In July the blossoms and berries in our garden become Even More Abundant than in June! We are also gifted an abundance of colorful peppers and heirloom tomatoes which give us an excellent palette for painting poetry for the senses on culinary canvases. It is a time when we are visited by hundreds of thousands of winged beings that like to enjoy the nectar from the blossoms in our garden (and sometimes share in the berry harvests as well!).
July is also a time when I like to experiment with new recipes in the kitchen as we have the widest range of flavors and colors flowing fresh out of the garden of any time of the year (the tail end of most berry harvests connects onto the beginning of the heirloom pepper, tomato and herb harvests).
I share some pics of one such recipe below (it was a 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚).
I also strive to allow the beautiful patterns in color, form, sound as well as the observable symbiotic relationships which abound in the more than human world to offer me inspiration for ‘recipes’ outside the kitchen. Recipes for social permaculture designs, recipes for regenerating hope, peace, kindness, cooperation, courage and honesty. When I still my mind, open my heart and allow my self to be open to receiving the knowledge that is embodies in our elder beings (the rooted ones, the winged ones, the four legged ones and many others) on Earth I am gifted moments where I can glean wisdom that serves to enrich my heart, mind and eternal spirit. It is in the interest of inviting all of you to be able to access that same enrichment for your own being that I share the following:
In July an abundance of Anthocyanin rich harvests flow from our garden (as you can see from this pic above showing a garden berry harvest from our garden in early July. )
red currents
the tail end of our service berries ripening up on one of our trees in early July (they were huge this year!)
the tail end service berry harvests for 2023, harvested from one of our trees in early July
Red currents. We had an abundant red current harvest this year :)
close up of an echinacea flower in the evening light
a garden visitor enjoying some medicinal nectar from one of our Echinacea flowers
one of our self sown Echinacea patches
Buena Mulata peppers starting to size up
a Buena Mulata pepper blossom and blossom bud
Buena Mulata blossoms from above
super close up of a newly opened Buena Mulata pepper blossom
super close up of a Buena Mulata pepper blossom ready to be pollinated
a baby Buena Mulata pepper
close up of a Buena Mulata pepper about 60% done growing
Buena Mulata pepper beginning to ripen up
close up of a Buena Mulata pepper that is almost ripe
This image shows all the different stages of development of a fully formed Buena Mulata pepper
a typical evening garden harvest from earlier in July when I come home after work, pick some handfuls of what is ripe and then imagine a way to use them in a dinner
A handful of homegrown heirloom peppers (including Buena Mulata, Biquinho, Chiltepin, Jalapeno and the yellow ones are a mystery Aji looking type (medium heat) that I rescued from a nursery when it was on clearance and not being watered anymore.)
This is what went into making our 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚 Sauce. I added some of our abundance of Egyptian walking onion bulbs and an assortment of medium to hot peppers (Tunisian Baklouti to Buena Mulata to Caribbean Habaneros) .
adding some of the ingredients for our 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚 into a blender
blender full of ingredients for making our 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚 ready to blend
the freshly blended 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚 ingredients (ready to begin fermenting as a mash, I added 1 tsp of salt per 250 ml of mash, stirred daily and fermented for 7 days at room temp before refrigerating. The fermented sauce tastes fantastic and I was pleasantly surprised to find that discernable blueberry notes and a subtle floral background flavor are present despite the expected garlicy and spicy main flavors.
Now lets get out of the kitchen and head back to the garden!
Ornamental Echinacea flowers with a garden visitor appreciating some nectar
super close up of a garden visitor appreciating some nectar on another ornamental coneflower
close up of a garden visitor appreciating some nectar on another ornamental coneflower
close up of a garden visitor appreciating some nectar on one of our self sowing/spreading native Echinacea flower patches
a dragon fly resting on a bamboo post supporting one of our heirloom tomato plants, valiantly defending our crops against herbivore invaders :)
super close up of a a dragon fly resting on a lilac leaf, one of our garden allies that tirelessly works to valiantly defending our crops against herbivore invaders :)
Golden Digger Wasp drinking some hydrangea nectar in our yard
various winged beings enjoying hydrangea nectar
a monarch enjoying some hydrangea nectar in our garden
a monarch enjoying some hydrangea nectar
young serbian spruce cones and foliage
another garden ally (in this instance valiantly defending one of the most powerful medicine plants we have managed to establish as a self sowing member of our garden.
