They may not make the prettiest picture in the garden, but once asparagus get a move on, they seem almost to grow before your very eyes. It isn’t until you see them growing that you realise how all the ones in the shops must be graded for size, as garden ones grow in a higgeldy-piggeldy fashion – big ones, small ones, fat ones and thin, which certainly amounts to chaos when it comes to cooking them at the same time! This group made for a jolly Sunday morning picking…
And while the asparagus come into season…..our lovely squeaky peas are slowly on their way out. For a very short time though, they make an exciting combination – visually in the raw, as well as blanched & mixed together on a plate to taste…
In the meantime, the first globe artichokes made their appearance. I picked the first bunch on Friday morning, to poach for Kitchen Gardening participants – what a great treat for us all to taste the very first of the season.
And as artichokes simmered in one pan, pea tendrils and broad bean tips were tossed into a home made vegetable stock, to enhance the flavour of a garden-inspired spring risotto.
With three days of events back to back and all the preparation required before and in between, there’s been little time to take snaps of the burgeoning spring garden…..the blossom of malus and prunus, early persimmon leaves, full blown wisteria, jasmine and lilac, not to mention the citrus trees covered in blossom of my very favourite scent of all. As I’ve lurched from task to task, the heady scent of these perfumed flowers has invaded every nook and cranny, maintaining a frisson of excitement and anticipation throughout the week. The garden has been full of delightful people, as well as flowers, fruit and veg. What joy!