April garden
I made a visit to my hometown today and the first thing I did was to check my family’s garden. A couple of weeks ago we’d finally succeeded to plant something; the weather has been very capricious this spring and continues being so – one can’t feel but confused with all this sun-rain-warm-cold conditions.
I was glad to see that thyme, chives and oregano (planted last year), recovered entirely and are looking splendid despite the harsh winter of temperatures as low as -10ºC. Besides the spices mentioned, I’ve also planted marjoram (closely related to oregano) and lemon basil (first time ever) – I can’t wait to see how they look (and taste) like!
Oregano (origanum vulgare)
Chives (allium schoenoprasum)
Thyme (thymus vulgaris)
And besides the upper mentioned spices, we also planted other things, like green peas, onion, bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, tomato, green beans, leafy salad, parsley and tarragon.
Green peas (pisum sativum): I enjoy shelling them and I can hardly wait to make green pea risotto. The taste of homegrown peas beats the taste of store-bought ones anytime.
Bell pepper (capsicum annuum): despite the usual short length of summer here, we manage to grow little bell peppers of yellow and/or green color. However, their taste is unique so we plant them year after year.
Cabbage (brassica oleracea): this vegetable takes long to develop - we won't be able to enjoy it until end of summer. Cabbage is an autumn/winter vegetable and if properly stored in a cool, dark place, it can wait for a few months.
Tomato (solanum lycopersicum): we'd grown tomatoes from seeds only once (three years ago when I transformed our garden into a plantation of tomatoes), otherwise we buy young plants like these ones because the summer season here is too short.
Tarragon (artemisia dracunculus): last year we didn't have luck with this sweet aromatic spice, hopefully this time it will grow strong! We use it in desserts like potica, dumplings, and is best paired with quark (curd cheese).
Strawberries (fragaria x ananassa): they've been in our garden for decades. We renew the "plantation" each three years and even if today strawberries are available practically all year round, I never buy them. I prefer to wait for these ones to mature (end of June) and then enjoy them for a few weeks. Even if they don't always taste so terribly sweet, I wouldn't change them for any other.
I love gardening. Not living at home anymore, I’m not able to go to the garden as often as I’d like to, yet I’m still trying to have my say in the matters concerning the crop rotation, I am the one providing the seeds for the garden as well as I keep a few spice pots on the window sill of my flat. I’ve ever felt well close to nature and gardening actually keeps me connected to it. I hope to have my own garden one day and grow plenty of produce.
