Elderberry Wine - Tenth Bottle (B2), 26th February 2017

Claire asked for elderberry wine specifically and who am I to deny her? We were having moussaka - our first meat for about a fortnight - and a heavy, complex red was the right sort of wine. The recipe was from Delia Smith's The Complete Cookery Course which I was given as a birthday present more than half my lifetime ago. It is still my most useful cookery book.

The most notable activity today was finishing off our 'shaded garden'. This is the area most overshadowed by the sycamore and I have spent the last few weeks (supervised by Claire, naturally) creating an area a foot deep to be covered by pond liner (to retain mositure - though I have made several holes to allow some drainage), and then for the earth to be shovelled back in. Today we planted many ferns, wild garlic bulbs, an anemone, lily of the valley, stinking iris, a toad lily and more besides - all of which cope well with shade. Now all we need to do is wait. Gardening is not an activity for immediate gratification.

Our shaded garden