Our LandScape The best of the season to inspire and admire
Fragile beauty The December moth still flies at temperatures close to zero and is fairly common over lowland Britain. Only the males sport these impressive feathered antennae, which can detect a female’s pheromones several miles away even though there may be just one molecule of scent in a cubic metre of air. Chance upon a December moth resting upon bark in the daytime and return to watch it at dusk: unable to use the radiant energy of the sun, moths heat up their flight muscles by vibrating their wings in a trembling display.
String snowmen Warming Welsh wool Family company Melin Tregwynt have been weaving their traditional woollen goods from the whitewashed mill in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast for 100 years. They combine modern design with traditional Welsh spun wool to create a range of beautifully patterned blankets, cushions and throws. Blankets from ÂŁ36, www.melintregwynt.co.uk
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This trio of snowmen crafted from balls of string and wool can make a simple and fun Christmas craft project for children. Arrange suitable balls of white or grey twine or wool, starting with the largest at the bottom building up to a smaller ball for the head. Add details using pins, buttons, ribbon and twigs for arms.
Chestnuts roasting
Photography: Deco & Style; GAP Photos; Naturepl.com; Stockfood; Angel image taken from Nordic Crafts by Mia Underwood, published by CICO Books
No scent evokes the memories of Christmas more than the smell of roasting chestnuts. Gather a glut from the trees or woodland floor and remove the nuts from their protective burrs. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a cross into the skin on the flat side of each nut. Place in a shallow roasting tin and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of water. Roast in a pre-heated oven 200°C/gas mark 6 for 25-30 mins until the skins have split open and the flesh of the nut is tender. Remove from the oven and cover with a tea towel for 5mins. Pile into paper bags and serve immediately.
“Heap on the wood! - the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will, We’ll keep our Christmas merry still.” Sir Walter Scott, Marmion
Christmas Angels These hanging cherubs make elegant Christmas tree decorations and are easy to make. Cut a piece of white fabric into a rectangle approx. 12 x 7cm and fold in a concertina style with 1cm folds. Cut a slit down the centre of the piece of fabric, 2.5cm in length. Fold it up again, then fold down each side of the slit to create the angel’s arms. Sew a few stitches on the fold underneath the arms, using white thread and a needle. To finish, sew on a wooden bead using 20cm of white thread. This will leave enough thread to tie a loop on top to make a hanger. Repeat to make a choir of angels.
Growing mistletoe Mistletoe can be cultivated to grow on garden trees. Begin by choosing a few fresh sprigs with ripe, white berries, recut their stems and keep in a jar of water on the windowsill of a cold but frost-free room until February. Soak fully in water for a few hours to rehydrate, squash the berries and transfer the seeds and their sticky coating onto the branch of an apple, lime or hawthorn tree. This process should be done several times as both male and female plants are needed to generate berries. It will take a year for any growth to show and about four years before berries are formed. Mistletoe is a parasite and will reduce the yield of an apple-tree branch.
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Lichens and fir cones make perfect partners for these Christmas hyacinths
Winter hyacinths The heady scent of the bell-shaped hyacinth flower fills the house with perfume at Christmas 10
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Encase potted hyacinths in natural moss, birch tree bark, twigs and grasses 13
It is native to the east Mediterranean, found growing on mountain slopes in Turkey, Israel, Iran and Syria. The wild species is more delicate in appearance than the varieties grown in gardens and containers, with taller, less densely-packed flower spikes in pale blue, but still with heavy fragrance. By the 16th century, plant collectors had helped hyacinths find their way to Holland, the bulb-growing centre of the world but it wasn’t until the late 17th century that records of named hyacinths started to appear, with breeders selecting Hyacinthus orientalis for larger flowers, different colours and shorter, sturdier flower spikes. Double flowered varieties also started to appear. Hyacinths’ popularity hit a peak in the
