On April 1st, we opened the garden to the public – of course, with home-dried tea, although it was from last year.
While cleaning out our kitchen cupboards, I came across different types of tea stored in all kinds of glass jars. I thought it was time to put some order to it. That came in handy now.
The fresh lemon balm came straight from the brand new garden. Add a little fresh ginger and some home-baked cake and brownies:
Voila!
The garden changes every week now. The opening was three weeks ago, and the plants have gotten bigger and bigger since then! But first an impression of the pleasant opening and the unveiling of the name: the Garden of Abundance.
So, time for tea now.
My sister-in-law Esther gave me a two-liter thermoscan a while back. It’s perfect for afternoons like this.
Early evening is the best time to work in the garden. While Jelle is doing the dishes at home, Laurens hangs around and learns to aim with his slingshot. (There has only been minor damage so far: He shot to pieces his self-written poem about spring, which I had hung at the entrance to the garden without his permission.) Sounds like a healthy boy who establishes clear boundaries with his mom. What do you think?
Working from a greenhouse is really new to me – the temperature, the humidity. The right window has been broken by rascals. Jacob fixed it creatively with wood. Such is life. We make a mess; fixing it with creativity and finding beauty in it is an art.
It’s ideal that I can continue as usual even during the intense rain of the last few weeks here. What rain we had! But here is a safe shelter.
This photo says it all: It’s a tea garden. (open Thursday afternoon 2–5) But we won’t get there without hard work. My biggest enemy at the moment is some kind of grass. On the left on the chair, you see the first harvest from the greenhouse is ready to be eaten at home. I still have to find out what it’s called and how to prepare it. And Laurens is running around in the background.
A very nice app for identifying plants is Flora Incognita.
Oh yes, and are you curious about what is in the garden? Sweet peas. Carrots, leek, spinach, Russian red cabbage. Herbs, strawberries, bay leaves, and a few other things. And that was neatly organized according to a four-year plan.
More about that next time.
I’ll close today with this serene picture. What does this photo convey to you? It made me think of this:
Grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change,
Serenity Prayer
The courage to change what I can change,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Because, it might look like that we know how to live life well, but know that each heart has its own burden.
Bye for now! Just respond if you like. Always nice to hear from you.
Janneke
Thanks to Anne Vogelzang who came here for two weeks to experience Dutch life. She made the photos. What a joy to have her around.