Garden Envy and Irrelevant Baby Photo.

Here is a picture of my baby laughing , not directly relevant.

So Spring is in full swing, we have a couple of tomato plants in (heirloom varieties of course!) and the broccoli is bravely producing sweet sprouts eagerly eaten as soon as they are picked. I don't know what purple sprouting tastes like cooked! The rocket (arugula, roquette, whatever) has bolted but I find the leaves are still tasty and the flowers and seed pods can add interest to salads and stir fries too but over all I miss my garden at this time of year. 

The tenant from our old cottage has been up to ask me about caring for the hazelnuts and apricots and telling of the sunflowers and pumpkins he is planting and I feel a pang of envy. I am not a green thumb, I am a messy and chaotic gardener and can't even grow a proper radish but it seemed to lift my mood to get amongst the soil and randomly garden. Courtyard gardening with one small bed and some pots doesn't have the same feel, the margin for error is smaller than my lack of attention to detail allows and although I am growing some fine herbs I wish I had the space to try artichokes and I wish I could focus enough to grow some decent greens.

Considering the abundance of reasonably priced and excellent quality local produce around here it is a First World problem really. If I had time I would join a community garden but really I just want my own patch of dirt to muck about in and have the kids getting filthier than they manage in this concrete compound we have here (actually you would be surprised how filthy they can get!). 

Until I have this again I will continue to sprout (Oh I love sprouting but now use an automatic sprouter!) and grow herbs and enjoy and be grateful for the great natural food I can buy locally.

Is that Autumn I can feel?

The weather features heavily in my blog posts but it is a real influence here, it feels right to be influenced by the forces of nature rather than airconditioned, artificially ventilated and heated spaces with nothing natural.

We have wonderful weather at the moment and the zucchinis(courgettes- Jess- sounds so much nicer and easier for the baby to say) are growing well, I am letting them get bigger than usual so I can make some relish as last years is nearly done. The amazing sunflower is bowing it's head under the weight of the seeds and the corn will be ready any day now (if only I knew how to tell- I picked one which looked good but it was immature)

The sun is fierce but the Morning and afternoon light has a golden, muted feel to it which makes me think autumn is just about here- I shall collect many bags of leaves for mulching and layering in no dig gardens, hunt of mushrooms and savour the blackberries whilst the boys participate in the time honoured childish pursuit of "scuffling" the leaves in the their wellies. I love autumn!

I some plants are growing well and others I had given up on, like my eggplant (Aubergine Jess- parle Vous Francais, ummm un petit pous- errr non but it sounds good er bonne, oui? so maybe one day I will learn.) and I had a look at it today and BEHOLD! a beautiful tiny aubergine!

At the markets on Sunday we found a Fuchsia stall by following people carrying astonishing fuchsia plants and the lady gave Master Four a  Shasta daisy in a gift wrapped pot with a heart shaped decoration complete with wooden lady bird because "he looked like a gardener" he was absolutely delighted (and I promptly bought a gorgeous flamboyant fuchsia for $5) and we have planted his daisy in the front yard. Bless the boys, they really like gardening- I have found I even prefer gardening with them to gardening without them!