22 Oct 2012

Garden highs, kitchen lows

This weekend was altogether more successful in the garden than in the kitchen. Saturday’s weather was mild and perfect for gardening (compared to the rain and hail flurries of Sunday), so I pulled on my old gardening trackies and long-sleeved shirt and set to work.

A lot of weeding: alternating rain and sun over the last couple of weeks has caused everything - the good and the bad - to grow, so weeding was first on the to-do list. It was a good feeling to stand back after each patch or bed, hands on my lower back to stretch out the aching muscles, and see exactly what I’d achieved. In my day job, I’m an editor, and editing is a similar process to weeding: thinning out the unnecessary and removing the unwanted til the good stuff stands clear and has the space to shine. It’s therapeutic and satisfying, whether it’s words or weeds.

As you can see above, there are still flowers amongst my vegies, and they survived my weeding wrath; the royal purple aquilegias will soon be joined by vibrant blue larkspurs. They attract the bees into the garden so they are in fact quite strategic plantings. That and they are simply beautiful.

After the weeding, I sowed some more peas and beans (you can just see the bare trellises above). The seeds I sowed a couple of weeks ago are either very slow or complete duds; they really should’ve been up by now. The climbing beans I pushed in around the base of my teepees are thru: big, sturdy things punching up out of the soil. I marvel at their power.

I watered and seasol-ed, then took on the job I really dislike and procrastinate over endlessly: mowing the lawn (I feel much the same way about vacuuming the house. Is it a pushing thing?). But a freshly-cut lawn does make a difference to the appearance of the vegie garden and my ornamental garden out the front (which really deserves its own post soon, as the abundant spring colour fills me with such joy).

And finally, on Sunday (before the hail), Mum and Dad came up and I got my first tomato bush of the season (propagated by Dad), a small but healthy mamma mia. Dad is promising two more, so we found spots and he dug over and prepped the soil for me. Another thing to nurture and get excited about. Thanks Dad!

Cooking, on the other hand, was very ordinary. The pearl barley risotto I made… mmm, I’m not so sure about. It was beige and gruel-like. To fold through this I roasted chunks of sweet potato, pumpkin (from Dad) and red capsicum with smoky paprika, cumin, fresh sage and rosemary – gloriously fiery in colour and perfect in flavour.

But I fear the glue-like consistency of the barley risotto doesn’t do these vegies justice; after all, texture is as important as flavour and appearance. Mum’s chickens may end up eating very well.

How was your weekend? Did you have highs and lows?

12 comments:

  1. Your garden looks great! I love flowers amongst the vegetable too, for the bees and just because they look pretty. I love how you share your gardening adventure with your parents. That is special. Yum to those roast vegetables.

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    1. Thank you jane! I learn a lot from my parents, especially my dad, when it comes to vegie gardening. He has really valuable wisdom. Plus he's better at digging than me.

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  2. Those cabbages are just perfect poems of cabbages, and is that a banksia rose over your fence? Gorgeous. Is it my imagination or is this spring just perfectly lush and gorgeous in Tas this year?

    Bad luck with the risotto. I never make them because I KNOW they will turn out like glue, and then I would cry..

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    1. oh, thankyou! i shall pass those lovely words on to the cabbages this evening - they needed a little more encouragement :-) Yes, it is a banksia rose; i have two. this is their second year, and i'm so happy with them. i'm hoping to grow a glorious wall to block out the back neighbours. And you're right, spring has been lush this year; we had just the right amount of rain when it was needed.

      and i think i'll stick to rice risotto! why mess with a good thing?

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  3. Your garden looks lovely! My vegetable garden is a lot smaller, but everything is slowly growing and i should have my first chillies and tomato soon! Loving picking fresh herbs from the garden to use in cooking each night.
    I have never made a risotto, looking to tackle one soon - any tips?

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    1. tip number 1: don't make a risotto with pearl barley ;-) i did a post (here: http://www.diginhobart.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/butternut-risotto.html ) which may help?

      yum to chillies. i grew a plant last summer and it was so productive, i froze oodles of the little things! i won't need to plant one this year.

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  4. Great garden. My beans are growing slowly, leeks definitely need harvesting, as does my sole surviving parsnip - however i may let the latter go to seed and collect for next year. I figure if it was the only one to survive, it must be a tough little thing and worth holding on to. Planting more tomatoes is also on my to-do list! Lovely post, thanks for sharing.

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    1. Parsnips! or rather, parnsip :-)you're right, that might be the Master Parsnip, so good luck with letting it go to seed. Which is an exercise itself in gardening patience, don't you think? That can look so messy, especially in a small back yard garden. Thank you for your kind words.

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  5. Your garden is looking great! And that roast vegetable medley is so colourful and glorious. Just enjoy them like that without the barley, I'd say. :D

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    1. That's what i ended up doing! the barley gruel is headed for mum's chickens today.

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  6. I love the description of editing. I'm in public relations now, but worked as a journo for a while. I find editing one of the most satisfying, cathartic things imaginable. I love taking a big, jumbled sentence and making it succinct...

    Anyway, your garden is looking so gorgeous. We don't get gardens that look like that up here - Brisbane gardens tend to turn into overgrown, humid jungles every time you turn your back on them - particularly at this time of year.

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    1. imposing order onto chaos - such a good feeling, isn't it! i can also apply that to documents, garden beds, laundry cupboards, sock drawers, kitchen drawers...
      thank you for your kind words about the garden. jungles would present different challenges! fast growth - something i can only imagine here in tassie where it is dark, wet and only 9 degrees today. 9!

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