sunday mornings are perfect for gardening.  there is a certain sense of peace that the demonstration garden has early in the day which i find comforting.  today i went out to the garden with a chocolate chip bundt cake and spent a few hours weeding the beds and chatting with my fellow master gardeners. as master gardeners, we spend time preparing gardens for tours and on occasion,  those gardens are our own.  it is a chance to share our most prized possession with fellow gardeners.  this afternoon, i had the pleasure of visiting the garden of one of my fellow demonstration garden volunteers.

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roasted radishes with wilted greens

spring gardening means lots of radishes.  the familiar red spheres are so pretty and colorful; a perfect accent or garnish.  radishes are enjoying a moment now and there is no shortage of shapes or colors available to dress up your salad or hors d'oeurves .  the entire plant is edible though so think twice about discarding the leaves and flower stalks as you pick them from the garden.  

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let the broccoli harvest begin!

we plant broccoli in the garden for the spring and fall seasons.  it is one of the few plants that we purchase without considering the variety.  whether it is a hybrid or an heirloom, we aren't concerned; we just want healthy plants to give us a head start since both spring and fall are pretty short seasons here in nashville.  this is especially true for the spring season.  while this past winter seemed like it would never end and as cool as the spring was, the cold weather crops began bolting quickly.  we were late getting plants into the ground because of the unusually colder weather and by the time we got things going, the days began getting longer and some plants began bolting.

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strawberry cake

strawberry season sneaks up on us and does not linger; it is sensitive to the cold and it is fleeting.   the berries can be quickly saturated, left waterlogged and tasteless by a day of rain.  gardeners with strawberries generally keep close watch on the berries as they ripen with daily trips to the bed to gather the ripest, reddest, plumpest fruits.  those that make it back to the kitchen may become any number of treats.  sorbet, ice cream, jam or cake-too many choices and honestly, most are consumed as they are picked; who can resist just picked berries?  not me, that is a fact.

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