Friday, April 13, 2007

Promises, Promises

This time of year is like magic to me. My kitchen garden and other gardens are full of wonderful things to come. There are promises of bliss everywhere I look. Take a close look at the branches of my walnut tree (click to enlarge) and see the leaves unfolding and the flowers that will turn from this

into this, lovely walnuts, in about 6 months time. Amazing isn't it?
And there's more, much more. Here's one of my white currants in flower. See how the flowers are shaped? You can already imagine what the fruit will look like in a few months' time.

Like this. Isn't it mouthwatering just to look at this picture? Close your eyes and imagine popping some of those lovely, luscious and juicy currants straight from the bush right into your mouth. Mmmmm, utter bliss!
In my greenhouse I've planted the first tomatoes. This one will look like

this in a few months time. I love these yellow tomatoes, they look good and taste even better.
And then, the miracle I didn't dare hope for, but it happened, my lovely pear tree is in full flower. Just looking at it makes me feel so happy. Who would have thought it possible after the disaster that happened to my pear tree last August when it fell down? What a pretty bridal blossom dress it's wearing this Spring,


and imagine what those flowers will change into next September /October.
Mmmmmmmmm, juicy, fragrant, wonderfully tasty pears. And there are so many other promises of good things to come. Here's the gooseberry in flower. The flowers are very tiny, aren't they? The thorns are so much bigger.

How is it possible that those tiny flowers will one day become this? Gooseberries, yummy!!!
Of course I've been busy gardening these last few weeks and here you see some of the things that I've sown lately. The seedlings are still in the cold frame, as they are in the process of hardening off. I've sown sweat peas, peas, sugar snaps, corn, pumpkins, courgette, beans, lettuce, radishes, salad rocket and much more. It's such fun to see everything grow and then to be able to harvest the crops from your own garden. I like to cook and eat tasty and healthy food so everything is grown organically, well gloated over and eaten with much delight.

One of the joys of gardening is that you can always try something new. Here's a picture of my raspberry in bud. It's a first for me as I haven't grown raspberries before. My father gave me this plant last September, it was an off shoot from his own raspberry. I'm growing it over an arch in my kitchen garden. Hopefully I'll be picking and eating the first raspberries in a few months from now.
What would I do without the strawberries? It's so great to see them in flower already. They are very early this year, so fingers crossed that there will be a harvest soon! Can hardly wait!
I'll leave you with a picture of something rather unique in the Netherlands; roses in bud in early April. Unheard of over here. The rose you see is Moonlight, a climber with clusters of lovely scented white flowers and with beautiful reddish purple leaves and stems. It flowers almost non-stop for a very long time, usually from the end of May until the first frosts.


I'm very curious to see which of my roses will flower first and when that will be. I think it will be my old and trusted friend Madame Alfred Carriere and perhaps it will be soon, very soon. I'll keep you posted!

I wish you all a lovely weekend with lots of sunshine.

To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, 'Spring'


30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum,yum,yum..what a lot of goodies, looks like it's gone be a yummie year!!
Lot's of juicy fruits and tasty vegetables from your kitchen garden.

Gowri said...

Hmm..that's a lot of things to look forward to! And a lot of delicious things too! I have caught your curiosity now! I am burning to see what the roses will look like!

Anonymous said...

It was surprising to see someone else growing both Moonlight and Madame Alfred, which we refer to here as Killer. It grew so large it tried to eat our house!

Love your blog

Lis vom Lindenhof said...

Es macht Spaß und Freude den Dingen beim wachsen zusehen zu können. Mein Küchengarten ist lange nicht so groß wie deiner, aber für Tomaten, verschiedene Salate und ein paar Beeresträuchern ist genug Platz da.
Deine Rosen sind aber schon weit, ich habe bei unseren Rosen noch keine Knospen gesehen.

Schönes Wochenende
LG lis

A wildlife gardener said...

What a mouth-watering experience, Yolanda! It was a real sensory delight to visit Bliss today! I shall look forward with anticipation of your first roses...

Anonymous said...

Die schoonheid van april vind ik heus wel genoeg...
Zo'n heerlijk 'groeisfeertje' nu in de tuin idd: bliss..
Het ziet er bij jou zeer veelbelovend/voorpretterig uit!

Susan said...

I'm so envious of your various berries, especially raspberries. Imagine being able to pick raspberries straight off the vine, right in your own garden. Most berries wouldn't do too well here in Texas, except maybe blackberries which grow wild in places (and are then, I think, called dewberries but maybe there's some other distinction I'm unaware of between blackberries and dewberries).

