#Chestnut Gardens

[insidecroydon]

'Best Christmas present ever': Emili Sande sings at care home

Delighted: staff, residents and families at the Purley home could barely believe their luck when Emili Sande arrived to sing for them in a special Christmas treat Emeli Sande, the A-list singer-songwriter who has performed before live audiences of hundreds of thousands of people around the world, astonished and delighted the residents of a Purley care home when she turned up for a pre-Christmas…

[nipuni]

Some photos from this week! 😊

[michaelnordeman]

In the garden. Värmland, Sweden (May 9, 2020).

[andulkaphoto]

[kit-all]

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Sunday 7 January 2024

The distinctive fruit of Rosa roxburghii (burr rose, chestnut rose) which follows the pale pink single blooms of summer. This species shrub rose has attractive peeling grey bark revealing the cinnamon stems.

Jill Raggett

[virsancte]

hey buddy

[pumkin-pride]

Welcome, October!

[askwhatsforlunch]

Port Bacon, Apple and Mushroom Stuffing

This tasty Port Bacon, Apple and Mushroom Stuffing, fragrant with garden herbs, made a delicious Thanksgiving filling and side.

100 grams/3.5 ounces smoked streaky bacon

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

half a dozen large chestnut mushrooms

1 large garlic clove, minced

half a dozen large leaves Garden Sage 

1 onion

2 Ribston Pippin apples, rinsed

half a fluffy sprig Garden Rosemary

100 grams/3.5 ounces stale Spelt Sourdough 

3/4 cup good Tawny Port

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes

½ teaspoon freshy cracked black pepper

In a large, deep nonstick skillet, cook bacon strips over medium-high heat, a couple of minutes. Transfer bacon strips to a plate; set aside.

Add olive oil and butter to bacon fat. Cut chestnut mushrooms into thick slices. Once the butter is just foaming, add mushrooms to the skillet. Sauté, about 3 minutes, shaking the pan often until softened. Stir in minced garlic. Finely chop Sage, and stir into the skillet as well. Cook, a couple of minutes more.

Peel and finely chop onion, and stir into the skillet. Cook, 1 minute. Core and dice apples, and add to the skillet. Cook, until softened, about 4 minutes.

Finely chop Rosemary leaves and roughly chop reserved bacon; stir both into the skillet.

Then, cut stale Spelt Sourdough into dices, and add to the skillet. Stir in Tawny Port. Season with fleur de sel and black pepper. Once almost all the Port is soaked up, remove from the heat.

Set aside, to cool, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 210°C/ 410°F.

Once you’ve stuffed your bird, spoon remaining Port Bacon, Apple and Mushroom Stuffing in a buttered dish. Place in the middle of the hot oven. Bake, 30 to 35 minutes, at 210°C/ 410°F.

[encryptedlunacy]

My mother works at a school and they needed some chestnuts for a nature project and had not realized she had a stowaway in her pocket

Needless to say, I was delighted, she screamed, the slug is safely living it's life out in the yard.

[insidecroydon]

Free tea-time treats at Purley home's monthly Community Café

Nice spread: care home staff provide the tea time treats for the once-a-month Community Café at Chestnut Gardens Staff and residents at Chestnut Gardens care home in Purley had neighbours and friends over for their Community Café afternoon. Taking place from 2.30pm on the last Wednesday of the month (the next one will be on Wednesday, October 30; then November 27), residents from within the…

[themarchingbeetle]

Horse chestnut flowers

[cwcherry]

Summertime sadness. Henlo samer!

[michaelnordeman]

In the garden. Värmland, Sweden (May 19, 2018).

[faguscarolinensis]

Aesculus parviflora / Bottlebrush Buckeye at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[moonskyearth]