A few years back Mr Girlfriend & I bought our very own house.
We were (and still are) as excited about redecorating the inside as we were the outside.
Finally a chance to start planting our own garden.
Take out the messy old non-native shrubs & plant only food producing or native trees & shrubs.
It wil be an ongoing project.
One of the most exciting things we did was to plant our very first Eucalpyts.
It felt so HUGE.
To us it was kind of more significant than the house.
We were planting something that would last a lot longer than either of us.
I remembered when we live in London and went to visit Kew Gardens.
It was just astonishing to think that someone had the vision to plant on such a vast scale and never live long enough to be able to see the finished result. A gift to all. So selfless.
I am not professing that we are doing anything like that but it felt significant for us.
Permanent.
We did it in an effort to bring Bees & Native Birds to our suburban garden.
To lighten our footprint a little.
And of course to give us joy.
This year our two Ficifolias began flowering on Christmas day and so began the visitors.
We have had honeyeaters before but this year we have started to see Rainbow Lorikeets coming too.
I took this picture yesterday.
Happy making.
GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S PEA & CUCUMBER GAZPACHO
It was awfully hot in Melbourne the other day.
I posted a pic of the Dinner I made on Instagram & on my Facebook page and the crowds went wild!
Here is the recipe.
Have you got 3 minutes spare?
Then you have time to make this.
I promise you won't regret it.
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WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- 1 x 500g pack Organic Frozen peas
- 1 lebanese cucumber
- 2 cloves garlic
- handful of fresh mint
- 2 tblspoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 large glasses of water (with added ice if you have some)
- 1 red chilli (optional)- I added half to the mix & then added some finely chopped to final soup.
- S & P
Put the frozen peas, garlic, cucumber & mint (and chilli if having) into blender/food processor & blitz till super fine.
Add water & ice and blend further.
Add seasoning & taste.
Serve.
(My kids LOVED it.)
I know I normally put music here but it is TinTin's 80th birthday today & we are HUGE fans.
So my kids chose this episode to share with you today.
ENJOY! ~
You're so bloody gorgeous Ruth!
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Hey your gazpacho matches your natives! So good I have all the ING just need the cuke :)
ReplyDeleteAh Ruth, isn't gardening blooming marvellous? I am such a fan of a vegie garden in your backyard. It has become my favourite feature of the house. I just wrote a post about it actually on my blog! I ate the first tomato of the season as part of my lunch today...there is nothing better than home grown tomatoes. or carrots. or come to think of it, anything really....
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I love gardening! We have just over an acre & are constantly planning, planting ( re-planting) & dreaming of the things we want to achieve. In the four years we've been here we are seeing things bloom, seeing what works & what doesn't & realizing how much water it takes to keep a garden looking good during a Perth Summer ( its A LOT). It gives us a huge amount of pleasure to look around & know that besides the huge trees that were already here everything else is our doing. We mostly plant local natives & they seem to thrive. A little tip- if you want lots of birds & butterflies plant some grevillea. Not only are they beautiful the attract all the good things :)
ReplyDeleteYay! Go you Reannon. Fabulous.
ReplyDeleteWe have indeed planted Grevillias- for the birds :)
I'm making this soup tonight! Will post pic on insta :)
ReplyDeleteOh, those trees are so very beautiful! I love having birds and bees in our garden! Did you see my post about bees in the urban environment?
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, your recipe is divine!
Waiting patiently for the snow to melt, and a first whiff of spring, and then I'll be making this soup to chase that last bit of winter away!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous post, Ruth, as ever!
there's something that can't explain the joy that I get from my garden as well.. I too revel in the planning and then watching that plan actually happen and come to life. To me my garden is like a massive canvas where I can create scenes and pictures. Gardening is my therapy and I think it should be used as such more in the world...it could change a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteIT SMELLS NICE IN THE MORNING
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