turned her on - that and successful planting.



 My eyes were darting here and there, as we made our way along the laburnum walk, the temple and  the herbaceous borders.The tour wasn't just an elongated recitation of a plants list thankfully, he took us all along with him by his enthusiasm, and letting us admire the garden at a leisurely pace. "I'm a hopeless romantic who sees the magic not the mechanics " he said.

 I really liked that, and I soon found the magic behind this gate.

Rosemary Verey created this potager and in turn inspired thousands of other gardeners. It is simply and utterly gorgeous, no wonder it created a trend in ornamental kitchen gardens.

Outside the walled potager, the field is the powerhouse for the kitchens of the hotel with beds of spinach, chard, rhubarb. peas, winter squash Crown Prince plus this glorious array of herbs.



There's polytunnels full of tomatoes - mamande, sungold and rosella, plus, as if on guard outside one of the tunnels, the largest, most vigorous lemon verbena I've ever seen.

I  nipped inside one of the polytunnels  to see what the chefs could pick this week , hoping to get a clue of what might be on the lunch menu.

Lunch was very jolly, all of us enthusing about what we had seen while we ate raw broad beans and freshly baked bread and  "Oh, a glass of wine?Well I don't mind if I do..."

This was followed by a delicious lunch using ingredients picked earlier in the day. Cotswold chicken, sun blush tomatoes, peas, broad beans and roasted rosemary and garlic potatoes for most and a deliciously creamy pea risotto for those of us who requested the vegetarian option. Lemon posset to die for afterwards ....all served expertly by a friendly team .

But our visit wasn't over yet. We then made our way to the Temple  where Davina Wynne Jones,
 Rosemary's Verey's daughter talked to us about her mother and the influence she had on her and so many others.

Prince Charles and Elton John both admired her greatly and she was very influential in America.

"Sh could be very difficult and utterly charming , both at the same time"



Meanwhile, Richard Gatenby was back in the Rosemary Verey garden he loves, and that with an attention to detail...

What a revealing and interesting day at Barnsley House.  As I made my way past hotel guests sitting in the sunshine, I wished I could stay overnight too. I simply wanted to stay in the magic which Rosemary Verey and Richard Gatenby have created and kept alive . Another time I hope.

As I drove home I decided it was a day of the four Ps..... a sense of place, planting, personalities and perfection.

You can find out more about Barnsley House at www.barnsleyhouse.com

A day at Bowood House and Gardens

 

There's only one garden I've visited in Wiltshire before and that's Stourhead. I first saw it in my teens  - a Sunday in Summer and my parents urged me to join them on a day and drive out. I wasn't keen to be fair, but when I got there I was completely overwhelmed and fell in love with the beauty of the Capability Brown designed garden and parkland.

 

That's exactly what happened on my visit to Bowood House and Garden, near Calne last month.

 

I was on a visit with about twenty other members of the Garden Media Guild. First off, we were greeted by Lord Lansdowne, the owner of Bowood House for a personally guided tour of the Woodland Garden.

 

 

 

 



This was not a whistle stop tour - oh n0 - this was a leisurely stroll through thirty acres, being introduced to a place which for him is a passion.

No wonder, what a lovely space. The bluebells were still out , huge drifts under the canopies of trees, and wildflowers dotting the landscape by the stream.

Then we were shown the huge rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias which were introduced here many years ago and which create such a wonderful show for about six weeks of each year.

The colours the size, the planting and the lasndscaping....there was so much to admire.

When Lord Lansdowne said that this is where his final resting place will be , I was envisioning perhaps a natural burial in the Jubilee Garden where he spends so much of his time. Oh no, there's a rather grand and beautiful mausoleum designed by Robert Adam in another part of the garden!

 

One of Lord Lansdowne's favourite groups of rhododendrons is called the Bowood Collection.

"Oh my mother's just around the corner" he pointed and it sounded as if an elderly lady would be joining us. His eyes twinkled as he showed us the plant named after her. Mind you he's got named after him too.

 

On a mid week morning, there were couples walking their dogs, others having a picnic, a group of women painting some of the vistas and plants for posterity....and there was plenty of room for everyone. This is a garden to get lost in, to admire and rest....

The Woodland Garden closes this Sunday until the end of next April. If you can get there this weekend, do go, but if not, make a definite date in your diary for next year as this is well worth seeing.

