Thursday 27 September 2012

Thrifty Snippets in the Garden .....


Hello there ... what a lovely day it has been here ... Autumn in the air but sunshiny and mild ..... 
Hope you have had a pleasant day too..

Just a surprise Snippet in the garden today ... I thought I would share with you.
 The garden is beginning to look a bit sad ... i wasn't actively working in the garden ... it was a day of 'sorting out'....all the boring stuff !


 I was sorting through all the old paperwork ... letters from the bank, utilities and whatnot....I tell you ... boring stuff. And I went up the garden to burn any documents with sensitive info on them... you just cant be too careful these days.



 We are lucky to have an area where we can have a little fire pit ... we sometimes have a little fire and sit out around it with a glass of wine.... New Years Eve is a favourite ... that's if its not raining of course.
Anyway as I ferried my old letters and whatnot up to the fire ... I was fiddling about tweaking the plants and mentally rearranging the garden ... as you do.
I was just thinking how pretty the Nasturtiums looked .... how long they had flowered and lended their 'splash of colour' to brighten the garden.



Looking closer I noticed lots and lots of little seeds ....



....plump juicy little seeds ... ripe for the picking.
Apparently the seeds can be pickled and taste a bit like capers ... although I have not tried it.
 I do enjoy the tender little leaves and flowers in a nice salad ... minus the caterpillars of course.

Leaves taste fresh and peppery ... nice. 



Of course at this time of year we wouldn't get a look in ... the caterpillars have discovered just how tasty they are.
 

I picked just a little handful of the seeds .... just enough to give a few plants next year ....although some will perhaps spring up from the scattered seed left in the garden.
Don't they look nice .... such a pretty shape and they smell so lovely too.
 

I put them in a little dish and will sit them in a warm dry place ... hopefully they will dry nicely into seeds which look like brown shrivelled little brains ...
I can plant them next spring and they will burst forth with their distinctive scent and bold fresh colour... a treat for all the senses!

So how goes it with you and your garden?
 ... any thrifty ideas ... 
I find seeds can be so expensive these days.

Bye for now xx take care xx