The Rose Garden in Morden Hall, Greater London
Before the next Post on Perfume, I couldn’t resist writing about the picnic we had on Saturday afternoon.
We had been planning to go for a picnic for a while, but each time we got the food in, the weather for the weekend turned against us. Last Saturday, however, seemed the perfect picnic weather.
Morden Hall is a National Trust park open to everyone, free of charge and open nearly 365 days of the year.
Along the edge of the park is the river Wandle, which in industrial times had a watermill and is the site where William Morris produced the lovely fabrics and furniture during the Arts and Crafts era. We live so close to the park, about a two-mile walk, that we sometimes make a point of walking instead of getting the bus or driving.
Within the grounds are a Wedding registry office and a rose garden, which was planted during the 1930s and currently undergoing renovation. It is a beautiful setting and popular for weddings.
This Saturday, we sat under the shade of a tree within the rose garden and watched the spectacle of a wedding take place while enjoying the simple pleasure of eating the food we had prepared for the picnic.
Chicken drumsticks which had been marinated in honey and apple juice to make them tender and oven roasted, they took 45 mins to cook while we had breakfast.
Mozzarella, basil and tomato rolls, along with some traditional Melton Mowbray pork pies (bought from M&S).
Summer fruit with mint in a cup
For dessert, we had summer fruits, these were washed and put into a plastic container. To add a little fragrance, I laid some fresh mint leaves in between the layers of fresh strawberries, blueberries, nectarine pieces. I cut the nectarine into pieces to be eaten with our fingers straight out of the plastic bowl. I brought a small pot of honey for dipping the fruit into.
The picnic was simple in preparation, wrapped in cling film for the rolls and foil for the chicken, placed in a cold bag along with the iced tea we decanted into water bottles. The plan being to eat with our hands and minimise on washing up when we got home.
As I didn’t think our old picnic rug or food we wrapped in cling film and foil would be particularly inspiring to look at, I have included some photos of the roses and the walled enclosure with a clock tower.instead.
The girls managed to get themselves wet in the stream which they had gone to explore and paddle in while we sat and watched the wedding. I love days like these when we just chill and do nothing for a whole afternoon.
As for the summer fruit in the plastic tub, I have prepared this again tonight, it is a little more pleasing to look at as a dessert. This time in a short tumbler, with mint laid between the fruit layers to add fragrance to the fruit, together with a drizzle of honey over the top and fruit juice splashed into the glass with the tiniest amount of rosewater. It took all of 5 minutes to prepare, and enjoyed in about the same amount of time, for our tea tonight.
