Reasons to be Cheerful – The Fruits of Our Labour

It seems just a few weeks ago I was talking about how lovely it was to see our garden springing into life. That’s probably because it was actually! It was literally just last month that everything had only just started sprouting and now, thanks to – I’m guessing – this crazy sunshine, everything has gone a bit crazy!

The herbs have been going nuts for a while now. Seriously, anybody want some parsley? Because we have parsley for days…! But now we’ve actually started to see some real, bonafide food already! Just look at this lot! We’ve already harvested our first batch of strawberries! I say batch – there were only three, because the slugs got a couple, and one fell foul to an inquisitive Bonnie who pulled it off, had a sniff, then discarded it on the lawn (I’m assuming that is what happened anyway, she is remaining very tight lipped on the matter…) but those three we did get hold of were darn delicious! There weren’t enough for a dessert, of course, but they made the perfect accompaniment to my afternoon gin!

We also have tomatoes! From what I can count, three so far. They are a bit tricky to find because they’ve started to get a little overgrown. It’s like day of the triffids over there right now! So there might be a few more hiding in there somewhere, but either way I can’t wait to get to eat one! As am I our courgettes! I only just spotted the first flower last weekend, and now already I can count 4 or 5 little courgettes growing! One day if I get brave enough I might even try cooking stuffed courgette flowers! I can’t forget about our little salad supply either – we’ve just harvested the first lot of lettuce, spinach and rocket and honestly, we have it coming out of our ears right now, so at the very least we’re going to be eating very healthily over the next few weeks!

Finally, I know I can’t eat them, but I’m super proud of my Sweet Peas, which bloomed for the first time this weekend. I grew them in memory of my Grandad and I just can’t resist stopping to have a sniff every time I walk past. They are just so pretty and fill my heart with joy whenever I look at them! It might not be as grand as the Bougainvillea walls I coveted in Morocco, but I love them all the same!

So looks like we’re getting quite good at this gardening thing – what should we try growing next?

Love,