Create a Runner Bean and Nasturtium Tower!

Flowers for pollinators and edibles for you to enjoy! Runner beans and nasturtiums planted in the last few weeks will be too big for their pots now – learn how to pot them on and create a beautiful tower to benefit people and wildlife in your sunny back court or garden.

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Flowers for pollinators and edibles for you to enjoy!

Runner beans and nasturtiums planted in the last few weeks will be too big for their pots now – learn how to pot them on and create a beautiful tower to benefit people and wildlife in your sunny back court or garden.

Grow delicious pea shoots on your windowsill

Grow delicious pea shoots on your windowsill to add to your salad and discover how to start off your runner beans indoors. Find out what is blooming in the gardens in March. Big thank you to our funder The Scottish Government!

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Grow delicious pea shoots on your windowsill to add to your salad and discover how to start off your runner beans indoors. Find out what is blooming in the gardens in March.

Big thank you to our funder The Scottish Government!

How to sprout beans and sow microgreens

Learn about sprouting beans and sowing microgreens for your window ledge- fenugreek seeds, sprouts, microgreens and green lentils. And seeds you can sow indoors in February/ March like chillis.

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Learn about sprouting beans and sowing microgreens for your window ledge- fenugreek seeds, sprouts, microgreens and green lentils. And seeds you can sow indoors in February/ March like chillis.

Hidden Haiku

When you take your daily exercise why not include The Hidden Gardens – it’s a quiet, peaceful, inspirational oasis. If you feel inspired, why not have a go at writing a simple Haiku poem when you get home. This activity is suitable for all ages.

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When you take your daily exercise why not include The Hidden Gardens – it’s a quiet, peaceful, inspirational oasis. If you feel inspired, why not have a go at writing a simple Haiku poem when you get home. This activity is suitable for all ages.

Flatbread making Workshops at The Hidden Gardens

We’re running Flatbread Making Workshops in the Boilerhouse with our fantastic Cultural Cookery facilitator, Fatima Uygun, over the next few Saturdays. Saturday 24 October: European flatbreads Torta sul Testo (Umbrian griddle baked flat bread); Irish Soda Farls; Gozleme (traditional Turkish pastry stuffed with Italian feta piadinas) 1pm-4.30pm Saturday 31 October: Asian flatbreads Indian chapatis; Malaysian […]

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flatbread making workshop

We’re running Flatbread Making Workshops in the Boilerhouse with our fantastic Cultural Cookery facilitator, Fatima Uygun, over the next few Saturdays.

Saturday 24 October: European flatbreads
Torta sul Testo (Umbrian griddle baked flat bread); Irish Soda Farls; Gozleme (traditional Turkish pastry stuffed with Italian feta piadinas)
1pm-4.30pm

Saturday 31 October: Asian flatbreads
Indian chapatis; Malaysian Roti Canai; Mana’eesh (flatbread covered with za’atar eaten in the Lebanon, Palestine and Syria)
1pm-4.30pm

Each workshop is £46 per person, and booking is essential. To book your place email administrator@thehiddengardens.org.uk

Happy cooking!

How to enjoy sunshine all summer at The Hidden Gardens

It was a great day in the Gardens, with lots of people out enjoying the sun. We wish the sunshine would last all summer, but… …here’s a way to enjoy the sunny Gardens, even in rain! Materials required: *Sunglasses/regular glasses *Scissors *Blu-tac *2x beautiful shots of The Hidden Gardens in the sun 1. Cut out […]

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150715 make sun last all summer

It was a great day in the Gardens, with lots of people out enjoying the sun. We wish the sunshine would last all summer, but…

…here’s a way to enjoy the sunny Gardens, even in rain!

Materials required:
*Sunglasses/regular glasses
*Scissors
*Blu-tac
*2x beautiful shots of The Hidden Gardens in the sun

1. Cut out photos
2. Stick in glasses
3. Done!

It will be summer all year long in our administrator’s eyes!

Taskforce Cyanotypes 2015

This week Taskforce volunteers made their own cyanotypes. Using cartridge paper that had been soaked in light sensitive chemicals, they chose and arranged leaves and flowers from the Gardens to make their own pattern. Check out the slideshow for some behind the scenes shots of cyanotype creation!

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This week Taskforce volunteers made their own cyanotypes. Using cartridge paper that had been soaked in light sensitive chemicals, they chose and arranged leaves and flowers from the Gardens to make their own pattern.

Check out the slideshow for some behind the scenes shots of cyanotype creation!

Get rid of slugs (in a nice way, of course!)

This isn’t (as our administrator may have thought) how oranges grow, but rather a great way to deal with slugs. Simply halve an orange, hollow it out, and put it round side up into your soil. Slugs will crawl into these wee domes overnight, so you can simply pick up the oranges the next morning […]

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Some all natural slug traps in situ at The Hidden Gardens
Some all natural slug traps in situ at The Hidden Gardens

This isn’t (as our administrator may have thought) how oranges grow, but rather a great way to deal with slugs.

Simply halve an orange, hollow it out, and put it round side up into your soil. Slugs will crawl into these wee domes overnight, so you can simply pick up the oranges the next morning and relocate the slugs far away from your precious plants. Birds love to eat these guys, so if you’ve a bird table you could offer them some limace à l’orange!

Just… don’t relocate them to The Hidden Gardens, okay?

Men’s Cooking Group – Easy Margherita Pizza

Easy Margherita Pizza Ingredients Base 300g strong bread flour 1 tsp instant yeast (from a sachet or a tub) 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling Tomato sauce 100ml passata Handful fresh basil or 1 tsp dried 1 garlic clove, crushed Topping 125g ball mozzarella, sliced Handful grated or shaved parmesan […]

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Delicious Margherita Pizza
Delicious Margherita Pizza

Easy Margherita Pizza

Ingredients

Base
300g strong bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast (from a sachet or a tub)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Tomato sauce
100ml passata
Handful fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1 garlic clove, crushed

Topping
125g ball mozzarella, sliced
Handful grated or shaved parmesan
Handful cherry tomatoes, halved

Garnish
Handful basil leaves (optional)

Method

Base
1. Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt.
2. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough.
3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and set aside.
You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it’s not essential for a thin crust.

Sauce
Mix the passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base.

Dough
1.If you’ve let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split into two balls.
2. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds, about 25cm across, using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven.
3. Lift the rounds onto two floured baking sheets.
4. Heat oven to 240C/fan 220C /Gas Mark 8. Put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf.
5. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon.
6. Scatter with cheese and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season.
7. Put one pizza, still on its baking sheet, on top of the preheated sheet or tray. Bake for 8-10 mins until crisp.

Serve with a little more olive oil, and basil leaves if using. Repeat step for remaining pizza.