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18th century. A catalogue of hyacinths from 1753 lists more than 200 double and 100 single-flowered varieties. Their fashionable status was given a further boost by the 18th century French King Louis XV who had them planted extensively in his palace’s gardens. As they became more widely available, single varieties overtook doubles in popularity, being the better choice for bedding schemes, and cheaper to buy in the large quantities needed. They were especially popular in Victorian England, when Grand Hyacinth shows were held. Hyacinths are not difficult to grow. Once the leaves are up and buds have formed, they need watering to keep their compost moist. If the flower heads are large and heavy, a thin green split cane
placed alongside the stem, can be pushed into the bulb then secured behind the flower head with string. This does not harm the bulb. Feeding is unnecessary because all the goodness the flower needs is in the bulb. This makes it possible to grow hyacinth bulbs in water alone. The bulb cannot sit in water or it will rot. A glass hyacinth vase can be used, this has a narrow neck that neatly holds the bulb above the water in the bottom. The bulb acts like a plug, stopping evaporation, and the clear vase fills with an extensive, fascinating root system. Slowly the leaves and bud emerge from the bulb, until 13 weeks later the hyacinth is in full bloom. • Words : Clare Foggett
Photography: Alamy; Bauer Media; GAP Photos; living4media
This Christmas display uses hyacinths in individual pots, with cones, sprigs of mistletoe and holly on a rustic wooden table
The festive garden Frost-tinged fruits, delicate foliage and lichen-covered bark bring the garden to life at Christmas
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Woodland collage Decorate a garden wall, fence or shed with a framed Christmas tree collage, made using gathered lichen-covered twigs. Cut and arrange to make the triangular tree shape then glue to a panel of wood
Flickering foliage Candles at Christmas don’t have to be confined to the indoors. Place delicate sprigs of winter foliage around a pillar candles to give it a natural look that is at home in both the house and garden
Festive fruits Place slices of fresh oranges into an oven at 120Ëšc for about three hours, turning occasionally. Once dried, slice a hole with a knife just under the skin and insert a ribbon. Dried oranges will stay bright and fragrant all season
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Teatime for birds
Photography: GAP Photos; Camerapress; Richard Faulks
Old teacups filled with bird food not only make elegant tree decorations, they also provide essential food for winter birds. Pour melted lard and a mixture of seeds into a teacup and leave to set, then hang with twine
Beautiful berries A pot filled with frost-coated fruits and leaves brings a splash of colour to a garden table. As long as it is cold outside, fruits like apples, pears and picked berries will stay fresh for a couple of a weeks
Rustic star Tie a few old twigs into a star shape and tuck sprigs of gypsophila into the twine. Use either dried gypsophila, or decorate with fresh sprigs: in most conditions, the flowers will dry perfectly well
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A scented wreath Winter-scented viburnum, rosehips and myrtle berries have been wound together to create a naturally-scented festive decoration
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In grand tradition Created by the Tudors and made popular by the Victorians, this succulent three-bird roast and its trimmings are rich with flavour, serving up a Christmas feast to remember As a festive indulgence, the multiple bird roast, or “royal roast” is a culinary spectacle. The concept known as engastrination (stuffing one animal inside another), was first recorded in the Tudor period, when the decadent court of Henry VIII enjoyed versions containing several birds which were roasted and then encased in a pie, to avoid the fire-cooked meat from drying out. Slightly more modest versions were also popular at Victorian Christmas dinners, with dishes such as the Yorkshire pie – a giant pastry case filled with a turkey stuffed with a goose, a fowl, a duck and a pigeon – gracing the table. This version of the three-bird roast, now a Christmas classic once again, is enough to feed 10-15 people. Serve with fresh thyme and chestnut stuffing, hazelnut and rosemary roast potatoes and a selection of dressed fresh vegetables. ›
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• Photography: Richard Faulks • Words: Emma Kendell
A little light baking This ingenious idea turns cake tins and kitchenware into vintage-style candle holders
Brioche tins Place tealights in the centre of old brioche tins. The candlelight will show off their intricate contours and create patterns of light and shadow. 64
Savarin mould An upturned ring mould, known as a savarin mould, with a candle-holder fixed to its central column makes a striking centerpiece, the spaces around the edge can be filled with pinecones.
Soup ladles Bend the handles of vintage soup ladles to form a hook. Sit a tealight within an individual tart tin and place in the ladle. Smaller sauce or gravy ladles placed alongside are just the right size to hold a few pinecones.
