Mustn’t grumble

But enough of the woes. Here are the crops. We are eating tomatoes every day: tomatoes with mozzarella and basil. Tomatoes with feta; tomatoes with couscous, cucumber and mint. And we haven’t tired of the wonderful veg yet.

The basil is going mad, and as soon as I have finished this post, I shall zip out and get parsley to add to the big bowl of baba ghanoush I will make for lunch. The aubergines are plentiful but a touch small. So they roast well, but barbecue even better.

I went up to the potting shed to see how the coriander is coming along. Nicely, thank you. But too small to make a crop out of. Which is a shame because I yearn for that lovely Thai dish of cucumbers, chillis, coriander and a dressing of vinegar and sugar. Divine flavours. I am making it with parsley each week, but tis not the same.

While I was there I decided to do a bit of propagating. Gaura is going to be the way to go on a lot of our terraces. I found a small pot at Gamm Vert for just over two euros, so it went into the shopping basket (along with wasp killer, pots for jam, bottled water and the usual stuff of the trolley from the neighbourhood garden centre).

And out of the pocket came a packet of Angelica Vicar’s Mead seeds. And some verbena bonariensis seeds. They had a dry summer and didn’t thrive in the hedge next to the potager as much as I had hoped. But more seeds and more sowing and more pricking out and things ought to be better next year.

And tasks in the kitchen this afternoon (along with the baba ghanoush) will be to make a blackberry tart. I love the succession of the soft fruits in our little orchard. It will be blackberries all the way for then next few weeks. And they are plump and best served in tart form. A bit on the dry side with the lack of rain.

Now I must away. But not before showing off my latest vase of flowers for the house. A present from our neighbour Lynn who has a stonking lavender bush next to her steps. I must take cuttings from her this summer so I can grow this beautiful plant too. My lavender Hidcotes were over way too early.