Girls in the Garden

We’ve been undertaking a lot of landscaping to the garden of our new home this summer and it’s all finally coming into place. The girls are enjoying the flowers, the fruits of our labours (Cape Gooseberries, Strawberries and Parsley being top on their list) and we are enjoying a bountiful supply of coriander for our curries and fresh spinach for an array of dishes.

Naturally they want to ‘help’ out and are good at making a mess and trying their best to clean up after themselves! Some of their favourite ‘jobs’ are sweeping, raking up the grass cuttings, taking food scraps to the compost bin and shredding newspaper and soaking it in water to add to the brown/green balance essential for compost.

Charlotte hasn’t quite grasped the fact that her favourite fruits are seasonal and therefore, being near the end of our summer, soon to retire for the winter months. She is a little disappointed at the end of a ready supply of strawberries and cape gooseberries, but is relieved that we will be spending a portion of the New Zealand winter in England, where I have reassured her there will be a ready supply of her favourite delicacies.

Sophie, having recently learned the meaning of ‘more’, is now beginning to understand the meaning of ‘no more’ and ‘all gone’ and how to deal with the emotional realisation.

When the girls have gone to sleep (thankfully a little earlier now the darker evenings have set in!) I enjoy sitting out under the stars, taking in the scent of the herbs and some incense, with a little liquid refreshment!