Summer solstice is approaching and I enjoy spending time in the sun, caring for our loggia garden and tasting tasting the harvest which the season offers us.

Grown in our loggia garden

This is an edible garden nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus). Six flowers have grown on that plant so far – four red and two yellow. Their taste is little bit spicy, it reminds me of the taste of arugula (Eruca vesicaria).

This year I have decided to grow some tomatoes, so I bought two cherry tomatoes plants. B. and I carefully hand pollinate them as we do not have many bees flying around our loggia. It is quite easy – you just tap on the top of the flower. And it works!

We have several coriander (Coriandrum sativum) plants. One of them has grown one seed! Maybe we will have more because I saw bees flying around other coriander flowers just few days ago.

Locally grown

Eating locally grown fruits and vegetables in season has become one of our family goals. Particularly, B. asked to eat fresh strawberries from last September. We had some frozen from the previous season, so we enjoyed them through last winter. This year I do the same – I buy a lot and we eat them fresh, make a cake and the rest we freeze.

While pregnant with B. I ate kilograms of cherries a day. I could not stop myself eating them. It is four years already… This cherry harvest is from my grandmother’s garden. We had a wonderful time picking them with B. and my mom. On that very cherry tree we saw three owlets looking at us which eventually flew away. It was the the first time I have seen a freely living owl.

These beautiful flowers are from my grandmother’s garden. B. usually say: “The smell is so sweet…” Can you see a small caterpillar in the photograph?