However, there's still plenty of time to visit Bowood House itself plus acres and acres of parkland and the Walled Garden this summer.

 

Days of rhubarb and gin

I'll admit it - I hated rhubarb as a child. Usually served as a very tart tart, smothered in a  virulent yellow congealing custard, the mere thought of being forced to eat it made me feel sick.

This wasn't my lovely Mum's fault, I'm talking about the dreaded school dinners of long ago.
So for years and years I wouldn't and couldn't eat rhubarb, until I went for Sunday lunch at my parents in law as a newly wed.

BB (we share the same initials ) was a wonderful traditional cook, and I'd enjoyed the array of puddings she'd served up before, but this day I froze as a dish of chilled stewed rhubarb was put on the table.

"No thank you" I said politely but my mother in law wasn't deterred. "Do try some - it's lovely with ice cream. Perfect for today as it's so warm."

I didn't like to upset her so I put three scoops of ice cream into my bowl, two rhubarb pieces, the smallest I could find, and ladled a couple of spoonfuls of the sugar syrup in too.

I numbed my mouth with the ice cream first, tried a piece of rhubarb - mmn, a hint of ginger there,  and then the chilled syrup. I began to smile, I actually liked it.

I became a convert , and even planted my first rhubarb crowns about eight years ago at my allotment.

I grow two varieties, champagne was the first and the other is Timperley Early.

Rhubarb really is the plant which just keeps on giving. I know you're supposed to divide them after four years or so, and that they prefer a rich soil. Mine though have thrived on neglect and continue to offer up pounds and pounds of fruit every year.

Unfortunately the rest of my family don't like rhubarb, although one of them will eat the odd slice of rhubarb and orange polenta cake at a push. I carry on making crumbles and cakes but my favourite is still stewed rhubarb. Not with ginger, but with a star anise added. Delicious!

Both rhubarb plants are prolific this year, I've given quite a lot away, but then came a light bulb moment.
Gin!  Within a flash I was off to Waitrose (other supermarkets are available)  and bought a bottle of the cheapest. That day Gordons was on special offer. My next stop was the allotment to pick rhubarb and within minutes I was beginning to make my first batch of rhubarb gin.

 

 

Such a speedy and painless process, mixing rhubarb and sugar together. The following day the sugar has dissolved....

 

 

 

Then you put the jar into a dark cupboard for four weeks. Yes, only four weeks.

 



 

After four weeks and three days, I decided to bottle the gin. Of course it's important to have a teeny tiny glass to see if the gin reaches your expectations, and I find a little piece of shortbread just the right accompaniment...

 



Perfect, although it's very good too with lots of ice and some soda water but don't be too be heavy handed with the water darlings.

Meanwhile, I've decided that more rhubarb needs to be picked and more gin purchased.......

There's quite a few recipes on how to make it floating around, with some slight variations but here's mine

Ingredients

2 pounds of rhubarb stalks , cut into one inch lengths
a bottle of gin
12 ounces of sugar , I use plain white granulated but other recipes say caster sugar


Method

1. Put the cut rhubarb into a large jar, kilner jar or whatever you have, with a screw top lid and add the sugar.
2.Shake it all about and put away until the next day, when you'll find all the juice has seep out of the rhubarb.
3. Add the gin, stir well ,  put the lid on .All you have to do the is put it away in a cupboard somewhere - and give it the occasional stir
4. Four weeks later, strain through a fine mesh sieve, bottle and  that's it!

Cheers!


PS My husband - the one who never eats rhubarb,  has tried some and was stunned to find - and I quote  "it's very good."
 

A day at Belvoir Castle

Early April and a rather windy day to go for a tour of the gardens at Belvoir Castle and to see the site for something rather exciting which is going to be happening in July.

I wasn't alone....

left to right John Stirland, Grace Milham, Tom Webster, Karen Gimson, David Greaves and Andy Tudbury.

Tom Webster who's the Head Gardener at Belvoir Castle and Grace Milham, the Commercial Director, were taking a few of us on an entertaining and interesting tour of the formal gardens.
The snow,  the sheer sogginess of everything after rain and more rain, plus the complete absence of anything remotely yellow in the sky had reduced my expectations of seeing a vision of colour and loveliness. However, the sheer grandeur and commanding position of the Castle is quite breathtaking.

