I think that because I only lived in appartments with balconies before, the gardening bug didn't have time to infect me!
Now we only need some good weather and we're good to go!
Our dog loves the garden too, and demands lots of entertainment involving squeaky toy throwing, ball throwing, hunting for dog biscuits and rolling in the grass...
We even got a spot with natural shade during the day and where there's evening sunshine. Great for cosy evenings with a nice cold G&T!
We hung lots of chinese lanterns in the tree next to the terrace and added solar lights around the garden, for summer evenings outside.
My boyfriend built a wooden terrace enclosure where we can put flowerpots in the top part, so it gives a sense of privacy when we are eating outside.
I got 5 birdhouses for my birthday from my boyfriend, which adds colour to the garden.
This year there are no occupants, but I'm hoping that next year we will have 'rented out' at least one of the houses to a bird family.
My boyfriend also used his genious to build me a herb rack next to the kitchen door, so I have fresh herbs at my fingertips...
It's a really great way of growing herbs, and most of them are perennial, some just annual, so I can make sure that aside from the regular favourites I can try out new kinds of herbs each season.
On the other side of the rack we have got our mediterranean herbs in pots and they seem to have flourished since planting them over a year ago.
We found the sage underneath our hedge, planted randomly, so we dug it out and put it in a pot and now it seems much happier.
Last year we started also with some fruits and vegetables and had strawberries (they were all eaten by birds, I think I got to eat two in total), red peppers and tomatoes.
This year we are growing a few more veggies, and we've decided to add a raised vegetable bed to our garden next year, so we can try our hand at even more!
The tomatoes here aren't ripe yet, but it's going to be a fantastic harvest!
We've already been able to enjoy a few cherry tomatoes though!
The red bell peppers are taking a while to get started, but we've got tons of potential fruits now.
Cucumbers on the left need a bit more time, but the radishes in the middle are going to be eaten this weekend. The courgettes (zucchinis) are in need of a new container, they are getting huge already, hopefully we'll have a good harvest here too.
We also bought two lemon trees, but I'm not sure how they will do in our climate. So far we've got plenty of starting fruits, and lots of new blossoms, so here's to hope!
Since we haven't grown our own salad this year, I tend to buy organic lettuce of some kind and add lots of our home grown herbs. My favourite salad dressing is one inspired by Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.
Recipe for the ultimate salad dressing
Ingredients to dress a large salad for 4 persons:
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of organic creme fraiche
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients together and pour over your salad, mix well and enjoy! The dressing keeps for up to three days in the refrigerator.
I find this dressing goes really well with most salads, but my favourite is lambs lettuce or romaine.
Next post will be on natural dental care, which I hope to post at some point next week.
xxx C
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