I expect that you have guessed that compost is an important part of life at Tyrannell.

Whether it is to make best use of kitchen and garden waste, to put out the least possible amount for the council recycling and rubbish collection or to support growing in the potager, compost is indeed the Great Redeemer. If something has once lived, it can be composted and made to bring new life back to the soil and thence to my vegetables, fruit and herbs. Continue reading →

Here is a lovely bright cake for a Spring day; sharply fragrant, sticky and moist – a teatime treat for the hard-working gardener.

You can find recipes for Lemon Drizzle Cake in many books; it is a mainstay of cafés and fetes. However, as so often, the quality of the ingredients is key to a beautiful loaf and the right balance of sweet and sharp in the lemon topping lifts it out of the ordinary. My version, which I have never come across anywhere else, avoids the usual sugary crunch delivering instead a luscious zesty syrup which permeates the whole cake, a light and buttery sponge. Continue reading →