Jelly moulds Attach candle-holders to the centre-point of tin-plate jelly moulds. ›
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Silver birch bark should only be harvested from felled trees. The bark must be flattened using an iron before it can be cut with a pair of sharp scissors
Silver gold The simple rustic beauty of silver birch bark lends itself perfectly to decorative Christmas craft
Wreath Make a wreath using silver birch-bark stars, mistletoe, twigs, twine and wire. Create a large circle from sturdy wire and wrap twine around it to cover. Use a cardboard template and a craft knife to cut stars from flattened sheets of bark (see panel over the page), make a hole in each with a leather-punch and attach to the circle using thin wire. To finish, tie on bare twigs and mistletoe with twine.
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Baubles Use flattened sheets of bark to create these baubles. They are made by cutting around a sturdy cardboard template with a craft knife. To keep the bark flat place under a pile of books overnight. Once flat, make a hole in the top from which they can be hung. ›
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Small world Inspired by her observations of local wildlife and a fascination for all things miniature, Eve O’Neill uses wool crafting to make exquisite models of birds 74
1. Eve’s ideas sketch book and materials needed for felting; carder brushes, scissors and felting needles. 2. Raw fleece in an array of natural colours.
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3. To begin, the wool is carded, a technique which brushes the wool to remove knots or lumps. The wool is passed between two hand carders which are covered with card clothing, a sturdy, flexible backing in which wire pins are embedded. 4. Once the wool has been brushed, work can start needle felting the body base of a robin. A barbed felting needle is poked in and out of the wool, and as the barbs on the needle catch the fibres at the top, they are drawn down to tangle with the lower fibres. 5. The robin is created by gradually adding more felt to fill it out. The more the wool is stabbed, denser it becomes and the firmer the shape. 6. Once the shape has been created, coloured wool is added to make the breast and beak. 7. Any loose strands are tidied to make a smooth finish. 8. Finally the underneath of the robin is neatly trimmed.
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by ‘carding’ it with the use of a spiky brush called a hand carder. The wool needs to be loose and soft so that the needle goes in easily. The felting process will turn the fluffy ball of carded wool into a denser mass. The carded wool is placed on a piece of foam which protects the needles and the surface below, then the needle felting can begin. To do this, the wool is stabbed
repeatedly with a sharp felting needle, which is notched to catch the top fibres and tangle them with the inner ones. These notches face down towards the tip of the needle, so they do not pull the fibres out as the needle exits the wool. The needle is jabbed in and out of the wool, straight up and down. Gradually the wool will start to hold its shape as the needle is pulled out. The more the fibres
are stabbed, the more they lock together. Poking more in one spot will depress that area creating a dent or depression in the bird to make, for example, an eye socket. The pokes do not have to be hard and only need to go far enough into the fabric to tangle the barbs, agitating the fibres. Pushing the needle in and out enough times means the wool is unable to shrink any further and that creates quite a hard ›
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• Photography: Richard Faulks • Styling: Emma Kendell
New life for old woollens A few snips and stitches will transform well-worn, but much loved woolly jumpers into gifts
Knitted lampshade Take a crew-neck jumper with a neck diameter similar to, or slightly smaller than, the diameter of the top of the lampshade. Turn it inside out and stretch it over the shade, positioning the neck around the top. Pin the sides of the jumper to fit, and place a ring of pins 1.5cm below the shade’s base. Remove the jumper and cut below this ring of pins. Tack the side seams and sew a straight stitch and smocking stitch 5mm outside before trimming the excess material. Sew a smocking stitch around the bottom edge, turn to form a hem and secure with a straight-stitch seam. Turn the jumper right-side out and stretch it over the shade, the bottom edge will naturally stretch under the shade.
Matching mug warmers Measure from the mug’s base to the point that the upper part of its handle joins, and cut the ribbed hem from the bottom of a jumper to this height. Wrap this around a mug to determine the required length, allowing for a 1cm overlap, and cut. Sew all cut edges with a smocking stitch. With the bottom edge of the hem forming the top edge of the mug warmer, sew a short seam, approximately the distance from the mug’s base to the bottom of its handle, to join the base of the two ends together, using the 1cm overlap. Hand sew a blanket stitch around the base of the warmer with contrasting wool and attach a button and loop of ribbon to fasten through the mug’s handle. The ribbed hem from one jumper will typically make four mug warmers.
