My simple lunch

Dear Family & Friends

We're having a very hot day and I'm having problem with our electric water pump that I have to abandon my watering chore - just when they need me the most :(...  but the day must go on.

So on to my no frill lunch: See...instead of melting cheese (which I don't have), I sandwiched my burger with - not just one, but two big fried zuchinni slices...oh ---  so yum! I made used of  the courgette too! A very simple but balanced meal with a ripe sweet fig for dessert afterwards:) - Happy already!... and satisfied too!

Let's all stay healthy and wealthy! Always aim for the best for God has all the abundance that you need!

Yours

Pruned lavender

Dear Family & Friends

The bees have finished their foraging with the lavender. It's time to clip the pathway hedges as they don't look good anymore....besides, pruning will keep them neat and tidy, with a possibility of having a second small flash of bloom later on.

We gathered boxes upon boxes of spent lavender blooms. They smells so good and we plan to extract it's oil...but first we have to scout for a distillator.

Growing and pruning lavender is well worthy part of our garden productivity. Comes autumn season I'll be collecting some stem cuttings to propagate more plants as we plan to make more lavender hedges elsewhere in our garden.

We can see time goes by as we see plants do their yearly cycle activity. We certainly enjoyed the show our lavender gave us this year. Happy gardening to you all too.

Yours

My flower bouquet

Dear Family & Friends

Since we start keeping honey bees in our garden, I decided that we just have to grow more flowers for them to benefit. I started collecting seeds of mostly annual flowers to  sow freely and abundantly, in order to create a cut flower garden this year.

With the many beautiful bee friendly flower plants we planted, I now have the opportunity to cut some to make a flower arrangement too. Growing flowers adds color to the garden and brings on a lot of gardening joy too.

Happy gardening and have a lovely day too.

Yours

Sunflower fields

Dear Family & Friends

It seems like we have never ending works in our village home...so we decided to have a short and fun weekend city break and stayed in our apartment overnight. We went shopping wearing compulsive face mask, and it is not comfortable that we all long to be back in our village home.

sunflower field not far from home

On our way, we passed by miles upon miles of sunflower fields. It's such a cheerful sight. In the countryside, we see no covid pressure/lockdown or any of those chaos on news - everything seems so normal and peaceful as it was.

sunflower field not far from home

Not far from our village home, the girls would cycle on quiet narrow streets enjoying the sunflower fields. The bees are happy feasting and pollinating sunflowers on it's peak season.

It's summer season and the heat intensifies...the wisiest thing to do is to stay indoor and keep cool. Hope you are enjoying your summer season too and keeping cool.

Yours,

Bringing in bags of harvest each day

Dear Family & friends

We shouldn't be using plastic bags to put in our fruit harvest from the garden but we're running out of containers and these bags are just being recycled. Each day, we get a bagful of various goods from the garden to process and eat.

figs

For the moment, we get figs as they continously ripens and forms more new fruits each day.

potatoes

We planted lots of potatoes and we are starting to harvest them bagful at a time as there will be plenty to comes out of it too.

plums

Some of our fruit trees like the plums are in their final harvest stage. At this time, everyone seem to have enough of it too. Isn't it good that God gave us food to eat in season. Eating food in season is best for us too.

Hope you are enjoying your season and it's abundance too.

Yours

Neighbor's garden and their generosity

Dear Family & Friends

It's just not curiousity that makes us want to see other people's garden...most of the time we get inspiration through appreciation of their work. This is one village home garden that we saw recently: the owners are very welcoming and very generous in sharing us some of their plant abundance too.

We received a lot of plants cuttings to root in our garden too. In return we also offered some of the plants we have with them. Sharing plants is always a fun thing to do.

I've always wanted to grow clematis but was not sure it if grows well here, but seeing that our neighbor grew them effortlessly, I decided it's time - specially as they gave me a free root plant:)

Gardening should be a way of life...it's a happy activity to dwell on and keep us going with lots of beneficial gains we can draw out of it.

Enjoy your garden and make it a happy day:)

Yours

Perhaps not a usual harvest - daylily and goji berry

Dear Family & Friends

Lately I've been harvesting edible daylily flowers to eat as we have a lot of them in our garden -blooming majestically. Being able to incorporate it in meal is more than a bonus because this plant/flowers are so tasty!

daylily flower buds are most delicious and I got some goji berries here too

Perhaps it is not so common practice to eat edible daylilies, but it is very delicious in salads, stir fry etc... I even collect the dried up spent flowers and it can be stored for later use, and I like putting this in chinese chicken stew - as it gives a distinct natural sweet taste.

dried daylily flowers will store for months

In our garden, we grow plant food of interest and daylily is one of them. If you haven't tried this, give it a go. Daylily needs space and can take space in the garden.

