My garden now exists fully in two spaces – upstairs on the deck outside the dining room, and downstairs in the yard, in a corner plot. Being able to plant in the ground is a huge deal here in NYC, so I am really grateful to have this space. For now, though, I’ll focus on what is growing up on the deck.
My arugula is growing like crazy!
It seems to like the soil it’s in and its placement on the deck. It’s constantly sprouting new growth, so I expect to have baby arugula all summer. I like to eat it with a simple vinaigrette made with olive oil, fresh squeezed orange juice, salt and pepper. For vinaigrettes containing citrus, I find it imperative to use freshly pressed/squeezed juice – it tastes fantastic, for one, and you bypass the whole pasteurization thing present in ready-made juice at the supermarket.
As an aside, have you heard about pasteurized eggs? So strange. I can’t imagine wanting to eat them.
There are two herbs growing in my planter that I did not plant myself. One is cilantro – I found it growing one day and have cared for it ever since. I love love love cilantro, so I’m especially happy about this.
The other is lavender, which I originally thought was tarragon.
It smells amazing – not sure what I’ll do with it, apart from simply enjoying it with my eyes and nose. Perhaps honey lavender ice cream is in store for us this summer, or some sort of cocktail. I’ll have to look into it.
I started a couple of things from seed this past week, and they are in the initial sprouting stage. First, I planted thyme in a small pot – I did this so that I can transport it into the house when it gets cold in the fall. Thyme is my favorite herb to pair with winter squash, so it will be nice to have some fresh thyme when the time (ha ha!) comes to start roasting squash again.
I also planted tatsoi next to the cilantro. Tatsoi is a very tasty asian green, similar to bok choi, and is very high in calcium. I love growing greens because they sprout so quickly! I’m looking forward to eating the tatsoi, perhaps even mixed with baby arugula for a nice fresh salad.
And finally, the fruit trees are full of abundant green leaves! The apricot tree isn’t going to fruit this year, but I have spied a few plums. Here’s one of the trees from today:
I just love all this greenery these days! Soon, I’ll write about what’s growing in the ground.
