Do you have a green dream? Or is yours a green reality?
I grew up with a very green mother (at 88 she still prefers outdoor works to in-house chores, suggest knitting or crocheting to her and she will politely decline). As a child I did not appreciate garden work (and up today I cannot stand having soil or flour on my hands, it gives me goose bumps) and being told innumerable stories of how to plant this, weed that and all the botanical names, in Latin also.
Today I enjoy planting and growing my own herbs and vegetables (as far as the limited space in our garden and on my balconies allows). What a lovely start to the day having a cup of coffee on the balcony in the early morning sun and looking at your pots.
Pottering away gives me a deep feeling of satisfaction and balance. Imagine how balanced I would be if I could realise my dream of living n Tuscany!
My lovely new plant shelves
We had a very severe winter, for 14 days the temperatures were as low as -20° C and the damage to the plants, shrubs and trees is considerable: I had to replant rosemary, sage, lovage, celery, flat parsley, lemon thyme, lemon grass.
And I could not resist planting some new herbs: chervil, winter and summer savoury, marjoram, lavender, mint, oregano.
All my strawberry plants died but I am not going to replace them. Their yield was not too overwhelming and I need the space for other herbs.
I am still hoping that my lovely fig tree (who has given me so many figs over the last years for my fig mustard, find the recipe here) will recover, I grew it myself from a tiny seedling and watched it stand tall and proud over the last 15 years.
Today I put some lemon grass (tip: buy them in an Asian food shop and put the stems in a glass of water, they will start making roots within days) and a piece of ginger in a pot. Even if the ginger root does not grow roots or leaves, it is a practical way of keeping it alive.
I have planted basil and sown cilantro seeds (tip: buy a big bag of seeds in an Asian shop, much cheaper than buying seeds in a nursery).
And tomatoes: I have kept seeds of last year’s harvest (I cannot remember the name of it, but it was a lovely smaller meaty and fully flavoured tomato), bought seeds of organic cuore di bue (ox heart) and another heirloom sort.
Tomato seeds sown on April 20, 2012
And look at the result within 10 days: my own seedlings clearly win the race!
Tomato seedlings on April 30, 2012
And I wish I had a palm tree in my garden producing this:
It is called Salak, is that not a wonderful and beautiful fruit?
I wonder how long I can resist eating it! I have never tasted it, they say it is sweet and acidic at the same time. I will let you know.
Do you have a green dream? How did you fare last winter? Do you grow your own vegetables and herbs? And what do you do with the proceeds? Eat it or use it for home remedies?
Comments 23
How inspiring Barbara! My husband is a “seed saver” and has good luck with it too! I’m not really the gardener of the family though I do love weeding and hope to grow a large pot of sage this summer!
I don’t really have a green dream. I’ve never been organized enough in the fall to harvest well our herbs, so it anything , that’s my dream! I love cooking with my own herbs! My husband fills our cold room with root vegetables from the summer. We grow as much as we can and we love it! Lately we’ve been growing black beans, a legume we use a lot! We also grow all the brown beans we need to make a meal of baked beans a week for the rest of the year. We use the maple sap to soak them, cook them all up in early spring when the sap is running and freeze them in small containers!
Okay, I guess I do have a green dream. I want to have a beautiful herb garden which includes lavender! (therapeutic use, for sure!) Who knows, maybe this year I’ll be more organized and begin to make that garden!
Living in Tuscany! It sounds like a dream! Have you seen the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”? I watch that over and over again – pure poetry!
🙂
Lori
@Lori Hi, green dreamer! This sounds wonderful, specially soaking the beans in maple sap. Is the sap sweet (sorry for asking such a stupid thing but I am excused as we do not process maple sap here in Europe)?
Do start on your herb garden, do you have any books on herbs, both for therapeutic use and for cooking delicious food? In the end it is so easy but ever so gratifying, planning and working out a schedule will help (look who is talking!).
I have read the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”, lovely, and who knows one day maybe ….
Have a good day,
Barbara xo
@Late_Bloomers The sap is sweet but not as sweet as the syrup. It takes about 40 times the sap to get a small amount of syrup. I’m not saying that right. It’s too early in the morning for me to be here 😮
But when the sap first starts running and there isn’t enough to bother collecting, my husband will drink a glass or two. It’s a wonderful feeling to drink it – slightly sweet and filled with nature’s energy!
I have no books on herbs. I’ll have to look into it.
You’ve read the book? Don’t watch the movie or you’ll go crazy! It will make your dream more urgent! It’s a beautiful movie! Maybe I’ll watch it later today! 😉
Lori
@Lori Mhhh, yummy, I have a friend in Canada who has an online shop for Canadian delicacies, I have to ask him whether he can send me some sap!
The herb books I have are all in English, I will check whether they have been translated and send you links.
Yes, I have read the book and I loved it. Specially, since I know this region of Tuscany rather well. Wonderful idea: I will download it for a rainy day! 😉 thanks!
Barbara
I grow some ‘herb’ too but have to keep it hidden from view…………..:).
Do you think it’s generational? My grandmother (born in 1898 and died in 2001) worked in her yard until her mid 90’s. Of course way back in the day it was not uncommon for them to ‘grow’ their meals.
I’ve tried some gardens with limited success but I LOVE vine ripe tomatoes.
