WELCOME TO MY GARDEN

Welcome to my garden I hope you stay a while,

There's lots of things to look at, and stuff to make you smile.

I've always thought a garden is the nicest place to be,

So grab a trowel and gardening fork, and spend some time with me.

Just watch where you are treading though, I've planted lots of seeds,

But now you're here, you may as well, be helping with the weeds.

Judi Whittaker

© 2002

My garden really is my sanctuary, my own little piece of heaven on earth.

I miss my garden in Alberta, but this new garden on Vancouver Island is filled with flowers and shrubs I've never grown before. I can hardly wait for the winter rains to be over with so I can go out there and start pottering around.

I love the heady scent of flowers, the warm smell of the earth, and I feel an incredible lifting of the spirit when I see and listen to the many  varieties of song birds that fly about the garden. They love to frequent a bird feeder I have, hanging beneath an extremely rickety rose arbour. It really should be pulled down, and maybe this summer I will tackle the prickly job.

However, it's my 'veggie garden' that holds the most fascination for me. Once my seeds are planted I can hardly contain myself as I wait for those first new shoots to break through the soil. When they do, I become positively primeval. I can't explain the thrill I feel as I wait anxiously for my crop to come to fruition.  I spend hours on end pulling each tiny weed that dares to put in an appearance. When the time arrives for me to start harvesting I become almost maniacal.

First come the radishes, crisp and flavorful, those first pickings are rarely too hot. Then the lettuce, so fast to grow, and  just the thought of those lovely pale green leaves, makes my mouth water. Freshly washed and crisped up in the refrigerator, sprinkled with a light vinegraitte dressing and eaten with a slice of fresh bread. Mmm, mmm, I can hardly wait.

Next to ripen are the peas. To me, there is nothing quite so thrilling as seeing the vines almost laden down with those little green marvels. Not a one escapes my eagerly picking fingers. Runner beans, bush beans and broad beans.  I love and plant them all, and always grow far too many.

Another favorite of mine are the cucumbers, crisp and sweet when they are small, I add them to salads and thoroughly enjoyed pickling them with the dill that grew in my herb garden. I'm sure I have enough pickled dills and relishes to last into the next millennium.

Here's a tip: 

If you are lucky enough to have a grape vine, and I do have one in my new garden, adding a grape leaf to a jar of dill pickles will enhance the crispness.

And of course, those wonders of color and creation, and a staple in almost every home grown garden, the glorious carrots and beets. Again, I always grow far too many to use, but fortunately have lots of city friends who are only too pleased to take the extras off my hands. Now, I know that most folks like to pull these little wonders as soon as they're big enough to eat, and I do too, but, for the most part I like to leave them in the ground until they're huge. I swear, I go right back to my primeval roots when I start pulling those bright orange cylinders and blood red orbs from the ground. There is nothing that my hubby and I enjoy more than those first platefuls of freshly picked produce, new potatoes dripping with our own home churned butter, and seasoned with herbs from the garden. Can't you just taste them all right now?

Here is a wonderful way of using as many vegetables as you want in a scrumptious casserol dish that's fast and easy to prepare:

MULTI LAYERED DINNER

In a deep casserole dish place a layer of sliced potatoes.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder.

Add a layer of lean ground beef, or any other prefered meat, and a layer of onions.

Season as before.

Add another layer of potatoes and a layer of carrots.

Continue in this manner, seasoning as you go.

You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand ending with a layer of meat.

Pour a can of tomato soup over the top of the finished layers.

Cover with a lid or tin foil and bake until potatoes and meat are fully cooked.

Add a layer of grated mozzarella cheese and brown under the grill.