The Bloggers' Cut: Garden and Cake Finder


A HUGE thank you to everyone who took part in the Bloggers' Cut for this year's Chelsea Fringe. 22 of you showed us various home gardens, allotments, a holiday cottage, lots of garden discoveries plus a whole host of other goodies involving gardens and cake. From the various activities I've seen, we've had around 150 active participants*, plus many hundreds of individuals who've simply read what we've been up to. Therefore this virtual Fringe event is a massive success, thanks to you :)

The Bloggers' Cut featured visits to three other Chelsea Fringe events: Naomi's Cake Sunday and Sarah Salway's virtual garden tour - both of which inspired this offering; plus a visit to London's Open Squares event where Colleen had the massive responsibility of judging the Victoria sponge competition.

As well as the Fringe events featured, your activities included get togethers with friends, family or fellow allotmenteers (which I'd hoped for), garden makeovers, garden visits and revising for exams. We also had hints for what to do with the eggshells left over from all that baking.

The cakes featured varied from the simplest to the most intricately decorated. They also included seasonal rhubarb in various forms; cheesecakes (including a non-dairy first timer); cream teas; the unusual taste of lavender; ginger - either as the main flavouring or as an accompaniment; gooey strawberries; lemon; and coffee and walnut. This surprised me as I thought more people would go for my favourite, chocolate. Last but not least, Anna B's Herman friendship cake sums up the spirit of what I'd intended when I dreamt up this event.

NAH tucks in!

I've devised a Cake Finder Map - shown at the top of this post - which pinpoints everyone's contributions. From that you can see our event covered a distance of around 400 miles from north to south and over 200 from east to west. Thus we have the widest and most geographically diverse Fringe event for 2013! As well as the individual locations featured on the map, there are an additional 6 to explore courtesy of The Clockwork Dodo, who provided her own visitor's guide to favourite gardens and cake. The map is clickable if you take this link, so you can zoom in and visit any of the blog posts which take your fancy - it's a much friendlier and informative version of the Mr Linky I used to capture everyone's contributions.

And if all that garden and cake visiting leaves you feeling hungry, then there are recipes to hand via some of the posts for you to solve the problem of lack of cake. It's been great to visit everyone, discover some new blogs and add a number of gardens and cakes to my 'To Visit' and 'Must Make' lists. I hope you've enjoyed it too :)

Will I do something for the Fringe next year? I've already had an idea, so watch this space...

* = based on all the bloggers who've posted, plus people who've taken the trouble to leave a comment on at least one blog, tweet about the event or Like it on Facebook.

Related Posts:

Update 13th June: the map now stretches up into Scotland and over 550 miles north to south, thanks to Shirl :)

Comments

  1. Flighty12 June 2013 at 08:59

    It was fun to take part, and good to see so many others doing so as well.
    I enjoyed reading the other posts, and looking at the pictures of all the wonderful cakes made me wish that I could have had a slice of each one.
    Thanks for doing this, and I look forward to seeing what your idea for next year is. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. CJ12 June 2013 at 09:34

    It was a really great event, well done you for organising it. And what a clever map gizmo! Looking forward to your next idea.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Margaret12 June 2013 at 09:40

    Enjoyed taking part. The map is great, a really good idea. I'm looking forward to next year's event

    ReplyDelete
  4. VP12 June 2013 at 09:45

    Flighty and Margaret - it was great to have your contributions. A fab allotment moment and a new garden to explore :)

    CJ - Google Maps lets you put your own together! I had a lot of fun having a play with it :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. colleen13 June 2013 at 08:31

    Thank you so much for inviting us all and for recording it all on a map - just brilliant! Really though - cakes and gardens - such a wonderful combo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP16 June 2013 at 10:47

      Colleen - I've seen quite a bit of envy over your judging the Victoria sponges. We all want to be a judge!

      It reminded me of the first year I entered our allotment soc show. The winning chocolate cake had a hefty chunk missing when it went up for auction afterwards - and a lot of very satisfied looking judges!

      Delete
  6. Shirley13 June 2013 at 10:59

    Congratulation VP!! I am delighted this was a success and disappointed I was unable to help promote your great idea or join in with you all (it was an intense week for our family). I've tried to redeem myself as a blogger with my post today ;-)

    I'm looking forward to reading about more cakes and gardens later. I'm a bit of a cake fan too :-D

    BTW great idea with the Google map. I've had versions of that sitting in draft forever awaiting making public... one day ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP16 June 2013 at 10:48

      Glad you came, Shirl :)

      Google Maps are a lot of fun to do and it seemed just the thing to do for this event.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous13 June 2013 at 12:08

    Thanks for hosting the Bloggers' Cut, and for inviting us all to join in - it's great to see that the event was so well supported. Looking forward to meeting up for cake and garden chat again next year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP16 June 2013 at 10:48

      And thank you - I'm going to have a go at making your cake. Thanks for posting the recipe :)

      Delete
  8. Anonymous13 June 2013 at 15:27

    Congratulations! That's a super result, and achieved in double-quick time, too. It's been great fun following the cake trail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP16 June 2013 at 10:51

      Thanks Helen - it had to be a simple idea in view of the short time available to get it up and running.

      The idea for next year is a simple one too, so that everyone can join in easily. There's a more complicated option for a follow-up, if I can work out how to do it or find the right person to collaborate with. Watch this space :)

      Delete
  9. Anna13 June 2013 at 22:43

    Thanks for the fun VP - have enjoyed your most innovative idea as well as discovering the most yummy cake you could wish for almost on my doorstep. Will call back over the weekend to catch up with posts that I've missed and indulge in more virtual cake. Wonder what you have got up your sleeve for next year :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP16 June 2013 at 10:52

      It's something that's just as enjoyable I hope, Anna :)

      Delete
  10. VP16 June 2013 at 11:18

    A lovely message from email subscriber Louise :)

    "I love your blog! It's inspiring and fun and makes my day. I baked the rhubarb crumble cake recently and it was sooooo delicious. Thank you."

    ReplyDelete
  11. Karen Hall28 June 2013 at 18:51

    This is SO cool VP
    (Sorry I haven't been at my computer in a while so I am just catching up)
    K
    xxx
    PS where has name/url gone?

    ReplyDelete
  12. VP15 August 2013 at 08:35

    Hi Karen - I love doing these maps :)

    For some reason your comment went into Spam! ;/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it ...
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl...
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape...
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing ...
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the...
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee...
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi...
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso...
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter, ...
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener...
Read more