LandScape November/December 2015

LandScape - Life at nature’s pace

www.landscapemagazine.co.uk

Life at nature’s pace

£4.25

Nov / Dec 2015

A winter border | Mahonia | Butternut squash | Wood recycler | Beech wood walk | Polecats | Turkeys | Hadrian’s Wall | Lewes’ Bonfire Night

Glowing lanterns of fire and ice Antique looms weave threads of vivid colour Tracing time along a river of stone

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Nov / Dec 2015

FIRST FROST Issue 26 | Nov / Dec 2015 | £4.25

WINTER COLOUR AND DRAMA Lit by the low winter sun, a garden in Cambridge is a source of inspiration for bringing borders to life in the coldest season

A patchwork of subtle tones are seen through denuded branches in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden’s Winter Garden. At the front, witch hazel provides a burst of golden colour, while red-stemmed dogwoods glow through the frost.

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PAVING THE WAY Old bricks are reused to create a pathway with character in this simple weekend project

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EADING STRAIGHT TO a seat, or lazily meandering around densely planted borders and showcase shrubs, garden paths create different moods within a plot. They also help to keep the lawn in a healthy condition, avoiding the grass being worn away along the route from the house to the shed.

Reclaimed bricks in rustic shades of yellow, grey and red give a warm and weathered look. A herringbone design softens the straight lines of this path, creating an eye-catching pattern.

Laying a path is best done on a dry day where a sudden shower is unlikely to churn up the excavated soil.

MATERIALS • Spade • Sharp grit and coarse grit sand • Wheelbarrow • String • Mallet • Four wooden stakes • Hand tamper • Reclaimed bricks • Small plank of wood • Broom

HOW TO LAY THE PATH 1.

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Step 1: Three bricks are used at the top of the path to set its width. The borders are marked out with two lengths of string.

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Step 2: The strings are staked in place using the mallet. The three bricks are then taken to the other end of the path and laid out again. The string ends are pulled taut and staked. This is done to ensure the entire path is an equal width. Slabs, turf and soil from within the path’s boundaries are dug out to a depth of approximately 5in (13cm). Work starts with the path edges, moving inwards to ensure the marked out template is followed accurately.

Step 3: The path is filled in with sharp grit sand. Piles of sand, added every 12in (30cm), are raked roughly level to a depth of approximately 3in (8cm). A stout plank of wood is used to level off the sand, pushing the excess along the excavation. Frequent checks are made with a spirit level to ensure the sand is level as bricks will become unstable if not bedded down on a firm surface.

Step 4: Once a level bed of sand has been established, a hand tamper is used to compress it further. More sand may need to be added after compression to achieve a completely level surface. ›

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GLOWING POCKETS The papery orange husks of the Chinese lantern,

Physalis alkekengi, bring a splash of bright colour

A wreath of nature’s paper lanterns hangs from a fence, the colour of the physalis contrasting with the soft green of the weathered wood.

TIME FOR TEA A slice of tea loaf with a warming cup of tea is just the thing for an afternoon treat

Pear, elderberry and ginger loaf Serves 12 3 Conference pears (approximately 400g) 150g elderberries 50g stem ginger in syrup ½ lemon 150g butter 150g caster sugar 3 medium eggs 350g plain flour 1 tbsp baking powder 100g icing sugar Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

Core and chop the pears, place in a bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with the back of a wooden spoon, until fluffy and light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth and combined.

Finely slice the stem ginger and stir into the batter, with the elderberries. Fold in the pear pieces. Sift the flour, then fold into the mixture gradually, with the baking powder. Pour into a greased and lined 1.4kg loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 10 mins until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool, then remove from the tin.

When completely cool, thickly dust the loaf with the sieved icing sugar and serve.

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Apple and double cream loaf Serves 10 4 Bramley apples 150g double cream ½ lemon 200g golden caster sugar 150g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 3 large eggs 300g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp apricot jam whipped double cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Peel, core and chop 3 of the apples and place in a large bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle with 25g of the sugar.

In a separate bowl, cream 150g of the sugar into the butter until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs one by one into the butter mixture.

Whip the cream to firm peaks in a separate bowl, then fold into the batter. Sift in the flour, then fold it in gradually, along with the baking powder. Fold the apple mixture into the batter as well, then pour into a greased and lined 1.4kg loaf tin. Peel several shavings from the remaining apple with a vegetable peeler and layer on top of the cake. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Bake for 1 hour until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly in the tin, then remove. In a small bowl, add 2 tsp boiling water to the jam to loosen it and then brush over the top of the cake. Eat warm or cooled with double cream.

Chocolate and beetroot loaf Serves 8 100g dark chocolate

3 medium eggs

175g beetroot

80g cocoa powder

200ml sunflower oil

1 tbsp baking powder

200g golden caster sugar

220g plain flour

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Trim, peel and cut the beetroot into quarters. Place in a roasting tin and dry bake for 20 mins, until softened.

