_{I have not posted anything since my moms passing... it has been a trying ten plus days, filled with so much pain and overwhelming emotion. In reality, all I have wanted to do is run away from the reality - crawl into a hole in the ground and disappear, but the fact is - life carries on and I need to move along with it because I too, am a mother... and there is a little boy in my life and to him - I am the world, his best friend... just as my mom was to me and all my brothers... so I am "digging deep" for the strength to keep moving!}

_{I am not expecting any "miracles" from myself but, one foot in front of the other as they say... and in the spirit of such, as well as in honour and remembrance of my mom - I am starting this weekly blog series. My mom, Hive account@lizziesworld joined this blockchain community just over three years ago in June 2017. Her blog posts were never long, but almost every single day for that time, she shared her gardening knowledge, tips and adventures. I have now decided to compile a few of these "snippets" randomly every week (that is the intention) and re-share them with all of you on Thursdays... because that was "our day"... as most of you know.}

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LIZZIE'S SNIPPETS

A weekly gardening blog, with content originally written by and now dedicated to the memory of my beautiful mom.

The kiss of the sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth, One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden Than anywhere else on earth. - Dorothy Frances Gurney

Alstroemeria the lovely perennial

Published September 21st 2017

The beautiful Alstroemeria is a perennial that should be considered for that semi shade area in the garden. They look at their best when planted en mass in a good fertile soil and multiply quickly if not disturbed. The trumpet shaped flowers can be picked for the vase and last for quite some time - the colours available go from white to pink through to yellow and shades of red.

The Fig Tree

Published September 27th 2017

The fig tree is one of my favourite fruit trees because once established, it will produce loads of fruit. The red fig makes the most delicious jam - in fact it tastes just like strawberry jam. The most common fault in figs dropping off the tree before ripening is due to either irregular watering or over watering.
Feed the tree with a potassium rich fertiliser.

Harvesting Bay Leaves

Published November 19th 2019

Many years ago, while I was staying with my late sister in the Eastern Cape, I was introduced to using bay leaves in cooking. In many of her dishes, there was a flavour that I could not identify and which really made her food taste delicious. At that time in my life, I was not married and so it was years later that I embarked on my culinary journey and then discovered the joy of the bay leaf.

If you have never cooked with this wonderful herb, I would encourage you to try it. I do know that many people have no idea what to do with bay leaves and this is a great shame, so I thought that I would share with you all how I use these wonderful leaves. I have a bay tree and so often take some to my daughter Hive account@jaynie who also loves them.

Firstly, the most common way of cooking with bay leaves is to use them in all types of curries, but it does not stop there. Adding them to rice while cooking gives the rice a great flavour - and when storing dry rice, pop a few leaves in the container as well.

Roast potatoes sprinkled with rosemary and some bay leaves added is really good. When roasting a chicken, put a few leaves inside the cavity as well as under the wings and alongside the legs.

A leg of lamb is at its best with garlic gloves and bay leaves - I pierce the top with a sharp knife and pop in the garlic cloves, then place bay leaves underneath the roast and a few on top - do this after the roast has been rubbed with some olive oil and seasoned. The juices from the meat then can be used to make a wonderful gravy. This method can also be used for other roasts.

Bolognaise sauce is not complete without some bay leaves added and the flavour improves further if the sauce is frozen for another meal.

For those of you that enjoy the old fashioned rice pudding, add a couple of bay leaves to it for a lovely result. Pickles, chutneys and chilli preserves all benefit from bay leaves too.

My bay tree has now just pushed out new growth and so I have harvested some leaves - the leaves can be dried at room temperature and store in a container for months. The new leaves have a stronger flavour than the dried leaves when used in cooking.