Tessera

A spot of guerrilla gardening I indulged few years ago, has resulted in huge white clouds in what was an uncared for piece of land.

A spirea bush in full bloom. Masses of white blossom against mid-green foliage. One of three that I planted in untended waste ground a few years ago.

It’s that time again.

Pic shows 8 tulips if full bloom, together with their leaves. The red and orange tulips are Slawa, the deep red Ronaldo and the very dark purple are Queen of Night.

Through the garden gate. A small, green space, woodland planting, moss and ferns. Once the primroses have gone over, it is almost entirely green. A tiny, peaceful sanctuary.

Picture shows a totally green garden through the bars of an iron gate. A small patch of moss surrounded by woodland planting and a yew hedge.

This week’s kitchen diary is online. (Via my Instagram post.) And a recipe for grilled aubergines with creamed labne.

Grilled aubergine with creamed, herb labne on toasted sourdough. There are grilled spring onions and pine kernels in the picture too.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 5mo ago

A weekend of gardening and writing. Narcissus Jetfire, cheering me on.

Terracotta pots of narcissus, with yellow petals and long, orange trumpets. Planted last autumn. Out in time for Easter.

The Epimediums are out in the garden on this bright, chilly spring day. Their delicate flowers on wiry stems are jiggling in the breeze.

A patches of yellow Epimediums and the heart-shaped green leaves at the bottom of the garden. They sit amongst dried leaves from last autumn.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The fennel, with all its soft aniseed notes, has survived all winter in pots on the terrace. Along with rosemary and ‘some’ of the thymes, they are the most reliable of the herbs I grow. They never let me down.

A terracotta pot containing newly emerging fronds of fennel.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I’m usually away at this time of year, invariably missing the moment when the primroses start blooming at the bottom of the garden. It is difficult to think of a plant that carries the hope and freshness of spring the way a primrose does. Worth staying home for.

A bunch of pale yellow primroses and their green leaves against a background of dried leaves, twigs and rotted bark at the bottom of my London garden.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 7mo ago

For a freezing January day such as this, my sausage and beans supper. In my Kitchen Diary on the Observer App.

Two earthenware bowls, filled with a casserole of onions, herbs, pork sausages, haricot bens and broccoli. They sit on an old pine table.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 8mo ago

My kitchen Diary observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

Nigel Slater’s kitchen diary: Apple and cardamom cake | The Observer

observer.co.uk

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 8mo ago

Black Friday reminder: You can support independent bookstores and get great deals without lining the pockets of billionaires 😌

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 9mo ago

This week’s kitchen diary… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Kitchen Diary… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A pile of apple and Stilton puffs sits above a bowl of yellow onion chutney and a bunch of Fragola grapes. A single cheese puff sits on brown Korean clay plate by potter Steve Harrison.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Midweek supper… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

Three halves of tomato filled with breadcrumbs, spring onion and anchovy on white plate with a crimson rim. The background is a rust-red cloth.

This month’s column. observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A display of early autumn ingredients including large, orange tomatoes, small red ones in the vine. A bunch of beetroot, courgette and ginger.

The last of the figs - plenty in the shops though. This week’s kitchen diary… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A pair of figs on the tree in my garden. One is ripe and purple, the other still green.

A rainy morning in Ilkley, Yorkshire. So snuggled up at Betty’s Tea Rooms with avocado toast and the awesome Elif Shafak’s There are Rivers in the Sky.

A round of sourdough toast piled high with avocado, aubergine and pea shoots at Betty’s in Ilkley.

At last.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 12mo ago

This week’s kitchen diary… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A meringue with whipped cream and blackcurrant sauce. The meringue sits on a celadon plate.

This week’s column. Summer Puddings… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A white dish sits on pink cloth. The dish is filled with summer fruits: melon, blackberries, cherries and strawberries. Scented geranium petals and leaves decorate the dish.

Nigel Slater @nigelslater.bsky.social · 12mo ago

This week’s column. Roast summer vegetables… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

An earthenware dish filled with roast carrots, onions, aubergines and courgettes.

This week’s column… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A large bowl by potter Anne Matte Hjortshøj containing assorted green salad leaves surrounded by three smaller bowls of salad dressings.

Rain pattering on the kitchen skylights. Every leaf jiggling with delight.

Tomato plants and azaleas on the kitchen roof. Raindrops on the glass skylights.

This week’s column… observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A group of tomatoes of different varieties. On a dark green tea cloth.

A warm breeze is rustling the leaves of the fig tree. There is a promise of rain. 🙏

From the drawing room window, the giant fig tree and the wisteria are hiding the view of the garden beyond. The latter gets its summer pruning next week.

Pottering in the garden today, I came across a bunch of deep pink cyclamen hiding in the undergrowth. I don’t even remember planting them.

A cluster of tiny cyclamen in deepest pink. They are surrounded by dark brown soil and fallen leaves.

This week’s column. observer.co.uk/style/food/a...

A round tart with a crushed biscuit base, a filling of vanilla scented mascarpone and a pile of blackberries, cherries and redcurrants. It sits on a white plate with feathered crimson details on slab of honey coloured marble.

The single roses planted last winter are coming into bloom. The snow white Kew Gardens is out already and the Dunwich Rose is in bud. I wait patiently for Spinosissima Falkland, the softest pink and the most recently planted.

The new rose bed with its pale pink and soft white roses just opening. There is old wooden trellis and an oak climbing post at the rear of the picture.