Garden tea

My garden reminds me of a summer ice tea.

Magic and mundane.

Ethereal and earthy.

Refreshing and nourishing.

Everyday I drink my garden with my eyes. I roll them over each plant, noticing the bugs and the blossoms.  I see it but I really do have a hard time visually taking it all in. How beautiful it is. How much abundance there is. How it changes so quickly. It seems just a few weeks ago I was rolling seeds around in my hand. And now I duck through a jungle to locate ingredients for dinner. I hunt for a zucchini to the soundtrack of the neighborhood–jarring horns, loud music, occasional shouts. The city, right outside the garden gate, is hot and irritable. I sit down and sip the cool and quiet. I feel the sensations travel across my tongue, down my throat and through the inner corridors of my body. This is the way I really understand my garden. Drinking it in.

I am the vessel, the container for the brew. Earth flavored tea steeping in my soul.

The garden brew:

Growth in just a few weeks- next two pictures are the same spot

Old South Valley elderberry tree that I visited recently and helped harvest

Elderberry tincture

Mid summer kale- still tender!

Squash and cucumbers and the trusty squash bug spray (equal parts beer, ammonia and dish soap- kills them on contact). The round zucchini is called Ronde de Nice and is a new favorite, so creamy and light.

 Garden jungle, inside:

 Garden jungle, from the street:

 Growing pumpkin

 My sitting place.. has been taken over!

Our squash, tomatoes,  onions, cucumber, for shish-kabob and our rosemary, thyme and mint for chicken marinade

The garden gate