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Tuesday 13 December 2011

summer treasure hunting... a suburban harvest

Hello, everyone. How's your December been so far?

Mine's been busy, in a mixed-up sort of way. Work's been hectic. My parents are visiting.

The former is not so great. The latter is pretty freakin' awesome.

My parents have been staying at my uncle and aunt's place out in the southeastern suburbs, and on the weekend, I hopped on a tram so I could join them for a couple of days.

It's like a different world out there.

I'm used to my little apartment, and the hustle and bustle of inner city life. Whenever I visit my uncle and aunt, however, I'm transported to a quiet neighbourhood. Laid-back. Spacious. Peaceful.

And there's a garden. Oh yes. I do so miss having a garden, and my aunt has got a rather fabulous one. Forget about flowers... this garden is full of food. Just the way I like it.

Friday morning, I languidly wander off to the patio deck, walk down the stairs, and lo and behold, there's lettuce, so bright and verdant. We enjoyed those gorgeous lettuce leaves in a salad that very night.

Lettuce, you're looking good.

And just next to the leafy lettuce, the green beans sway, looking nice and crunchy.

Green beans, you're not too shabby, either.

I get distracted and wander off to another corner. Here we have tomato plants, and they're coming along nicely. Most of them are still green, but I spied this reddish beauty. I hope to sample one soon!

Oh tomato, you'll be mine one day.

There's also a tiny capsicum plant with tiny green capsicums. Very cute.

Baby capsicums, I look forward to you flourishing into handsome young men.

Mum and Dad have been raving about the zucchinis from the garden. I soon found the zucchini fruits, complete with zucchini flowers, growing out from the base of the plants!

Ah, zucchini, you're such a tease.

At this point Dad enthusiastically comes over and leads me off to the potato plants. "Let's see if we can dig up some potatoes!"

And so we did.

One of them had already sprouted, so we re-planted it.

Diddly dee, potatoes!

Then, together, we discovered these green-and-purple chillies.

I'd like to get to know you better, pretty chillies.

And not too far away, the strawberry plants, sitting pretty in a rectangular box of soil, where I found this young strawberry, blushing a pale pink.

You're destined for great things, my little strawberry. Yes you are.

Saturday afternoon, my aunt picks a few of the ripened strawberries. They look small and awkward; the colours are fairly subdued. But the taste... oh my. I can't remember the last time I had such perfectly sweet strawberries. They are beautiful, and I am so in love.

A strawberry in the hand is worth two in the bush...

And that's not all... but I think I'll leave the rest for another day! I'm sorry if the writing in this post seems a little choppy and unhinged - I put it together in a hurry. Hopefully the pictorial tour of the lovely produce makes up for it - and if you like what you see, I'll be back with more!

30 comments:

  1. It's an interesting post even though it is short

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  2. Such gorgeous photography! Where I used to live we had tons of strawberries in the garden, and wild blackberries out the back. Now all I have is a few herbs in pots in my kitchen!

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  3. Thanks, Michelle - I guess the photos speak for themselves, mostly. :p

    Thanks Foodycat! :)

    Thanks Sarah, that's pretty much my deal - a couple of herbs on the kitchen windowsill! Better than nothing, I guess. ;)

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  4. It's such fun to see your garden in full splendor as snow blankets everything here in Colorado. There is nothing better than the fragrance of a perfectly ripe strawberry!

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  5. Nothing beats fresh produce freshly plucked from the earth in your backyard. I'm a very sad case with plants, but have been given a strawberry seedling to tend to. Let's see if that survives, haha!

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  6. Ooooh, yet another reminder that I need to get my vegie garden back up and running! Hope you're having/have had a good time with your folks.

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  7. la domestique - there is certainly much joy in that splendorous garden, and those little strawberries!

    Fatbooo, good luck! May your strawberry plant thrive and yield some seriously good strawberries. :D

    Thanks CheezyK! They'll be here for awhile so looking forward to enjoying more time with them. Hope things go well with your vegie garden too. :)

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  8. My dream is a huge edible garden. For now I have a few pots and a tiny square of earth that I fill with tomatos. How lovely that you get to visit (and eat) such a gorgeous garden.

