There really is nothing nicer than the satisfaction you get from picking a selection of fresh vegetables from your own garden knowing that what you are eating is free from all the rubbish that gets sprayed on crops these days and that you end up with something that also tastes twice as nice as anything you could buy at a fraction of the price... not forgetting the added benefit of eating it freshly picked rather than days old... I think I will always remember that fabulous smell of freshly grown tomatoes wafting from my
Father's greenhouse - just after he'd watered them! I must admit I couldn't quite understand how he could get so excited about all the fruit and veg they grew... but I'm fast realising why!
Until coming to Brittany I'd really not had a lot of experience of growing fruit and vegetables myself - I'd learnt all the theory and had at least grown a few things but love being able to try different varieties with so much choice available. One thing I'd never grown before was Rainbow Chard - quite delicious and a great alternative to Spinach... definately worth a try!
I've now harvested all the onions I planted earlier in the year and have been drying them out on the staging in the greenhouse - soon to be carefully stored away.
One success this year is the homegrown Basil - fantastic with tomatoes and salad dressing! Basil isn't always the easiest herb to grow - I did these from seed and have put them in pots in the greenhouse - they seem to do best this way.
Another herb that I love in the summer is Dill which goes very well when cooking fish.
It's been a good year for Salads - the Romaine Lettices did well - and they're delicious with a Caesar dressing. Salad Rocket is also another of my favorites - the more you pick the more that seems to come back.
Never underestimate the ability of some vegetables - especially ones that produce flowers in the way they manage to draw wildlife into your garden - the flowers on the runner beans alone, have been great for bees and butterlies!
There really is nothing nicer than the satisfaction you get from picking a selection of fresh vegetables from your own garden knowing that what you are eating is free from all the rubbish that gets sprayed on crops these days and that you end up with something that also tastes twice as nice as anything you could buy at a fraction of the price... not forgetting the added benefit of eating it freshly picked rather than days old... I think I will always remember that fabulous smell of freshly grown tomatoes wafting from my 
Father's greenhouse - just after he'd watered them! I must admit I couldn't quite understand how he could get so excited about all the fruit and veg they grew... but I'm fast realising why!
Until coming to Brittany I'd really not had a lot of experience of growing fruit and vegetables myself - I'd learnt all the theory and had at least grown a few things but love being able to try different varieties with so much choice available. One thing I'd never grown before was Rainbow Chard - quite delicious and a great alternative to Spinach... definately worth a try!
I've now harvested all the onions I planted earlier in the year and have been drying them out on the staging in the greenhouse - soon to be carefully stored away.
One success this year is the homegrown Basil - fantastic with tomatoes and salad dressing! Basil isn't always the easiest herb to grow - I did these from seed and have put them in pots in the greenhouse - they seem to do best this way. 
Another herb that I love in the summer is Dill which goes very well when cooking fish.
It's been a good year for Salads - the Romaine Lettices did well - and they're delicious with a Caesar dressing. Salad Rocket is also another of my favorites - the more you pick the more that seems to come back.
Never underestimate the ability of some vegetables - especially ones that produce flowers in the way they manage to draw wildlife into your garden - the flowers on the runner beans alone, have been great for bees and butterlies!
6 comments:
Lovely veg.
My Grandfather used to grow all his own veg - and always said which ones were "from the garden" everytime we sat down for a meal
I now find myself doing the same - it must be an age thing!
Regards
Karen
Your veggies look lush and tasty. I like to grow salad crops too. they give heaps of reward for very little effort I always feel. At the moment we are harveting our rasps and strawbs :)
Thanks Karen - I think it must be an age thing you know - but still amusing at the same time! Will have to visit your blog again v. soon... have a good weekend - Miranda
Hi Wildie - thanks for your visit - I'm just waiting for the 2nd flush of Strawberries and Raspberries here aren't ready as I've got the Autumn ones! Have a good weekend too - Miranda
Hello Miranda
It is fantastic for me to have found your blogspot via 'My Wildlife Sanctuary'. Last year my partner and I purchased a fantastic porperty near St Didier sur Arroux. We plan to leave the UK and move to Burgundy to establish a wonderful garden and wildlife haven. Visits to Le Moulin Jouleau at the moment are hard work, after an 8hr drive we clear a pathway through wild grasses to the house, we work continuously, strimming, mowing, chopping etc, and we always return to the UK exhausted yet blissfully happy and full of ideas and wishes for our French garden. Le Moulin has 11 acres, 4 of which is lake and whilst we do not want to change too much, it needs a helping hand to enchance the land and encourage more wildlife. The land has been neglected in past years and the debris of recent storms needs to be cleared, it was heartbreaking to see 150 year old Oak trees tumble down. We have a vegetable garden to design and create. I intend to study your blogsite in great detail as I can see that I will learn so much from you and your experiences to assist in this. Also you will help me to improve my French.
Come on British economy - hurry up and recover so we can sell our house in Kent and start our new life in France.
Thank you for creating your blogsite.
Kind regards,
Janice
Hi Janice - thankyou for all your enthusiasm and great to find someone else who has taken the leap from the UK to enjoy the French way of life - nothing I hasten to add that we'd planned at all... it just happened! I'm glad to say that with many Brits returning to the UK finding that French life is maybe not what they'd expected or that they'd struggled too much with the language or even finding it hard to make ends meet as running a business over here is something else!! Your house and land that you describe sounds fabulous - do get in touch if you need any help with anything - you never stop learning new things with gardening all the time! Maybe you'll do a blogsite yourself? Do keep in touch and visit again - best wishes Miranda
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