Good luck with yours; hopefully they will be ready when we all show up for dinner.
@bdorman264 Haha, would love to see that …
Generational? Nope, I think it is circumstancial (if there exists such a word but you know what I mean), my mum is born in 1924 and had the drive and stamina to live her dream: building a house and tending a huge garden in Southern Spain. Both my grandparents lived in the city all their ilves, both of them had a garden but did not grow their meals, their gardens were for pleasure only.
The trend these days goes more towards growing herbs and vegetables even in the smallest place, the kind of “back to the nature in a box” (more sophisticated people call it “urban gardening” which also entails using public places) movement.
Thanks for the good wishes, I will keep one ripe tomato for you, so you better make sure to show up!
How is the writing going? I am very very anxious to hear about it … and good luck to you!
Salek – I’ve never heard of it! I love the look of your pot plants 🙂 I must admit, I don’t have a green thumb at all, but loved looking out at the garden this afternoon being watered by the rain and looking all loved and green.
@JanineRipper HI, Janine, my dear, who was your week? You can already enjoy your weekend, we have some more hours to go! But it is ok, I have been busy and this makes me feel good.
Salak, you might know it under the name of snake fruit, the pattern and shine do ressemble snake skin.
Those plant shelves look good but they are rather unpractical, you can only put small pots on the shelves and therefore you need to water them each day …. so much for my green thumb, rather lazy.
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy!
I am not good at gardening. You see, I grew up in the countryside and all I ever wanted to do was to escape.
I do admire you for having such beautiful pots! I don’t think that I would have the patience…
@JSJ2020 Is it not interesting that growing up in the countryside you want to escape, growing up in town you want to go all rural. Let the gardens come into town!
I am sure you have some beautiful pots at home, just you wait, I might check it out. Thanks, Muriel, pleasure to see you here and sooooooooon much more ….
I always used to think my Grandad was crazy, the amount of time he spent in the garden when I was a child. Now I love the tips and info I’ve picked up from him and like nothing better than pottering. There’s a great satisfaction in knowing that what you are eating is grown by you.
@Lucylastica2 Your Grandad and my mother, they are of the same mold, and we have inherited their genes. My daughter has started growing her own beans because she remembers them and their lovely violet blossoms from her earliest days when one balcony was completely covered with them.
Looking forward to exchanging our dog stories (remember the bacon scented soap bubbles?) and green conquests.
I’d LOVE to have a garden but right now its just not practical. Having a 2yr old totally sucks up time (in a very good way). When he’s a little bit older I can’t wait to get something going.
@mandasachs Hi, Amanda, and welcome to another PBAU blog. I am with you 100 %, 2 years old = 200 % of your time! I used to involve my daughter from an early age on in all I did: cooking and gardening, taking her along on social events (when possible). And she was always interested in eating what we had planted! This might be an idea, no?
Ooooh that looks like fun! Seems like you deserve it after the winter you had! I have some plants, but I wish I had room to grow more.
Ooooh that looks like fun! Seems like you deserve it after the winter you had! I have some plants, but I wish I had room to grow more.
@Adriene Hi, Adrienne, yes, it is fun and it is very meditative! Watching something grow (seed willing!) and even give you a harvest (however modest sometimes) is deeply satisfying.
You do not much space, how about a vertical garden? I am very intrigues by this concept and it is catching on.
Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful weekend!
Blog looks great!
We had an unseasonably warm winter, though several days that were bitter cold with no reprieve. So, an odd winter.
I’m always glad when the Spring rolls around and we can plant things that bloom and grow. Thank you for sharing!
~Keri
@connectyou Hi, Keri!
Thank you, coming from you this means a lot to me!
What’s wrong with the weather? We on the other hand had an unreasonably cold winter with so many frost days that my fig and my bay tree (and yes, I knew they were not meant for cold climates but have marvelously survived for many years) most probably have died, I am giving them a chance till next winter.
Looking forward to “One Day in May” activities, I am currently in London and will travel on this Thursday to Somerset for a food writing and photography workshop, therefore my online time has shrunk to practically zilch!
Have a great week and thanks for stopping by, Keri!
Oh, I SO have a green dream, but being green is currently still so overwhelming to me! =P There are so many tips and tricks, and worthwhile pieces of knowledge regarding this plant and that plant. Nevertheless, I continue to harbor my green dream and I know that one day, I’ll just need to jump right in, get dirty, and make mistakes. In the meantime, I’ll live vicariously through you. Thanks, Barbara. =) Beautiful photos, btw!
@Samantha Bangayan Sam, my dearest, you know what this reminds me of? Your flower post and that beautiful picture of yours with those lovely blossoms in your hair, you radiated happiness pure, you should definitely follow your green dreams!
Everything at its time, coming from an otherwise rather impatient person this makes me laugh out loud!
Thanks, Sam, for coming by, lovely visit 😉
How did the Salak taste?
@sallykwitt Hi, Sally, LOL, and you know why? Everybody wants to know how it tasted and when I finally opened it (the fruit looks so beautiful so I left it untouched for too long!) it was rotten and brown and stank to hell. It went the way of all earthly things in my household: namely to the compost bin in the garden! This way, the plants and I profit from it the next year!
Thanks for coming by and I wish you a lovely weekend, is it also hot like hell in the USA?