I can't cook. Or atleast until recently I couldn't cook. But I'm changing that because I bought a house and have an awesome kitchen. I hated buying fresh fruits and vegetables only to find them rotted in my fridge 5 days later when I tried to use them. I started a garden because my homeowner's association made me. But I got more than gorgeous flowers. I planted herbs and fruits. And as they harvest I am going to use them in recipes and share them with my friends.
So this is my garden inventory-
My first plant to survive was my basil. I tear leaves off regularly when I am cooking Italian- homemade sauces, stuffed mushrooms.
I took home 2 poinsetta pots that my work was going to toss after the holidays. I planted them and they're thriving. The old leaves are red and the new ones are green, so it's a good indicator of progress. I was told that if it becomes all green I can put a bag over it for a few days and as it retains the O2 it turns green. Kind of like a reversed COPDer.
I love daisies! They were in my bridal bouquet. I have small yellow daisies that are struggling to survive despite much food and water. I also have African daisies which are gorgeous shades of purple. These are doing much better than the yellow ones.
The only thing I love more than daisies are lilies! Calla lilies were in my bridal bouquet as well. The ones I have planted are orange and pink. When I first planted them they withered quite a bit. Fortunately we got a lot of rain this week and new buds opened up. They look so bright and healthy.
In Polish tradition, rosemary is supposed to bring luck. I am more Polish than any other race and can use all the luck I get. My rosemary is the first plant in the row of my garden.
Cilantro was cheap and is mentioned in a lot of recipes I like. This plant and the rosemary both came in the ecopots that can be planted directly into the ground.
Last but not least, my baby, my blueberry bush. Every day I come home from work and find more blueberries ready for picking. These blueberries taste nothing like the ones from a produce departments. They are so crunchy and tart it's like eating a whole other fruit! I have shared my blueberries with 2 other people now. I also put them in my oatmeal the other morning.
Tomorrow I would like to buy a strawberry bush, parsley plant, and cucumber plant. Gardening is filling the hobby void I've had for too long. As a taurus, it's hard for me to have hobbies that don't somehow have a practical purpose. Helping the environment, saving me money over time, and increasing my fruits and vegetables intake sounds pretty practical to me!
