Hope springs eternal ... in the garden

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration.

~Lou Erickson

It also requires a slew of expletives directed at those slugs and weeds and other obstacles standing in the way of my vegetables' happiness :)

In spite of the vagaries of the weather this year, the abysmal lack of spring and warmth, my veggies have managed to survive. Really well, I might add. And yes, it takes some work to build those beds, plant those starters and tend to them every couple of days. But none of this would've happened without those fabulous saplings to start off with! This year's crop comes with starters from these places:

• Molbaks - the king of nurseries out here in the greater seattle area. Somewhat pricey, but their quality remains blemishless.
• Seattle Tilth - a fabulous local non-profit dedicated to urban gardening. Their organic techniques, demonstrations and classes are truly fantastic!
• Seattle area farmers' markets - Life doesn't quite function without the CSAs and organic gardeners who populate these markets - their seeds, starters and crops are the best, the very best!

So, without further ado, I present a partial snapshot of the vegetable garden as of this evening :)

Thai Chilli Pepper

A few of the zillion tomatoes (heirlooms, sweet million, cherry, plum, roma)

One of the veggie beds, the plants in front are chives, garlic, fennel and basil

Greens - radicchio, braising greens, arugula, butter lettuce ...

First snap pea of the season!

Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and other leafy green things!

Yellow squash

Zucchini

Italian Parsley

Rapini flower

These rapini flowers have been a fabulous discovery this season - we stumbled upon them at the Madrona farmers' market and have been hooked on them since. Fragile-looking, but intensely flavourful and refreshing - they remind me of Bri. The incredibly strong and resilient Bri - we're all thinking of you and rooting for you.

Hope does spring eternal.

A whole new Click for life!

Carolina Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens)

Anyone who reads this blog probably knows how much I love Click - that crazy photo event started by those crazy Jugalbandits. It makes for entertaining posts, fabulous eye candy, last-minute photos and maybe even some improved photography (on my end!) :)

This month, Click comes with a whole new cause.

YELLOW for Bri.

To put it simply, Bri (Briana Brownlow) rocks. She's the personality behind FigsWithBri - a fabulous vegetarian food blog. I've spent many hours drooling over her fabulous green tea icecream and homemade truffles!

And Bri is one of the 5% of women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 30.

She was 28 and diagnosed with breast cancer two and a half years ago. After a round of intense treatment (mastectomy and chemotherapy), she bounced back and seemed to be doing pretty well over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, the cancer is back and metastasized to her lungs, lymph nodes and several regions of her bones. More about it here.

In addition to the emotional rollercoaster that a battle with cancer entails, the practical ramifications are enormous. The choice of treatment, the rote of dealing with it, the staggering medical bills .. all these are just pieces of the battle. This time around, Bri is choosing to fight the cancer from a holistic perspective, with a combination of herbs, extracts, an organic diet and more.



To help Bri and Mark deal with the financial implications of this battle, the June edition of Click has been set up as a fundraiser for Bri. A slew of bloggers have offered a variety of prizes that will be raffled off as part of this fundraiser.

You can make your donation HERE or by using the Chip-In button below.

[If the updated amount does not show on your screen, you may need to clear your cache.]

Check out the image gallery of the prizes to pick the items that you are interested in bidding on. You can enter your bid information on this Donation Page.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.