A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to be in New York (well…I was in Brooklyn actually…not quite New York…or…of if your a 'Sex and the City' fan….I was in "The new New York" as Charlotte so eloquently put it when Miranda moved off the island…..but I digress…….
So, here I was in 'Brooklyn' and I came across these wonderful produce markets. They were in the square right in front of the town hall. It was the end of summer and the weather was still warm and the crowds were out in force. I was planning to jump on the subway and head over to Manhattan when a rainbow of colour caught my eye and I was drawn over to the benches and tables covered with the most beautiful garden produce.
The variety and colour of vegetables available was amazing. If your one of those people who will only eat a red, round perfect tomato you'd be pretty disappointed! But if the thought of savouring unusually shaped and coloured heirloom varieties gets your tastebuds tingling…. you would think you'd stumbled into 'Tomato heaven'.
With wonderful names such as 'Orange Russian' , 'Eva Purple Ball' and 'Green Zebra'….the names were as colourful as the fruit!!! (yes…tomatoes are actually a fruit, not a vegetable….but that's another story!). I was particularly taken with the pale yellow tomatoes pictured above called 'White Beauty' that kept making me think of Betty White for some (strange) reason!
Sometimes the colours were quite strange and not that appealing such as the 'Black Prince', but when all these crazy varieties were placed side by side they looked like a kaleidoscope!
And it was the imperfections in colour,
size and shape that revealed the true beauty of these lovely fruit.
But it wasn't all just tomatoes on offer! There were a number of other very colourful and interesting veggies on display.
Funky, green 'Acorn Squash' sat along-side a pile of straggly-looking turnips and butternut pumpkins.
The beautiful rainbow-hued stems of 'Rainbow chard'….yellow, orange, pink and red…..sit gracefully beside pack choy and a huge pile of 'cavolo nero', below.
Crazy looking 'Romanesco' cauliflowers sat next to the usual white variety; some perfectly-pale green cabbages contrasting with small punnets of red and orange chillis.
And it wasn't just the incredible colours and shapes of the fruits and vegetables that made this delectable display so appealing. It was the casual way they were displayed; effortlessly strewn across tables and benches or heaped into lavish piles of green such as the mass of herbs below.
Lovely cobs of ancient-looking corn on the cob with the husks pulled back, reveal the speckled black-purple and yellow kernels. And baskets of 'pimply' orange and green mini-squash shine in the sun light.
Unfortunately I was flying back to LA a few hours later so I didn't get to savour the flavours of the beautiful and unique produce on offer. But I could smell the amazing smell of sun-ripened tomatoes and the wonderful pile of herbs and just enjoy the colours and textures that were a visual feast in themselves.
I'm really excited to say that my partner and I are in the process of purchasing a small plot of land in the country!!! … The city-bound, apartment dwelling 'grounded GARDENER' will soon have a bit of space to experiment with a cold climate garden which will be something new as I've always been a 'sub-tropical' kind of gardener. 5 acres in the Southern Tablelands of NSW at an altitude of 1000m…..it's going to be pretty cold in winter!!! But we're really excited about the prospect of creating a new and interesting space.
That's the grounded GARDENS mantra
'make the most of the space you live in'
so even if you only have a patio or balcony you could try to grow some 'Betty Whites' or 'Green Zebras' in a styrofoam box……or plant a bright bunch of Rainbow Chard in a black plastic pot. And, I hope in the near future to share some of our gardening experiments in the country…the disasters…and hopefully…the successes!!!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New year; get grounded…and get GARDENING.
So, here I was in 'Brooklyn' and I came across these wonderful produce markets. They were in the square right in front of the town hall. It was the end of summer and the weather was still warm and the crowds were out in force. I was planning to jump on the subway and head over to Manhattan when a rainbow of colour caught my eye and I was drawn over to the benches and tables covered with the most beautiful garden produce.
The variety and colour of vegetables available was amazing. If your one of those people who will only eat a red, round perfect tomato you'd be pretty disappointed! But if the thought of savouring unusually shaped and coloured heirloom varieties gets your tastebuds tingling…. you would think you'd stumbled into 'Tomato heaven'.
With wonderful names such as 'Orange Russian' , 'Eva Purple Ball' and 'Green Zebra'….the names were as colourful as the fruit!!! (yes…tomatoes are actually a fruit, not a vegetable….but that's another story!). I was particularly taken with the pale yellow tomatoes pictured above called 'White Beauty' that kept making me think of Betty White for some (strange) reason!
And it was the imperfections in colour,
size and shape that revealed the true beauty of these lovely fruit.
But it wasn't all just tomatoes on offer! There were a number of other very colourful and interesting veggies on display.
Funky, green 'Acorn Squash' sat along-side a pile of straggly-looking turnips and butternut pumpkins.
The beautiful rainbow-hued stems of 'Rainbow chard'….yellow, orange, pink and red…..sit gracefully beside pack choy and a huge pile of 'cavolo nero', below.
Crazy looking 'Romanesco' cauliflowers sat next to the usual white variety; some perfectly-pale green cabbages contrasting with small punnets of red and orange chillis.
And it wasn't just the incredible colours and shapes of the fruits and vegetables that made this delectable display so appealing. It was the casual way they were displayed; effortlessly strewn across tables and benches or heaped into lavish piles of green such as the mass of herbs below.
Lovely cobs of ancient-looking corn on the cob with the husks pulled back, reveal the speckled black-purple and yellow kernels. And baskets of 'pimply' orange and green mini-squash shine in the sun light.
Unfortunately I was flying back to LA a few hours later so I didn't get to savour the flavours of the beautiful and unique produce on offer. But I could smell the amazing smell of sun-ripened tomatoes and the wonderful pile of herbs and just enjoy the colours and textures that were a visual feast in themselves.
I'm really excited to say that my partner and I are in the process of purchasing a small plot of land in the country!!! … The city-bound, apartment dwelling 'grounded GARDENER' will soon have a bit of space to experiment with a cold climate garden which will be something new as I've always been a 'sub-tropical' kind of gardener. 5 acres in the Southern Tablelands of NSW at an altitude of 1000m…..it's going to be pretty cold in winter!!! But we're really excited about the prospect of creating a new and interesting space.
That's the grounded GARDENS mantra
'make the most of the space you live in'
so even if you only have a patio or balcony you could try to grow some 'Betty Whites' or 'Green Zebras' in a styrofoam box……or plant a bright bunch of Rainbow Chard in a black plastic pot. And, I hope in the near future to share some of our gardening experiments in the country…the disasters…and hopefully…the successes!!!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New year; get grounded…and get GARDENING.