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The family of the Dukes of Rutland have lived here for nearly a thousand years but this castle was designed by James Wyatt and erected on the site in Regency times for the 5th Duke and Duchess of Rutland .

The gardens here at Belvoir were regarded as one of the greatest gardens in the early 18th century north of London, along with those of Chatsworth and Trentham. There's still so much to admire in the formal areas and in the 500 acres of woodland gardens and 15 acres of lakes and ponds.

 And then in the Japanese woodland, there are over 250 specimen camellias, rhododendrons and magnolias, and some were in flower.

Many of these were obtained from the original seed collection from Charles Williams of Caerhays Castle in Cornwall. I visited there last year ...see here

http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/a-day-of-time-travelling-at-caerhays.html

So why were we there for a tour and what else were we doing?
Making a radio programme for a start....partly on the gardens and we were off to see the site of the first ever Belvoir Flower and Garden Festival which will take place on 14th and 15th July .

What a glorious site for such an event, where you'll be able to see the results of the original Capability Brown designs for the landscape here. These plans which were lost over 200 years ago, found in 2013, and since developed.

So to the festival itself. Andy Tudbury is a well known garden designer based in Nottinghamshire and you'll have seen over 20 of his show gardens at many big shows over the years. I

Designing a show garden is a very different kettle of fish though to creating a whole new event. So why now, and why here at Belvoir Castle?

Well, Andy feels that the East Midlands has been crying out for an event like this for years. Granted RHS Chatsworth was set up last year, but according to Andy there's nothing this side of the M1!

So, Andy's dream has become a reality - there will be over ten show gardens and two marquees for exhibitors from top class nurseries such as Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants from Hampshire  ( I hope they bring some phlox divaricata "clouds of perfume" with them - I saw them at RHS Malvern last year...divine!)

Flowers and crafts will be on display too, there'll be live music and food stalls. In short, Andy envisages it as a celebration of horticulture with a party atmosphere.

Sounds good to me, and there's such a willingness for this to succeed from so many people and organisations  including  charities such as Perennial, the gardeners charity and Rainbows, a Leicestershire hospice which cares for life limited children.

Karen Gimson, who is a garden designer and one of the expert panel on BBC Radio Leicester and John Stirland from BBC Radio Nottingham will taking part in live Gardeners Question Time over the weekend along with gardening experts from further afield.

Karen is also designing a show garden for Rainbows Hospice which is being sponsored by David Greaves, a landscape designer from near Melton Mowbray whose team will be generously supplying manpower, materials and more besides for the garden.

As this a completely new venture, Andy Tudbury has a lot riding on this emotional and financial investment, and so has Belvoir Castle. It's a leap of faith for everyone.

Tickets for the Belvoir Flower and Garden Show on 14th and 15th July are available from www.belvoircastle.com - tickets are limited to 5,000 visitors each day.

This is the view you'll be seeing from the showground... and I can't wait for the festival itself, and another , longer tour around the gardens of Belvoir Castle.

Holi on a winter white day

Some of my  friends are celebrating Holi today.

I rather like this Hindu festival - it's fun and always make me smile even though it can be quite chaotic.

Celebrating the energy of the season and new life, it's known as the Festival of Colours. So how do you celebrate it? Well at its simplest, you gather with family, friends and neighbours , smear them all  with paint and throw coloured dye and powder around and over each other.

 

 

 

Of course there's far more to it than that to this annual tradition celebrating the start of spring, but a bonfire to gather around marks the start of the festivities.



 

 

No one is allowed to escape having paint over their face, it's all part of the fun and this is one of the most joyous and friendly of festivals. I love it, especially as during Holi, your religion or caste don't matter,  everyone joins together and has fun in a sea of colour.

 

 



The photos above are from a few years back, but today is totally different...its a white and snowy world.

 

 

I'm at home in my tiny, silent village, I didn't see one car on my walk down the hill towards the next village, probably because no cars can get up the hill.

Sheet ice under fresh snow and a high gradient don't make driving easy, and the only sound I can hear is the wind rattling through the trees sounding very sinister.

Elsewhere though, there is music, colour, joy and laughter today and tomorrow ,so a very happy Holi to you all.