The final month of spring is generally time to get a lot of mid to late summer crops into the ground, harvest peas and broad beans and maybe even start picking a few early berries. It’s also when the elderflower is in full flush and it’s time for me to start making my year’s supply of cordial.
Elderflower cordial is one of my favourite beverage flavours and after years of scrambling around riverbanks or abandoned lots across the length and breadth of Tasmania on the hunt for flowers and berries, I’ve now got enough plants growing in my own garden to meet my needs. The highest concentration of elder plants seems to be in the north of the state, which is admittedly a long way to go for some flower juice.
I’ve heard the best time to pick them is on a dry morning, so having a few plants close at hand definitely makes my life easier. With in-store prices up to $15 for a half litre bottle, while homemade costs pennies per bottle to make, it’s one of those deceptive cheap-gourmet hacks that makes home pantries so satisfying. This year I also tried a couple of new experiments, including elderflower infused gin and a small batch of strawberry-elderflower jam. Haven’t tried the gin yet but the jam was a resounding success, adding an intriguing floral note.
My broad beans, started in late autumn, are now large enough to harvest. When they’re young, I simply pod and freeze the young beans, but as they get older and more floury, they make a delicious alternative to chick peas as a base for hummus (which keeps well in the freezer). Speaking of legumes, it was also time to harvest and shell the bulk of my pea crop. With the crazy amount of rain we’ve had this spring, I’ve had a bumper crop – enough to add three decent sized bags to my freezer stash.
Next month is going to be when the berries start really pumping, although I’d already had a few strawberries before the end of the month, but the lingering cold weather has set everything back significantly. Much of what I’d normally have in the ground by now is still in my greenhouse – it’s hard to believe that in some past spring seasons I’d be close to harvesting courgettes by now!
Leave a Reply