Monthly Archives

April 2016

Cocktail of the Week | Spring Orchard


This week we continue to delves into the depths of our cocktail cabinet to create new and interesting drinks.  We discovered some Absolut Pear vodka, and decided to created an orchard themed cocktail to celebrate our new blog!   It is a refreshing and light drink that is very easy to drink, perfect for sunny spring days! Recipe as follows:

  • 2 measures pear vodka
  • ½ measure elderflower liqueur
  • 2 measure Pear & apple juice
  • ¼ measure fresh lemon juice 
  • Soda water to fill

Pour ingredients into a tall glass over ice, use a slice of fresh pear as garnish.

We hope you enjoy, and if you have any suggestions let us know in the comments.

Cocktail of the Week | Spring Orchard

a lovely spring cocktail for when the weather gets nice!,/div>

 

28th April 2016
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In the Garden | Planning our Veg Patch

Posted in Dwell by

We are currently between houses so we find ourselves living with Richard’s Mum & Dad, and we are likely to be here over the summer. To help out whilst we are here we have offered to take on the veg patch.  Having lived in a flat with only a tiny balcony it is very exciting to have some outside space to get our hands dirty in.

We have both had veg patches previously but that has been quite a few years ago so we are taking it simple this year, but we are already planning what we would do in future years.

This year, in the veg patch we will be growing the following:

  • Lettuce ‘Little Gem’
  • Mangetout ‘Delikata’
  • French Beans ‘Sultana’
  • Courgette ‘Early Gem’
  • Carrots ‘St Valery’
  • Potato ‘Vivaldi’ and ‘Nicola’
  • Onions – Various Varieties
  • Pumpkin
  • Strawberries
  • Raspberries
  • Rhubarb

and in the greenhouse we will be giving the following a go:

  • Tomatoes ‘Tomatoberry’ and ‘Big Boy’
  • Cucumber ‘Telegraph improved’
  • Aubergine ‘F1 Scorpio’
  • Chilli Pepper ‘Cherry Bomb’
  • Sweet Peppers ‘Jingle Bells’ & ‘Italian Long Sweet’

In addition to the fruit and veg we are going to give a cut flower patch a go, we’ll update on the another time as it is still in the final planning stages.

I am sure there will be plenty of updates so check back and see how we are getting on, and if you have any questions or suggestions please let us know in the comments below.

Garden - Veg Patch Planning Garden - Veg Patch PlanningGarden - Veg Patch Planning

Planning our veg patch, let's see what works!

 

28th April 2016
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Top Five | This Week’s Adventures

Posted in Top Five by
Top Five

Every week we are going to share five things we have been up to, things we’ve discovered or things that have made us smile. so without further ado let’s get on with this weeks top five!


One

We went to the Village of Bibury in the Cotswolds. it was a glorious day and was wonderful to walk around their picturesque village; the highlight being the seventeenth-century weavers’ cottages and water meadow.

Two

It is Bluebell season!  Bluebells are undoubtably one of the most iconic of british wild flowers, is there anything better than a walk in a bluebell wood?

Three

Whilst we are living with Richard’s Mum & Dad we will be looking after their veg patch, and creating a cutting garden. One of the first things we planted in the cutting garden are some sweetpeas, we’re looking forward to their gorgeous scent later in there summer.

Four

After much discussion back and forth we have decided to head for a week in the Loire Valley. We have been before, but it is so lovely and really not that far away or expensive. Very much looking forward to lots of wine, food, exploring chateaux and relaxation!

Five

Top Five | Desk

Now we have temporarily moved into Richard’s Mum & Dad’s cottage, Richard needed to set up a place for him to work as a freelance graphic designer. He has created a cosy nook, with plenty of natural light and surrounded but some of his favourite things.

25th April 2016
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Cocktail of the Week | The English Garden


When we moved house we discovered we have an abundance of spirits that were just gathering dust at the back of the cupboard.  Obviously we couldn’t just let then just sit there so in order to try and make a dent in the supply we decided to experiment with a ‘Cocktail of the Week’ that we will share here.

So let’s get started, in honour of it being St George’s Day, and because we have been working hard in the garden all afternoon we are staring with an ‘English Garden’ the recipe is as follows:

  • 2 measures Hendricks Gin
  • 2 ½ measure pressed apple juice
  • 1 measure elderflower liqueur 
  • ½ measure fresh lime juice

Mix all with ice, and serve in a tall glass with a cucumber garnish and plenty of ice, and if you have some to hand a sprig of fresh mint.

A fresh and refreshing cocktail, perfect for when the sun comes out in springtime.

Cocktail of the Week | English Garden

a quintessentially English cocktail to enjoy in the garden.

 

21st April 2016
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Hello | Welcome to Orchard Blog

Posted in News by

Hello! We are Rich & Calum, a happy couple on our adventure through life. We love exploring & adventures, hosting parties & creating a welcoming home, and above all making the most of life.

We have been sharing our going on with our friends for several years but at some point in late 2015 when we were thinking about new year’s resolutions we decided we would like to start a blog to share with a wider audience. This has led to creating Orchard Blog.

As with all blogs we know the content will develop and evolve over time, but as we set off  we have three main topics in mind:

Dwell

Ideas, inspiration & updates on our home & garden

Gather

Parties, food & drink

Explore

Adventures, travel & days out 

We hope you enjoy our posts, and we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. Or if you have any questions feel free to get in touch on social media or send us a message here.

Rich & Calum

Rich-&-Calum

 

20th April 2016
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