Keep cool this summer:)

Yours

Pack as much as you can

Dear Family & Friends

Space is not limited for us when it comes to growing food for our little family, yet I insist and believe that I should pack my veggie beds with as much plants as I could as they seem to be more happier having a close space to each other.

Left to right: row of beans, tomatoes and amaranth

One other reason is that it keeps the soil moisture from quick evaporation, as well as block weeds invasion. So, this mean that I conserve more water and work energy too.

tomatoes in the middle are staked to climb on string

Besides, if you grow more than what you need, you can also have the ability to store extra for future use and abundance to share with others too.

There's 28 big beds I filled with flowers and veggies

Gardening is a win win activity...if you can do it, go for it. Everyone can do gardening in a big or small space. Knowledge and skill will come naturally as you get into doing it. There's really no excuse to enjoy the experience of gardening. 

Hope you are enjoying your day today too.

Yours

Our lavender pathway - then and now

Dear Family & Friends

When you grow a plant local to your area, no much skill or effort is required. Lavender is one plant that suit our climate, so we take advantage in growing them. It doesn't require rich soil nor much water or care, yet it performs so well year after year.

Lavender never fails to perform every year:)

So I propagated this plant and made a lined lavender pathway. We enjoy walking thru the pathway specially when it's in full bloom and filled with happy buzzing bees.

Before photo of the pathway - taken last year

I took a photo of the lavender pathway last year...but recently we placed mobile garden slab tiles over the grass walkway area...and it worked wonder for us. Yay! Finally I can eliminate grassy areas:)

After photo of the lavender pathway - taken this year (yesterday)

We're no garden experts but it does give us joy in our trial and error working ways. Each year it just gets better and better. There's really no fear to fear about doing the wrong thing when it comes to gardening.

Have a wonderful day today.

Yours

The May/June Gardening

Dear Family & Friends

This year seems to be the most pleasant year to garden for we are so blessed with a long spring time weather...so ideal for a gardener like me who wants a perfect and comfortable working temperature. As you can see, we managed to transformed a wild big garden space into place in no time.

everyday the growth within this area is simply incredible - the joy of gardening

Every thing looks so good. We start harvesting and enjoying what I sowed in our new garden in just 3 months! but that is if you are like us who are grateful for everything and never looking for what there's not. For the truth is: a long spring time like temperature also means that many of our heat loving veggies seedlings refuse to take this abnormal climate situation.

just this veggie plot alone gives us enough food harvest for each day

Fellow village gardeners are all complaining that they won't have cucumbers and peppers this year for these plants remains sulking on the ground for some reason. I have the same problem but I'm not really bothered because we are very flexible...If one crop fails, there's always others that will do well. So, we will just enjoy and look forward to whatever our garden decides to give us instead!

this kind of weather has been with us for a while now....

We can't control the weather trending.... but with diversity....there's no fear to even consider. Contentment is one key to great happiness in life and we got plenty of that and so we receive double blessings all the time. Hope you do the same. Enjoy your blessings today.

Yours

Weeding and gathering

Dear Family & Friends

Many years ago, I allow opinionated people to brag on how to do a garden or how a garden should be like. Over the years, I decided that since it's my garden and it's just me who is going to do the work, I might as well do it the best way I think it should be - and suit me. Yes, there is no right or wrong way...each one of us does what is best and should never let people's opinion rule over what we should do. We just do our best.

the garden keeper

My garden is big and I think every garden is to be enjoyed. It's never my policy to keep my garden 'clean'. I'm not too concern about the weeds...I occassionally do weeding but I simply drop them where I pulled them from. It's a messy concept but it save me a lot of energy and nature normally takes care of the rest that I can't do or have not done, to it's best advantage too. 

my green pea shoot harvest for the day

One thing I can prove is that: my little family enjoy being in the garden. A place that gives us the opportunity to work together from time to time as a therapy. It's a place where we gather a lot of good food for free and that gives us all a lot of joy. If people don't like our garden, we simply don't give them another invitation to come back...and that's how I keep and maintain a happy paradise on earth for our little family.

Hope you have a beautiful time just as we always choose to do over here.

Yours

Just that one day

Dear Family & Friends

Just that one day, we happen to see a bird in our garden who doesn't seem to want to fly away. We were worried that if it continue on staying on ground level, a cat would come and snatch it away. We picked it up to check if it was injured but we couldn't see anything obvious. Later we left it on higher ground but after some minutes it's gone. Hopefully it went home safely.

petting a wild bird that came into the garden

Just for that another one day, we decided to treat ourselves because now and again, I think we are very special in our own little ways - yes, each one of us. you might not believe it, nor others around you might not believe in that, but it is true. So, we all have a lovely piece of cake:)

one rich chocolate piece of cake as an occassional treat

Just that one - day, I just had to prick out some of the newly sprouted pea shoots. It needed to be top-pinched to encourage the plant to branch out a bit more. As it's early spring, pea shoots simply stir fried is a very welcome and timely delicious dish to have as part of our meal:)

a basket full of pea shoots picked early one morning

Just for that one day, I was out in the garden with the camera on hand, and I spotted an early full bloomed little red rose at my eye level...so I captured the image in the camera to share it share you today:)

one tiny red rose fully bloomed in early spring day

Hope you are having and making this one particular day today an enjoyable day for yourself too. 

