Summer Garden in Adelaide December 2009

Welcome to our garden, we took these photos a couple of days ago, before the temperature rose to 40 degrees Celsius.

Today the whole yard is covered in shade cloth, which will come down tonight as the weather cools down.

The left top is turmeric, right top is a large female Romanesco zucchini flower, centre left is a curry leaf tree, centre right is some produce from the garden (pepino, salad onion, tomato & chilli), bottom left is society garlic flowers & bottom right is our Bari cucumbers.

We are picking zucchini, a few little tomatoes, pepinos, chillies, parsley,  lots of herbs,  lots of mint, chives, salad onions, lemon verbena and lemon myrtle for tea, sorrel, red shiso, basil, land cress, a little errbet spinach, purslane, parsley seeds, wild rocket and a few lemons.

So brown rice Tabouli with mint, tomatoes, parsley and salad onion; Persian zucchini, mint, spring onions fritters; chimichurri sauce; potato and curry leaf samosas; yoghurt and herb dip; salads of herbs, flowers and garlic; hummus with parsley, garlic and chilli; spinach and onion pakoras; gazpacho with fresh basil, garlic, cucumbers and tomatoes; onion tops frittata; eggplant chutney; zucchini slice; salads with garlic and herbs; pasta with parsley, anchovies, garlic and capers; pizzas with tomatoes, basil, onion and garlic; sliced pepinos with mint and yogurt; zucchinis stuffed with rice, tomatoes and herbs; potato bake with herbs, chives and cream; chickpea and pepino salad with parsley and mint; wild rocket pesto; polenta with butter, herbs and chives; rice noodles with chopped onions and basil; sushi with cucumber, spring onion and shiso; blackeyed beans with coriander, parsley, onions and tomatoes; Peruvian casserole with winter pumpkin, potatoes, cumin, tomatoes, garlic, coriander and lima beans are all on the menu at our home this summer.

When you have a kitchen garden your world expands, you have a lovely setting to relax in. Somewhere to enjoy the beauty and magic of the seasons, bird and insect life and all the things growing in your garden.

You are able to experience joy and beauty when you gaze at a chicory plant and a lettuce plant going to seed, leaning on each other and showing the world the exquisite beauty of their flowers.

 

I watched neighbour’s pack up their very large boat and SUV vehicle, ready to head off some where. Then I wandered through the garden, looked at all our baby tomatoes, eggplants, tiny cucumbers and figs, parsley plants going to seed everywhere and masses of bees on every flower and I thought of simple things.

Simple things are often disrespected, not noticed or ignored but simple things are life, they are the essence of being a human on this planet.

I hope 2010 is a great year for you all, a year when you can accept life as it is, enjoy your friends, neighbours and family, enjoy your garden as it keeps you healthy and gives you good exercise.  Next year let’s continue to reach out to others who have never even tasted how great home grown organic food is.

Have a Happy, Healthy, Go Organic New Year. We shall gather soon and check out someone's garden, share food and enjoy each others company.

Happy New Year

Maggie