GARDEN BOUNTY

We have finally been harvesting our veggies we planted back in the spring. The tomatoes are ripening and the lettuce is abundant. We try to mix lots of herbs in with our salads which is easy to do when the herb garden is a few steps away from the kitchen.

I was never a veggie garden person in the past, however, it is so satisfying to pick your own things that I am now hooked and planning additional spots to plant edibles. The kids love picking peas and strawberries and I plan to add raspberries, cukes, squash and more....

PICTURE FRAME

I was looking at some of my favourite garden books yesterday (a brief moment when my toddler was napping) and was inspired by a old photo frame that the author had hung from a tree in their garden. When Quinn woke up we went to the basement and searched out our own old wooden picture frame and went to hang it from a plum tree in our garden. I could not find fishing line so I just used white thread to hang the frame.

It will be interesting to see who and what images I can capture as they pass through the frame. It's also a great way to recycle an unwanted picture frame.

IN THE GARDEN

Here are a few photos of the garden.... Elizabeth has been "Chef" all day (she even wore her chef's outfit to the library this morning) so it was fitting that she pick some yellow wax beans to accompany our dinner (chicken breasts stuffed with pesto - also made from the abundance of basil in the garden).

John's tomatoes look like they are on steroids - he specifically requested roma's when I was tomato shopping back in May. My 100 millions aren't doing too bad either. The strawberries produce enough for a delighted toddler to sample almost daily. The new herb garden has taken off. We have been using lovely herbs in our many Jamie Oliver inspired meals. Some of the herbs growing there are: sage, rosemary, thyme, fennel, coriander (although not successfully), bay, tarragon, sweet marjoram, summer savory, dill, chamomile, burnett, lovage, borage, parsley, Italian parsley, oregano and lemon thyme.

The secret garden's pathway has become overgrown with self seeders such as mallow, lemon balm, some purple flowering stuff and buttercups.

The garden is lovely - I added a beautiful french white lilac, many ornamental grasses and a brilliant ornamental oregano this year. We are all enjoying our the many aspects of our garden and hope our wonderful weather continues.