MOST gardeners tend to be fairly good cooks. There is an understanding, or at least an interest, in growing food and knowing what to do with it.

Connections are made with the taste buds and the fragrance given off by flowers, leaves and herbs. The brave will try a nibble at most things grown in the garden, although it does help to know if there is anything dangerous or poisonous around. I am constantly grazing on little bits here and there. Even at this time of year there are the yellow raspberries, mallow cheeses, ash keys, haws and the bright orange buckthorn berries. I know that when I take groups around Natures World, I encourage people to try different and unusual things. I think the medlars have intrigued them the most this year. These are odd looking fruits, like small blotchy apples. They can't really be eaten until the frost has got to them and turned the brown flesh soft. There is a sweet and sour taste to them, quite unexpected, but not unpleasant, and the pulp does make an excellent syllabub, fool or crumble. I haven't tried it yet but I am sure that it would be a good accompaniment to a game or meat dish as well.

Nearly all of my trainees who are new to gardening come to me asking what they can do with the first crop of vegetables they produce. There is a pride in having grown the vegetables from seed in the first place, and that is topped off by using it in a practical and sustainable way. The sense of achievement is complete. It also teaches them about the nutritional content of foods and gets them interested in eating healthily. It horrified me last year to listen to a child on a school visit tell me that he had never eaten a carrot before, let alone realised that they grew underground. The only trouble with gardening is that at times, you do tend to get a glut of one vegetable. I know that around August time, we have competitions to see who can come up with new and unusual tomato recipes. In September, it is the turn of the courgettes and marrow, and in October, we are searching for alternatives to apple crumble or baked apples.

I don't consider myself an expert, but I can hold my own in the kitchen. I don't go in for ready prepared meals and need to create everything from fresh ingredients. I like to experiment and try new things. They don't always work, but now and again you come up with an exciting new combination.

Last week I was thrown down a challenge. A friend bought me a 'Ready, Steady, Cook' bag full of unusual goodies and asked me to present a three course meal from the contents. Luckily, there were plenty of salad and vegetable ingredients, and I managed to knock up a palatable dinner. The beetroot nearly flummoxed me though, but I remembered an old South African recipe that my godfather used to make. I grated the boiled vegetable (lovely and messy) into a bowl of finely chopped onions and added just a tiny pinch of brown sugar. The beetroot melts into the onion, takes out all the fire and brings out the natural sugars. It really is a match made in heaven. I used the small leaves in the accompanying salad.

I passed my challenge with flying colours, but only because I have learnt through experimenting and experience over the years. I have got to know my vegetables and herbs, and how the flavours interact, marry and mingle with each other. It goes to prove that horticulture is not just restricted to the garden; it is inextricably linked to the dining table, as well as many other walks of life.

JOBS THIS WEEK

* Sow tree seeds

If you collected seeds from trees that produce nuts, such as hazel, oak, beech and chestnut, then these need sowing now before they dry out. Pop them in a pot filled with compost and soil and cover with an inch or so. Water well and leave out in a quiet position in the garden.

l Bring fragrance into

the house

Cut stems of viburnum bodnantense, lonicera fragrantissima, hamemalis and viburnum tinus for inside. As they warm up, they release a wonderfully sweet heady perfume.

l Stop ice forming on the pond

The frosts are upon us and ponds and bird baths are likely to freeze over. Don't bash the ice though, as this can shock the fish and wildlife. Float a ball on the surface - this usually keeps at least a small area free from freezing over.

READER'S QUESTION

IRIS from Stockton wants to know how she can get her Christmas cactus to flower better next year.

THE secret to successful flowering of the Christmas cactus (schlumbergera buckleyi) is to prevent the buds from falling off once they have developed. To begin with, keep it fairly dry over the summer and then increase the feed watering regime when the buds form. It is vitally important not to let the plant dry out when the buds have formed. Also, don't move or turn the pot as this will cause the buds to drop as well.

POST SCRIPT

Brigid presents 'Ask about Gardening' every Sunday from 12-2pm on BBC Radio Cleveland, 95FM.

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Published: ??/??/2003