Cable-knit cushions A trio of cushions created from chunky jumpers and cardigans can be made in one evening. Full instructions can be found on our website. See www.landscapemagazine.co.uk ›
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Window art Using a simple bar of soap, bring the magic of Christmas to life on winter windows • Photography: Richard Faulks • Styling: Susan Martin
Shaping and softening Any ordinary household soap can be used, although those containing moisturising cream tend to work better. To cut the soap to a point, gently shave and shape it using a vegetable knife. Dip the tip of the soap in a bowl of warm water for around 10 seconds to soften. Keep the bowl of water handy – you will need to soften the tip regularly. Either draw directly onto the window or sketch the design on to a piece of paper, tape it to the outside of the window and trace the outline of the image on to the glass. When Christmas is over, simply wash the soap drawings away.
Shave the soap bar to form a ‘nib’, shaping it so that it is comfortable to hold
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The Fen skaters In a frozen winter landscape, skaters gather to enjoy natural ice rinks continuing a centuries-old fenland tradition
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n a freezing winter’s morning lit by pale sunlight, skaters descend on a frozen field in Cambridge. Fen skating has a long history in the area between Cambridge and Kings Lynn, which goes back at least to the 17th century and possibly long before that. The fenland was characterised by large areas of swamp and marshland, which would freeze over during the winter months, making travel between villages and towns difficult. Enterprising inhabitants used
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animal bones strapped to their feet as crude skates, using a long stick to push themselves over the tracts of ice. By the end of the 17th century, a drainage system had been devised to turn the swamps into viable farmland. Dutch engineers who worked on the project brought their speed skates with them from their home country, and the seeds of a sport were sown. The drainage project had created two man-made rivers running almost parallel from Earith in Cambridgeshire to Denver
sluice in Norfolk. The flood plain between these two rivers frequently flooded, making the perfect place to skate as it was totally flat. When the ground froze hard, agricultural labourers were unable to work the fields, and skating was a way to keep active and warm. It is said that the races began between farmworkers trying to prove who was the fastest, and prizes of a loaf of bread or a piece of meat would be offered, a welcome bonus to those on meagre wages, who did not get paid if they were unable to work.
Left: Skating on the frozen fen fields Below: C W Horn who was four times national skating champion in the 1920s and 30s Bottom: C W Horn’s great nephew Adam Giles continues the family tradition on the Fens
As early as 1820, there are engravings showing large crowds cheering on their favourites as they sped over the ice. A report in the Cambridge Chronicle during the cold winter of 1854/55 described a lively scene at Mepal, near Ely: “the clergy and squires, gentry and tradesmen – hale plough boys and rosy milkmaids – ladies’ parties in carriages, gigs and carts, made their way to the bank near the bridge, and took their respective positions where the view was excellent, and all that could be wished for the ‘St Leger on Ice.” (The
St Leger is Britain’s oldest classic horse race). As the railway network developed, ‘skating specials’ would run from London to Cambridge. The improvements in metal working which came with the Victorian era meant that ice skates were no longer crude and made from bones. Steel blades set into a wooden sole created the ‘Fen Runner’ which was set into a pair of boots or shoes and kept in place with a large screw in the heel and small spikes at the toe. This made for better speed and control. ›
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An historic recipe for a Twelfth cake
Food historian Ivan Day creates an intricate sugar paste decoration
The Original Christmas Cake Food historian Ivan Day recreates an extravagant concoction traditionally served up on Twelfth Night
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he rich fruit Christmas cake is now as essential a part of seasonal festivities as the tree and present giving, but for centuries an even more extravagant concoction was the highlight of the celebrations, served up not on Christmas Day but on January 5 or Twelfth Night, the culmination of the seasonal revels known as the Twelve Days of Christmas. Known as a Twelfth cake, the mixture of dried fruits, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, mace and nutmeg, leavened with yeast, dates back to medieval days, and they remained popular until the mid 19th century.
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One person who knows all about these great celebration cakes is food historian Ivan Day, who is recreating one in his Lakeland kitchen which is itself redolent of former days, warmed as it is by a traditional range, with copper moulds glowing on dresser shelves, and the smell of richly fragrant seasonal spices in the air. “The recipe I am using is from 1803, as this seems to be the earliest printed one,” says Ivan. There are earlier references to Twelfth cakes, with the first known coming in a Tudor manuscript, known as The Second Northumberland Household Book and now stored in the Bodleian Library, ›
An elaborate Twelfth cake sits in Ivan Day’s kitchen, which is full of historic cooking utensils
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