Gifts from the Garden

Today is my Mum's birthday! I wanted to give her something from my garden. I decided to give her a bag of broadbeans (one of  her favourites). This got me thinking about how much of a pleasure it is to grow one's own food. And how wonderful it is to be able to grow enough to give to others.

I trotted off out to our paddock and picked every last bean I could find. Then I remembered that we are having lamb roast (our own of course) for dinner. Mmm, I wondered, what could I find in the garden to go with roast lamb? I grabbed the old garden fork and started digging for hidden treasure...I uncovered lots! Lovely Dutch cream potatoes poked through the earth, showing their beautiful creamy colour against the browny red of the rich soil. It is such fun scrambling through the dirt, searching for food. My fingernails were filthy but, it felt so good to be touching the earth.

Having a garden means so many things. Fun, food, beauty! It is a tactile pleasure to be enjoyed everyday. Even half an hour of being outside is enough to provide satisfaction and a feeling of achievement. It is revitalising to be outside in the fresh morning air (especially in Robertson when it is winter!). Today it has been overcast, and now we are having a gorgeous sun shower! The rain is softly falling on the garden, it looks almost like sleet. I can imagine the plants are happy to drink in this precious gift. 

Broadbeans for Mum

Dutch creams for dinner

The garden comes alive in the glistening rain. Colours are brighter, the grass is greener and everything looks clean and fresh! The sun sparkles on the rain drops creating a magical scene.