Elderflower has a fresh light taste and is great for making into cordial.

From mid June, the frothy cream flower heads of the Elder are blooming in hedgerows and gardens.

Elder Flowers in June

A good way to enjoy the summery taste of elderflower is to make a cordial which can be mixed with ice and water for a refreshing summer drink or a touch of gin if you want an alcoholic version.

Elderflower cordial also an excellent light syrup to pour over ice cream and blends well to bring out the flavour of gooseberries.

To make elderflower cordial.

We scoured the internet for recipes similar to the one gran made years ago and the favourite was Fiona’s Traditonal Elderflower Cordial from the Cottage smallholder.

This recipe gives a greater intensity of flavour as it uses more flower heads than most people suggest and allows the mixture to steep for 48 hours instead of the usually suggested 24.

If anybody has any other ideas for elderflower cordial recipes or uses, then please contact us via the comments section at the end of this article.

Ripe cherries hanging on the tree

At this time of year our fruits are starting to ripen and it has been a very good season for the dwarf cherry tree with over 10 Kilos of fruit picked over the last two weeks.

Protecting the fruit from the birds is usually done by netting the tree, but it is just a little too big now to achieve this without causing a hernia, so this year we tried CD’s tied in the branches, this technique worked very well. 

You can use old ones and unwanted freebies that arrive in the Sunday papers, or we found that Middlesex University sell them at £1.50 for 30 blanks.

We threaded garden string through each one and then hung them in the tree branches (just like decorating a Christmas tree).

blank CD's threaded with garden string.

Cherries are picked complete with their stems to avoid damaging the fruit and then destoned using a cherry and olive stoner.  

CD's in branches of cherry tree

We purchased ours through Ascott Smallholding Supplies and have to say that we are very pleased with the ease of handling and the short work it made of removing the stones. 

We do recommend holding the stoner into a large pot or bowl, unless you fancy redecorating your kitchen.

Some of our cherries were used right away to make a crumble cake…(recipe to follow) and the rest were frozen for later use.

Cherry stoning tool