A peek into the garden

When we moved in about four months ago, three fourth of the yard was cemented and half of the remaining one fourth was occupied by a small lawn patch. The only open space to plant any new vegetables was around the perimeter of the yard. The perimeter was largely occupied with rose bushes with spaces in between. People who lived before us must have been rose lovers because at the last count we had 21 rose varieties! Yes, we have white roses, yellow roses, pink, red, crimson.. you name it and we probably have it. My husband is specially happy because now even if he forgets the anniversaries and the birthdays all he has got to do is run to the garden and pluck a few different roses :) The roses probably deserve a post for themselves, so this post I'll stick to the vegetables and fruits instead.

One of the first two plants that were our addition to the house were a fig tree and a lime tree. This mission fig tree is about eight to ten months old but is already bearing fruit that is very sweet!

(mission figs)

The tree is about say 4ft tall and yes, I am racing for the first fruits with the squirrels who seem to have an eye to feast on them :)

(fig tree)

The lime tree is a dwarf which is bearing fruit but has not grown a lot since we planted a few months ago. The fruits seem a bit immature and dry still but hopefully next summer I am looking forward to some homemade lime serbet!

(lime tree)

One of the sweet surprises I had after moving in was to discover this hugely grown rosemary bush and an adjacent thyme bush! I don't know how I missed this tree when we viewed the house the first time, but I was so glad when I first realized it was rosemary (and not a spring flower bush) that we were looking at!

(rosemary bush)

If you were wondering about the sudden abundant use of fresh thyme on this blog, then thank our previous home-owner for this wonderful thyme plant! Its just so much fun to go out in the garden and pick some fresh thyme to stir into pastas and sauces.

(thyme bush)

After a prolonged delay, last weekend I finally managed to plant some basil and cilantro seeds and look, the new seedlings are already coming up ready to say hello world!

(basil and cilantro saying hello world)

A new visitor just popped up within the last few weeks. We never planted mint but a few plants are showing up. Everyone is telling me to keep them contained as otherwise they might just take up the tiny basils and cilantro nearby!

(mint)

and what would a summer kitchen be without tomatoes, right? This is an early girl variety that I inherited at my work-place. The plant is bearing small green fruits and I can't wait for them to ripen up!

(early girl tomatoes)

Another tomato plant that was a house-warming gift from a very close friend is also doing wonderful! For a month old plant this has grown a lot and is now bearing close to 35 small tomatoes at the last count... needless to say my salsas are all most anxiously waiting for these fruits to mature :)

(tomatoes plant)

and last but certainly not the least is one of our most treasured but untested plant of the house.. this ten-some year old guava tree! Guava trees are rare in this climate so I am looking forward with a bit of anxiousness to see how sweet the fruit will be. The tree right now is budding with a LOT of small guavas and is attracting a variety of chirping birds! I am thinking guava paste, guava jams... any more tasty ideas?

Have a great 4th of July weekend, everyone! See you next time.