close up of serbian spruce cones
super close up of a love-in-a-mist flower and foliage
super close up of a love-in-a-mist flower and foliage
close up of a love-in-a-mist flower, a seed pod and foliage
close up ornamental onion blossom buds about to open (the native pollinators love these)
super close up ornamental onion blossom buds about to open (the native pollinators love these)
a “wild flower patch” I planted in memory of my Granny Sylvia (she and her husband ran a restaurant and bed and breakfast on Galiano Island, BC for many years called “The Pink Geranium”
close up of delphiniums
another pic of the “wild flower patch” mentioned above. When I look at these flowers it reminds me how the time my grandparents spent with me in their gardens, in the forest and in the kitchen has played a central role in shaping who I am today. Perhaps some day, on our dream homestead property I will create my own Bed, Breakfast and Bistro which will (in a similar fashion to to my grandparents bed and breakfast/restaurant) will only serve meals (and sell preserves) that are made with seasonally available ingredients harvested from our garden and/or the forest. Perhaps I will feature canvas prints of some of my photography on the walls of the bistro (which would be for sale as part of a “photographic spagyric alchemy” package) ;)
Thanks for checking out my photos I hope you all have a beautiful remainder of August filled an abundance of moments that serve to nurture your body, heart, mind and spirit in nature and in the garden.
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Each and everyone of us is capable of choosing (as our ancestors did) to develop an intimate and reciprocal relationship with the wild plants, trees and fungi in our local region. Taking the time to appreciate a flower, a leaf or a tree and giving our attention to that being, is the first step towards using our skills of observation to learn from our elder species.
May each of us find our footing and hope through embarking on the soft and green path described in The Prophecy Of The Seventh Fire.
The joyous moments I cherished in July were filled with winged beings enjoying the nectar from blossoms, creating in the kitchen with nourishing berries, pepper and tomato harvests, abundant, fragrances, textures, sounds and tastes that offer poetry for the senses and inspiration for my mind. July make offers moments in the forest full of bird song, wild flowers and peace. In the garden, July gifts me a rainbow spectrum of flowers that uplifts my heart and make my spirit dance.
Your photos always feel like a balm to my eyes, especially the high contrast super close-ups. It feels like it puts my rods and cones back into alignment ;-) And I loved the journey, into the kitchen and back out to visit with the bugs and the bees! Amazing, every one.
Last night someone asked if I'd noticed all the medicinal plants springing up. He mentioned mullein among others, and this was on the East Coast. My West Coast mullein is seven feet high. He said that mullein could be smoked as a beneficial treatment, which was news to me. But this was brought to mind by your self-seeding echinacea.
Also the first wall mural I painted was an onion plant against a swirly sunset, here in my childhood home where I am now. It was in HS and has been long painted over but maybe when I redo that room, which is the only one I haven't in my now AirBnB, I'll bring back the tradition. I love the bulby stem.
Thanks for saying that we are indeed the younger siblings to the plants. They were here jillions of years before us and have much wisdom to impart.
Your photos always feel like a balm to my eyes, especially the high contrast super close-ups. It feels like it puts my rods and cones back into alignment ;-) And I loved the journey, into the kitchen and back out to visit with the bugs and the bees! Amazing, every one.
Last night someone asked if I'd noticed all the medicinal plants springing up. He mentioned mullein among others, and this was on the East Coast. My West Coast mullein is seven feet high. He said that mullein could be smoked as a beneficial treatment, which was news to me. But this was brought to mind by your self-seeding echinacea.
Also the first wall mural I painted was an onion plant against a swirly sunset, here in my childhood home where I am now. It was in HS and has been long painted over but maybe when I redo that room, which is the only one I haven't in my now AirBnB, I'll bring back the tradition. I love the bulby stem.