Yours

No, it's not washing day

Dear Family & Friends

Last week we overheard our neighbour talking about us to their friends in their garden, not knowing we were weeding on the other side of the boundary wall. No, it was not good gossip :P But as you know us...people's opinion never matters nor bothers us at all. It made us laugh to hear that they are convinced we are nit-wit gardeners!!

no, it's not washing day... we're gardening:)

Perhaps you would say the same too. Because if you can glimpse our new garden area from over the wall, you would notice all the recycled old blankets, clothes and carpets we laid over our garden grounds. No, it's not our washing day. In fact, we've been working hard to start this new garden the best we could and know how.

this section of the garden are portioned into beds,  to grow veggies & flowers

Since we received another vast garden to deal with and there's only 4 of us in our little family unit - working together and enjoying our time in everything we do together:) , we also strongly believe in maintaining a garden organically - with no chemical or pesticide what-so-ever.  It's a big challenge , and much knowledge and wisdom is needed:)

once we manage to rid of the deeply rooted grass weeds, we will plant flower and herb shrubs

So to suppress the aggressive weeds all around the garden, we have to cover and deprive them of sunlight to eradicate them naturally without using poison or extra labour or tractor motor - for we don't have those resource either. 

our goal is for an environmental friendly way of gardening

It might look weird and unsightly for the moment as we need time to take place before we get to see the result...but all this will be changed as things develops on. It will be a beautiful garden, without causing our environment any damage for 'instant beauty's' sake!

the gardener

So, gardening task of the gardener continues on with great joy each day. Glad to know that we do have neighbors who secretly peek and take interest on us:D At some point of time, I still have to do my proper laundry washing too - but that's for Monday task:) 

Hope you have a lovely day too:)

Yours

Diversify for guaranteed victory

Dear Family & Friends

In nature, it is important to have diversity for resilience. Growing different local plants within your garden will encourage this environment, bringing in diverse food and survival of diverse insects and living creatures that is essential to maintain the health of the garden environment.

flowers also makes a garden look pretty

As I grow food for our family, I also incorporate the concept of growing plants that would benefit my garden co-workers like our beneficial insects. The presence of pest is never a problem because within a healthy ecology, they just balance themselves out.

my berry garden bed

Many of the self seeding weeds comes in useful as they too are part of the ecological balance in a garden. Along with the flowers, fruits, vegetables and herbs that we plant on purpose for our enjoyment, many of these common weeds can also be enjoyed as food or medicinal use for us.

my herb garden circle

With many different plant varieties in your garden, there will always be something that will do well despite any circumstances. Exactly the same concept for our daily living for business matters, including personal life skills too. Diversify everything you do because it is a sure winner.

Strive to be happy and victorious always:)

Yours

Time for berries once again

Dear Family & Friends

It's such a beautiful time of the year. I went out in the garden and noted that soon we will be enjoying the berries that I've planted. Besides our free roaming garden tortoise, I know of one particular pretty girl in our home that gets very excited over berries too!

new shoots of raspberry plants growing happily

This year I learned more about the importance of pruning raspberries in autumn. I have this idea that cutting it back will make me loose my plants... I was wrong but I learn as I go. I think I will have better and more raspberry plants now that I understand the logic of it's growing ways:)

Can you see the emergence of fruit from our first mulberry tree?

Just last year, we moved a self-planted mulberry tree to my mini orchard area and I noticed that it's starting to bear lots of tiny fruits. It's our first very own mulberry tree, although I'm not sure if it's a white or black fruit variety. Whatever it will be is OK, at least this time we won't need to go out in the forest to gather mulberries anymore:)

flowering strawberry plant along with green fruit developing

Although we love sharing our berries to our tortoise, I decided to secured this one strawberry bed where the fruits will be protected to ripen to it's full stage and for us people to enjoy some too:) We're not accepting half eaten strawberry deal from our tortoise this year:)

this one got lots more fruits - yet to ripen:)

If ever, this will be our good strawberry harvest as I noticed a lot of fruits already developing and more flowers are still coming on:) We'll have plenty to pick and share it to our tortoise too:)

also a berry plant - gojiberry - will fruit later in late summer

We have other berry plants to look forward to. Just look at this particular goji berry...it's gone wild . I need to give it a nice trimming before it starts setting it's fruit flowers. I've just got to keep working so we can enjoy eating lots of different berries!

Enjoy your day and stay happy.

Yours