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  9. Nonsense, Leaf! Your writing is impeccable and fun to read as always. Guess it shows that you're really getting better by taking less time. Hopefully it was the book that helped as well (I'm a seriously slow reader, barely finished a quarter of it!).

    Anyway, what a fun life it must be to have a garden like this in your backyard. To find something new and exciting at every nook and corner. I've always hoped that I would move to the suburbs one day for that very reason! Btw, glad to hear you're having a GREAT time with your folks now that they're in town. My parents are here for my grad too and couldn't be happier. Enjoy the rest of your time with your family!! =)

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  10. I don't think this post is choppy, I think it shows your enthusiasm and joy at the beautiful produce! I'm so envious; I don't even have a window ledge big enough to grow herbs on!

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  11. Love it, I think you are my kind of person and I am delighted to have met you!

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  12. Lisa, you're doing much better than I am! I only have a windowsill at the moment. One day...

    Winston, you have such kind words as always! I, too, would love to have a garden like this one day. Hope you enjoy your time with your folks too! :)

    Aww thanks Hannah. I hope you get to grow your own food one day!

    Thanks Lizzy, and likewise! :)

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  13. last time i ate strawberries from the garden i was also in love. isn't it incredible the difference....

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  14. What an amazing assortment of vegetables and fruits. So healthy and happy looking too! I love gardens and your aunt does a smashing job!

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  15. wow! i am so jealous of your beautiful garden. the strawberries will be wonderful.

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  16. Your lovely photos make me dream of jumping on a next flight to Australia. How I miss strawberries! And strawberries from your family's garden are the best in the world. Still so many months to wait for the Summer here...
    Thank you for visiting my blog. I am very happy to discover yours and to meet you! (By the way, I am also a big fan of Big Bang Theory ;-) )

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  17. Aren't you lucky that it's summer right now!! And what a luscious garden ... if I tried that I fear the rats would get all the goods. Shocking!

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  18. It really is incredible, muppy!

    Thanks msihua! That garden has a lot of love put into it for sure.

    Thanks LiveLoveNYC. The strawberries are wonderful indeed. :)

    Thank you Sissi, nice to meet you too! It certainly is nice and warm in this part of the world at the moment. Hurrah for homegrown strawberries, and Big Bang Theory. :D

    Another six months, Trix, and the tables will turn. ;) And you bring up a good point, I should ask my aunt how she goes about pest control...

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  19. This is absolutely an edible garden! I am envious. :)

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  20. Reminds me of my great-grandparents and their little garden. I wish we had the room to have something like that where we are now.

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  21. I real strawberry! lol yeah I agree, home grown doesnt look always that appetizing but they are a million times better tasting. Nice little garden!

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  22. Oh I have serious veggie garden envy now! I completley share in your excitement for beautiful fresh produce. Imagine stuffing that zucchini flower and devouring it. Love this post :)

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  23. I am envious, too, tigerfish... :p

    That's also a wish of mine, Sylvie! I like where I live but it does have its restrictions...

    Thanks Helene! They really do taste so fabulous.

    Thanks Anna, haven't tried the flowers yet - but the zucchinis are delicious! :)

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  24. wow! gorgeous photos! everything looks really good. thank you for sharing this.

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  25. °º♫
    °º✿
    º° ✿♥ ♫° ·.
    ✿⊱╮
    Eu também tenho um jardim, com flores e verduras comestíveis como salsa, cebolinha, couve, coentro e outras verduras orgânicas.
    Bom domingo!
    Beijinhos.
    Brasil
    ✿⊱╮

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  26. Lovely garden tour - I would LOVE a garden. But then I still want my inner city lifestyle. Doh! :D

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  27. I would love a garden :( I kill everything I try to grow. I have a live Christmas tree this year so we shall see...

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  28. Edible gardens........they're the best eh!!!

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  29. What lovely backyard bounty! My veggie garden brings me so much satisfaction, and yumminess, they all taste so much better than Woolies too :)

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