Your spring garden is delicious.

— Susan

Anonymous said...

Have you ever tried 'Little White Pet' or 'Felicite et Perpetue' roses? Both white with deep glossy green foliage.

You're now on my links. Enjoy Red Duke of York!

Anonymous said...

Pears, strawberries, walnuts--yum. What are gooseberries like, though?

It all looks very blissful, indeed.

Silvia Hoefnagels . Salix Tree said...

You have 9 cats? Oh my goodness. I promised myself long ago to never have more than 2 cats. Well, I have 3, that's close enough.I had 5 once, thought it was a bit much.
Lovely bushes! My neighbor gave me what I thought was a gooseberry, but now it looks more like the currant in your picture. I have a gooseberry as well, they are definately 2 different bushes.

Christa said...

How lucky you are to have gooseberries and currants! I wish I could grow currants in my garden but I think it gets too hot here for them.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hello all,

Thanks for visiting Bliss!

Bert: there will be lots of goodies to eat soon!

Thalia: your and mine curiosity will be satisfied soon, I think. ;-)

Frances: I love these two climbers and will show many pics of them in flower soon. Madame Carriere may eat my house anytime she feels like it! :-)

Lis: it's always good to have some things from the garden that you can eat as it tastes so much better than anything bought in the shop. My roses are extremely early this year.

a wildlife gardener: I don't think we have a long wait for the roses to flower this year.

Marleen: de schoonheid van april is geweldig maar de belofte van lekkere dingetjes straks op mijn bordje, vind ik ook niet verkeerd. ;-)

Susan: perhaps you could try the blackberries, because they are tasty too!

John: no I haven't tried those 2 roses but a close friend of mine has both of them and they are beautiful. My Red Duke is poking it's leaves through the earth today.

Pam: gooseberries are wonderful. You can eat them straight from the bush or use them in pies and stuff. They are juicy, slightly sweet but also a bit tart.

Salix tree: some of my cats are rescue cats (see Kadootjes story and Surprise's story on Bliss) and then I also have a few pedigree cats. I used to be a hobby breeder of Russian Blue cats and Maine Coons on a very small scale (maybe 1 or 2 litters per year tops).

Christa: perhaps you can grow other berries or other kinds of fruit. Every climate has it's own advantages for growing different kinds of fruit.

Green thumb said...

I wish I could have a bite off from all these sinfully delicious looking photographs. O my dear Yolanda! I had to rush out and get some Pears from the market or else your post was giving me ulcers. Imagine all the juicy possibilities in your garden, Such Heaven!!

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos, I love fruits and berries in my own garden.

Der Garten said...

Dieses Jahr ist wohl alles zu früh dran. Unsere Moonlight hält sich zwar noch zurück, aber die Winchester Cathedral, Kletter-Schneewittchen und Gruß an Zabern haben bei uns schon Knospen, obwohl die Dünenrose und Rosa Hugonis noch keinen Ansatz zeigen.
Wenn ich mir Deine Bilder ansehe, holt unser Garten wohl langsam auf. Ich werde es weiter verfolgen...
Liebe Grüße Silke

jessielavon@yahoo.com said...

hi darling,just passing threw,come on over for a visit

Petunia's Gardener said...

How fun, this tour of current and to be garden views. I have been wondering if you often have such nice springs, but it sounds like it is especially nice/early this year. Your weather must be influenced by the ocean, like we are in west Washington state. RE: gardenwear, you can see my husband modeling my boring, but dry boots in my garden. Couldn't you just imagine him in the flowery ones too?

Anita said...

April is a busy month for us gardeners, isn't it? But I enjoy every single second - although my garden keeps me very busy these days!

Have a most wonderful week-end!

XOX,Anita

kate said...

Hi Yolanda,

I was sure I left a message yesterday, but I probably mis-typed those squished-up letters and my comment failed to save.

That was one of the best pics - seeing your pear tree in bloom. Such hope ... and what I really enjoyed was seeing your lovely table and chair ... and thinking it would be great to sit and admire the tree.

Enjoy growing raspberries. I am thinking of turning a parking spot in my back garden into a raspberry patch ... there is something so wonderful about picking one's own raspberries (I'll add some strawberries if I can and perhaps take a rhubarb plant from my parent's garden).

I hope your weekend is a lovely, warm and gardening one ... those roses are something else!!

Naturegirl said...