Leave the oven on while allowing the beetroot to cool before blitzing it in a food processor. Add the oil and blitz again. Transfer to a large bowl and beat in the sugar, then the eggs. In a separate bowl, sift the cocoa powder, baking powder and plain flour together, then fold into the mixture. Grate half of the chocolate into the bowl and stir thoroughly. Pour into a greased and lined 900g loaf tin and cook in the oven for 50 mins until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool before removing from the tin.

Break the remaining chocolate into pieces. Melt in a small saucepan over a medium heat for 2-3 mins until just liquid. Drizzle over the top of the cake and allow to cool, then serve.

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FROM ICE TO FIRE Young crafters Ellie and Nathaniel use empty tin cans to create delicate candle-lit lanterns

Master weaver Colin Snow at work.

WEAVING SILKEN THREADS For more than 100 years, a Suffolk firm has produced exquisite fabric on traditional machinery

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NSIDE AN UNASSUMING brick building in a small Suffolk market town, the loud, repetitive chugging of looms reverberates. The factory floor, known as the weaving shed, resembles a living museum, with vintage ironmongery and patinated woodwork.

Gainsborough Silk Weavers has been producing bespoke silk furnishing fabrics since it was founded in Sudbury in 1903. Its early leather-bound ledgers reveal that customers included Henry Ford, the car manufacturer, and Morris & Co, the textile designers founded by William Morris. Today, the majority of clients are interior designers working on commissions for royal palaces, National Trust properties, hotels and museums. The company has upholstered the carriages for a series of royal weddings, from Charles and Diana in 1981 to William and Catherine in 2011.

The firm has been in its current premises since 1924. There is a staff of 20, half of whom work the looms and winding machinery. Much of this machinery dates from the 1920s and the processes would be recognisable to the firm’s original workers. ›

(From the top) Bobbins of silk yarn; lengths of fabric in the showroom; Tracey Rolf winds silk yarn from hanks to bobbins; a Hattersley loom (right).

NIGHT HUNTER Rarely seen, the polecat lives a solitary life relying on its hunting skills to survive the winter cold

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EEP IN A forest’s undergrowth, a mysterious creature is stirring. A polecat is hunting, scenting the air, and listening for the tiniest movement. Its next meal depends on its formidable skills to seek out its prey in the dark winter’s night.

These sleek, agile animals are rarely seen, spending the majority of their lives away from human habitation. Only in winter may a scarcity of food bring them to farm buildings in search of rats and mice.

There are an estimated 46,000 polecats in

Britain. Despite their numbers, these nocturnal and extremely shy creatures remain hidden from view. Their preferred habitats include woodland, the edge of farmland and wetlands. All must have plenty of cover where they can hide during the hours of daylight.

Polecats have lived in Britain since Neolithic times, more than 5,000 years ago. It is possible they colonised the islands after the last ice age, which ended approximately 10,000 years ago.

Today the vast majority live in England and Wales, with the largest strongholds either ›

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RIVER OF

STONE Sitting high on empty moorland, Hadrian’s Wall endures as a powerful symbol of four centuries of Roman rule

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ISING AND FALLING as it follows the contours of a rugged winter landscape, a wide stone wall snakes across the top of England’s northernmost counties. It is part of Hadrian’s Wall, a 73-mile structure that marked the frontier of the Roman Empire for 400 years.

In the central stretch through Northumberland to Cumbria, it crosses empty moorland, the only sign of human habitation the smaller dry stone field boundary walls. In the low sun of the last months in the year, its very remoteness adds to the breathtakingly stunning beauty.

This solid river of stone is a small remnant of what was once a magnificent structure. Standing 12ft (3.6m) high and 8-10ft (2-3m) wide, it marked the boundary between the civilised Roman world and the barbarians. Initially, the western third was built of turf, but this was eventually replaced with stone. Today only a total of 10 miles of the original 73 miles of stone wall remain, mainly in the central rural areas between Corbridge and Birdoswald. Over the centuries since the Romans left, the well-cut stones proved to be a useful source of building material for local landowners.

They can be found in castles, churches and farm houses.

Gradually the Wall was whittled away. It was no longer even a frontier as the border between what had eventually become the countries of England and Scotland moved further north. ›

The remains of Hadrian’s Wall rise and fall with the Northumbrian and Cumbrian landscape.

Today it is possible to walk the 73-mile route of the wall on a National Trail.

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REMEMBERING THE FIFTH With processions, blazing torches and fireworks, the historic town of Lewes celebrates Bonfire Night in a manner unsurpassed in Britain

In the next issue

THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS

A MESSAGE TO NEW

READERS FROM THE EDITOR

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