Cucumber Gazpacho

Summer garden produce is finally ripening in our garden.

We are starting to pick tomatoes and today picked 2 Richmond green cucumbers.

So along with some fresh basil, garlic, chives, mint, red chilli, parsley, salt, pepper and a little water we blended 6 tomatoes and our peeled cucumber into this delicious cold soup which I have called cucumber gazpacho because of the delicious fresh cucumber it had.

All the herbs and veggies were freshly picked and we enjoyed the soup sitting in the garden watching heaps of bees enjoying flowering herbs and busily pollinating the plants in our garden.

LOVE!!! Summer so far!

Rosella Enjoying Salad Burnet Seeds in the Garden Today

We save seeds to plant out in our next seasons garden.

We let plants go to seed so they self seed and reappear in our gardens as the seasons change.

We save seeds to give to others.

We save seeds so we have nourishing food next season.

We let things go to seed to enjoy the beauty of the flowers and seeds.

We let things go to seed so bees and birds and other insects are attracted to our gardens.

These visitors pollinate, eat bugs and keep our gardens healthy.

SEEDS, SEEDS, SEEDS!

Tell us a tale of your seed saving adventures!

Adelaide Spring Garden Bee Feast

Here are some pictures from our Adelaide spring garden with rocket, brassica rapa, parsley & flame tree mustard green going to seed. And an amazing array of flowering herbs including sage, borage, pineapple sage, thyme, watercress, salad burnett, society garlic & many more flowers attracting a myriad of bees other insects.

A bee enjoying our borage

Colour maze

Brassica rapa going to seed

Flowering coriander

Watercress flower

The Bees and the Rainbow Lorikeets and the Palm Flower

We made this video this week when we were walking the dogs in the early evening.

This palm tree looked like something you would see in the tropics rather than dry old Adelaide.

It was so much fun to see masses of bees and rainbow lorikeets having a supper feast we raced home to get the camera.

We hope you enjoy this video it gets a bit blurring in places but comes clear at the end.

ANISE HYSSOP - AGASTACHE FOENICULUM

One of the best things about growing different vegetables and herbs for the first time are the surprises that await you as these tiny seeds or seedlings are placed in soil and tended occasionally and just left to grow and become what they are.

Our greatest surprise last summer was a herb we bought at the herb society last year.

The label said Agastache foeniculum, Tea Herb and Bee and bird attracting.
This one glorious plant attracted lots of bees to our garden and obviously the bees did there work in pollinating lots of other herbs and veggies in the garden.
We had an amazing amount of cucumbers.

I cut the plant back harshly and it died(or maybe it was my neighbours use of poisons on the fence line and his drive way).
This year we have not as many bees and less cucumbers.
This was a really majestic plant and I would recommend gardeners have a couple in their summer gardens.
These photos I took look a bit washed out compared to the real thing.
I have learnt another valuable lesson in loosing this plant, slow down in the garden take care of what you are growing and companion planting and bee attracting plants work.


The common name is Anise hyssop, a hardy perennial, grows to 2-3 ft (6ocm-1m), long spikes of purple- blue flowers. Grows in rich moist soil in a sunny position flowers in summer. Propagate in spring by seed or divide creeping root. Use dried leaves as a seasoning or infuse as a tea.

There is good information about herbal teas at this site The Herbal Tea Garden

If you want an adventure check out all you can do with garden herbs at Alchemy Works