This was torture looking at all the blossoms in your garden and all that fruit!! We are freezing here with a threat of another snow fall tonight!
Come by tomorrow(Sunday) and I will show you what we have blossoming in my zone.
NG from Canada!

Boxwood Cottage said...

Oh yes Yolanda your promises are wonderful! Can't wait! Do you also share this incredible hot summer weather at the moment? It's 26 degrees celsius in the shadow here today, yesterday, tomorrow, I still think I'm in the wrong country, it feels so carribean like ha ha

Andrea's Garden said...

Hello Yolanda, you currents are way ahead of mine. Mine are still trying to "uncurl" their leaves. My blueberries are doing well, too. This year I need to ensure they are protected from the birds. Last year we did not get to enjoy many of them when we got back from vacation because the birds had eaten them. Have a nice Sunday

LostRoses said...

A wonderfully yummy post, Yolanda. I can't even plant a tomato here for another month! So nice to look at your pictures.

Sigrun said...

Hi Yolanda, ich bin wieder da! Frühling ist einfach die schönste Jahreszeit! Deine Bilder sind wunderbar. Auf allen blogs kann man jetzt herrliche Fotografien anschauen. Im Moment ist es schrecklich heiß, ich hab ganz viel Arbeit im Garten, dabei sind noch nicht mal die Koffer ausgepackt.

Sigrun

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Berries and fruit, easy to grown and so nice to eat especially straight from the bush!
What kind of tomatoes did you plant this year. Do you have any favorite?

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hello all and thanks for commenting on Bliss.

Dear Green Thumb: I'm glad that my post inspired you to go out and buy some pears. Pears are good!!!

Hannele: there's nothing better than fruit and berries from your own garden.

Silke: I have the same over here, everything is very, very early this year. At the moment it feels like June/July instead of April.

Purple cucumbers: thanks for visiting!

Petunia: our weather is influenced by the sea, like yours is by the ocean. This means that we do not have very cold winters and not such very hot summers. However this April it's already 26 to 28 degrees Celsius which is very warm for the time of year. I think that everything is at least 4 to 6 weeks earlier than usual. LOL, your hubby in flowery boots, it's so him! Not!

Anita: yes April keeps us very busy! Hope you had a lovely weekend too.

Kate: thanks for commenting again. I agree, that picture of my blossoming pear tree is the best. The little seating area next to it, is lovely when it's hot because it's in the shade, with a lovely view of the pear tree.

That raspberry and rhubarb plan of yours sounds great. Go for it!!!

Nature Girl: I feel for you and all those other gardeners who still have snow and very cold weather. Hope it will be really Spring for you all soon!

Carol: yes, it is very hot here too. Yesterday was around 28 C. Perhaps both our countries have suddenly moved to the south of Europe? ;-)

Andrea: I grow white currants as the birds leaves those alone. I'm sorry to read that the birds ate all your fruit! What a disappointment that must have been.

Lostroses: glad you liked it. Your time will come soon.

Sigrun: welocme back!!!! Hope you had a lovely holiday in Cornwall. Gardening first, unpacking of the suitcases later, that's the spirit!
Yes, it is hot, isn't it?

Tyra: I love the Italian pomedore tomatoes. This year I'm growing a tomato I haven't grown before: cherokee which is an heirloom tomato and it has a purple red colour and a wonderful flavour or so it says on the packet. Can't wait to try that one. And I always grow some cherrie tomatoes as they are so easy to grow, even in pots. And they are good to eat too.

Gotta Garden said...

Hi YE: I just had to come over and say CONGRATULATIONS on the nomination/award thing! (You must put up a link for people to vote for you!!...like the other folks!!)

Annie in Austin said...

Hi Yolanda Elizabet,
I also came to say congratulations to you on your nomination for Mouse and Trowel - and to gaze in awe at the potential fruit and flowers in your garden.
As Susan said - few berries make it in Texas - too hot and no rest period in winter.
The currants look so interesting. I've seen the ornamental currents, but nothing like these, and cannot imagine what the fruit would taste like.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Yes of course we shall link, as you say, we both like ornamental vegetable gardens.
Potager friends unite!
Look at this, one of my favorit pictures.
http://rlerallut.free.fr/images/Arthus/36.html
by Arthus

Garden Cats + Crafts said...

Hallo Yolanda, ich nun hier noch mal. Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Toll dass Du in die Finalrunde gekommen bist. Habe natürlich auch sofort für Dich gevoted. Nun halte ich Dir ganz fest die Daumen, dass es klappt. Du hast es verdient.
Liebe Grüße, Birgit