Once upon a time (2016) I ran a challenge on my Earth Laughs in Flowers blog with different topics for each month. During July it was edibles. So I have picked out a few of my favourites from that month for Denzil’s challenge this week.
As summer comes to an end you see the fruits appearing in the orchards all over the country. Kent is known as the ‘Garden of England’ and where better to show you fat, juicy, purple plums
and fresh crisp pears.
Known as zucchini in the USA, Germany and Australia from the Italian word zucchina or simply squash or baby marrows in other parts of the world. The word courgette comes from France. Although considered a vegetable in the culinary sense, botanically it is actually a fruit.
Herb gardens and potagers are favourites of mine. And herbs are really the only edibles that I have been successful in growing.
A potager is really a combination of a traditional English kitchen garden (which always used to be consigned to the back of the garden) and the style and elegance of a French garden. Plants are chosen for their edible and ornamental nature and put together in such a way to look beautiful whilst providing food for the table.
A potager can be any design, from traditional knot gardens to informal cottage garden style.
Sunflower seeds or kernels are commonly eaten as a snack food. Often used in bread making and baking, added to muesli and other cereals, mixed with peanut butter or even made in to sunflower butter as well as being sold as food for wild birds.
Finally my daughter’s allotment. With a growing family and a full-time job as a child minder as well as studying for a degree she no longer had time for it so had to give it up, but for several years she managed a plot a few hundred yards from her home where she learned how to grow her own produce for the table. Beans, carrots, onions, squash, courgettes, sweetcorn, garlic, peas, radishes, beetroot, strawberries, rhubarb and even Cape gooseberries.
An allotment is a lot of hard work – preparing the soil, digging in lots of compost and manure (where she lives it is all clay), weeding, sowing, watering, keeping bugs at bay – but the rewards are immense.
Not only the flavours of freshly picked produce, but also the ability to grow unusual varieties not found in the supermarket, the knowledge that no air miles are involved, the sense of achievement in growing your own and the enjoyment of sheer hard work keeping you fit and healthy and outdoors.
Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge #24 | Edibles
TRAVEL WORDS 
Your photos make the fruit and veg look delicious, Jude. Like you, I have only ever grown herbs. I did really well with Mint and Rosemary after moving to Norfolk, less so with Basil, which failed to flourish.
Best wishes, Pete. x
Basil is my failure too, I never manage to germinate it and have only managed to grow it from plug plants or splitting supermarket plants up!
I bought a healthy plant from a supermarket, and planted it into a tub. It died within a short time, and I have no idea why. (But I am not a gardener, as you know all too well.) x
I used to grow a lot of veg back in a previous life when I had a big garden – there is absolutely nothing like the taste of a straight-from-earth-to-plate portion of vegetables. I miss the taste but not the time consuming effort. Regarding basil, I have no idea if it’s pure coincidence, but we successfully grew basil each summer (before travel took over) by planting it around the base of an olive tree plant in a tub. I have no idea if it’s a coincidence but it worked several years in a row.
You do need a large plot to make growing veg worthwhile. I’ll stick to herbs, tomatoes and chillies, though even they haven’t grown this year!
Excellent post, Jude!
Thanks Sue. A chance to reuse those old posts.
Yep, useful!
A friend of mine has a potager. It fills about half her back garden and it is so beautiful. It overflows with flowering plants, fruit and vegatables and is very productive. She is an amazing gardener.
It sounds wonderful.
I’m sure you would have read this post the first time but here it is again so you can enjoy Leisa’s beautiful garden. https://theeternaltraveller.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/sharing-the-love/
The concept of a potager must surely be a good one, as insects visiting the flowers could help pollinate the vegetables, is that one of the reasons behind it?
I imagine so plus companion plants often reduce pests.
A wonderful selection of produce Jude! Like you we stick to herbs and the occasional cherry tomato plant as we have no space (or time) to do more, but it’s always a pleasure to see photos like this of delicious-looking fruits and veg and pretty herbs. I love your potager approach btw 🙂
I usually grow tomatoes and chillies too.
Oh, this is a great response to the challenge. I particularly like your tasty fruit ‘portraits’.
Thanks Margaret, a change from my usual flower portraits.
I do like the idea of making a garden attractive as well as productive. Lovely post!
Thank you. Yes I agree, flowers and fruit/vegetables work well together.
beautiful look at the plants and fruits they give 🙂
I’m the same. Herbs are essentials, but other than a few garden peas, I struggle (and the cabbage whites get their fair share of any peas). It’s a pity your daughter had to give up her allotment as she was doing so well with it.