GARDENING: GATHERING FOR SOUP
This morning was a gloriously sunny extravaganza of bird song, honeybee buzz, flower smiles and earth songs as I headed, basket over arm and sharp knife in hand, down the garden to harvest fresh — organic of course — vegetables for the soup pot.
Carefully navigating sprawling nasturtiums, which are determined to take over the path, and then stopping to admire a yellow and brown striped gazania as it gazed at the laden orange tree in awe, it struck me anew just how blessed I am to live as I do in the midst of nature — not nature left to run completely wild, but nature given a gentle, helping hand, to flourish and bloom in a chemical-free setting.
My current garden — gardens being more appropriate as the land is divided into four distinct areas spread over three large terraces — has now been just over five years in the making and, luckily, it has always, to the best of my knowledge, been worked organically when worked at all.
The slightly acidic soil is amazingly rich and fertile. In fact, the first time I set foot on the place I was astonished by how springy the soil was and, as a result of careful management, continues to be.