Hello Hive,
It is my first time posting in the Hive Garden community. I am a newbie in gardening. My intent in writing this post is to freeze these garden memories, in the hopes of creating our own edible garden one day, wherever that may be.
As we brace ourselves for another tropical storm in the Philippines, I watch the bamboo and bougainvillea sway through the screen door while typing this. A vegetable rice porridge in this rainy weather sounds tempting and after checking the available vegetables at the bottom of the fridge, it seems doable.
How I wish I have access to the garden that was brimming with organic produce during vacations with family in France.
The Edible Garden
My husband grew up in a small village of about 2,000 inhabitants in the middle of the french countryside. It was a lovely 70s style home that was remodeled and updated every decade. The most fascinating thing about it was their incredible backyard edible garden. For a city girl, I remember calling their backyard potager " a farm". He grew up eating homegrown food in the warmer months and even had their hens laying fresh eggs.
When his parents retired, they relocated to a coastal urban zone in proximity to hospitals and commercial areas. They sold their family home and moved to a smaller modern minimalist house that suits their needs and is a lot easier to maintain.
The Shared Urban Potager
Their new garden at home is not as big as it used to be. Much to his parents' glee, there was an empty plot of land a block away. Its owner agreed to lend it to anyone in the neighborhood to use as an edible garden for free.
My father-in-law and another neighbor shared the free garden space. He had a compost pile and a rainwater collection tank to water them.
There were other gardens growing food throughout the neighborhood and they all exchanged crops and produce to avoid wasting food. This was also where he taught me how to grow tomatoes from seeds.
When we lived there for five months, this edible garden was our main source of nourishment. From potatoes, shallots, garlic, tomatoes of different varieties, we made many sumptuous meals here. It was economical and the flavors of the produce were mindblowing.
You'll also find this garden in a previous post where we created a surprise treasure hunt for my niece and nephew: Find a Treasure in French Forest where the treasure chest was buried in this very garden.
During the pandemic, he dabbled in permaculture. Sadly, after almost seven years of gardening, this year's summer harvest was the last.
The property owner had other plans for this land so we won't be able to spend much time here any longer in the future. The neighbors are grateful however to the owner for allowing them to use it.
Thank you for reading and watching! Wishing you all a great week ahead!
"I am an old soul who simply loves coffee, who finds joy and beauty in both tangible and the unseen."
Curiosity and imagination lead to unexpected experiences. Interested in Nature, Places, Roads Less Traveled, Minimalism, Authentic Living, Anything French, and International Cuisine. Feel free to follow her, re-blog, and upvote if you enjoy her content.