borage cubes

When talking about how to use the borage that has taken over the communal herb garden, my friend Eileen suggested I put the flowers in ice cubes. And so I did. These sweet blue flowers that I often nibble on are the perfect addition to a gin and tonic. I also wonder if the cucumber-taste of the leaves might infuse gin nicely.

coneflowers and bumblebees

The echinacea is in bloom and the bumblebees are loving them, even more than me! They are also all over the borage (more to come). As I was picking borage flowers one ran smack into my arm and didn't sting me. That is the way of the gentle bumblebee.

twined

My fellow community gardening friend, Crispin, has strung up twine through a neighbouring Japanese maple and connected it to his bean poles to allow them to keep 'twining'. It's quite lovely, I find twine to be very simple and elegant.

I tried something similar with my plot: I have been growing scarlet runners up tomato spirals and they too had reached the end of the line. Following suit I connected twine between the poles and my neighbours trellis to create an arbour. Unfortunately someone didn't like my idea and pinched the bean tips. Oh well.

Pesto!

The basil is finally ready and I made my first batch of pesto this season. I used this recipe which I fine-tuned last summer. Sooo delicious!

eggplant and potatoes

I harvested these gorgeous potatoes last night. They were delicious with fresh dill, butter, salt and pepper. I've been hilling my potatoes up with compost and exploring gently with my hands to unearth potatoes near the surface...

I'm also growing eggplant for the first time. Somehow the fruit just snuck up on me as I discovered them with delight a few days ago. These attractive plants caught my eye and I picked up a white variety at the local farmers market. I've chosen to grow them on my sunny SWest facing deck in a pot rather than transplant them into my gardening plot. I'm also growing watermelon and tomato on the 4th-storey deck and they're all thriving.

'happy' gardening

In the midst of a rough couple of days, I stopped by my garden last night in a horrid mood. As soon as I walked onto the sun-drenched site in the early evening I found myself thinking 'I love my garden, it makes me so happy!' Sappy I know, but true. Do you think of your garden as therapy?

pretty partnership

I just came upon this photo on the Evergreen website - cabbage and nasturtiums - what a lovely edible plant combination.