There are chef's that garden - I am a horticulturalist that cooks
From as early on as I can remember I was in the garden with my mum, my dad, even my grandfather.
My mum tells me I used to say I was a 'plant doctor' and carry a basket on my arm filled with scissors, sticky tape and homemade healing spray (water with lemon juice apparently) and trot around the garden like a doctor on their rounds (whether the plant was sick or not!)
At 16 I enrolled in my first year of study in Horticulture and fell in love with this field of study immediately.
Well actually maybe not the whole field as I never warmed to Horticultural machinery subjects, spark plugs and lawnmowers are not my friends but to be able to study and learn about plants was pure joy to me.
I knew then what it meant when people would say, "Find what you love to do and work becomes pleasure."
At 16 I enrolled in my first year of study in Horticulture and fell in love with this field of study immediately.
Well actually maybe not the whole field as I never warmed to Horticultural machinery subjects, spark plugs and lawnmowers are not my friends but to be able to study and learn about plants was pure joy to me.
I knew then what it meant when people would say, "Find what you love to do and work becomes pleasure."
I also grew up with my mum working as a professional cook and came from family of chefs and cooks and all these incredible women making amazing food all the time, so right from an early age I had a love and wonder around food and cooking.
I love that in my life now these two elements are a big part of me and of what I do and what I share with my own two girls.
I believe that growing food is one of the most exciting things we can bring into our lives.
I often think that if you are going to be watering a garden you should have at least one thing edible or medicinal within it. People usually only grow veggies and herbs in backyard plot but these plants can be so striking and beautiful, they really can be grown on full display and landscaped with to make dazzling displays and patterns in even the showiest of gardens.
To me it is the whole journey that excites me so much about real food and back to basic's, the journey that starts with food growing and ends with a delicious meal.
Want some of my edible gardening tips?
Check out my gardening tips in the post by Natural New Age Mum on her fantastic blog,Gardening with Kids
You can also read about my latest adventure - cooking at the Real Food Festival, in the feature on me in the Hinterland Times here:
HERE "Back to basic's - that's all it takes"
Happy cooking AND gardening
Bek XX
I love your passion Bek and that you are sharing it with your kids. My dad started a vege garden the same year that he passed away from cancer. Every vegetable that came out of that garden felt like a gift of love x
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful parting memory of your dad Kirri - I am so sorry for your loss XXX
DeleteI don't even HAVE a garden. Just 2 balconies, and nothing is growing on them :( In saying that, nothing would grow if I had a garden, either, my thumb is decidedly brown. Would love to have a green thumb, a huge garden and very little need for grocery stores! -Aroha (for #teamIBOT)
ReplyDeleteSome of the prettiest gardens I have seen have been balcony gardens Aroha, such a beautiful way to make them come alive with flowers, herbs and a few edibles XXX
DeleteI agree that cooking and gardening go hand in hand. You know every time I come here I leave feeling so hungry thanks to all your yummy food images! Fairy wishes and butterfly kisses lovely
ReplyDeleteHaha thanks Rhianna!!
DeleteHow wonderful for you to realise your passion so early in life. I love that you used to be the plant doctor :) We have a small veggie patch in our yard. Our three year old gets so much joy out of it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Renee, it really is a world of wonder for kids X
DeleteWow, look at that amazing produce from your garden! It wasn't until very recently that, for the first time in my life, I had a yard with an amazing range of edible plants that I can't wait to flower and fruit! Thank you to the previous owner for putting so much work into it, now I have mangoes, tomatoes, peaches, avocado, nasturtiums, pansies, plums..you name it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like paradise Eva!!
DeleteLove this blog post Bek! I am really looking forward to starting up my veggie patch again when we buy our next house in Qld :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Iwa!!
DeleteLove the photos of your kids in the garden! I'm very jealous of all your amazing produce!! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lucy!
DeleteOh I long for the day that we own our own place! I would edible landscaping to my hearts content!
We tried to have a little garden for the kids but the bug totally got in to it - not sure we're in the right spot, I hope we can afford rural living one day and can get a proper veggie garden going x
ReplyDeleteHaving a garden is so much fun and yes the right spot makes a huge difference, even a few pots of edible greens are super fun for kids too and you can move them around XX
DeleteWow! I wish we had more space for gardens so we could grow some veggies too! Here in Singapore, we basically have to live one on top of another in small houses due to high population and lack of land. Gardening and cooking sounds so fun even for kids!
ReplyDeleteThanks Summer! I have seen some incredible and breathtaking roof top gardens and balcony gardens in big cities!!
DeleteI love gardening! I missed not having my veggie garden this year cause I was just too busy unfortunately, and now it's too wet. Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteLove that pic of your little one munching on fresh beans. That's awesome xx
I have read a lot about the gardeners up in Darwin Jess!! Incredible place you live, have read about trying to grow in the big wet!!
DeleteWe love gardening and eating what we grow. This is the first time we've had a garden and not just pots. Very exciting
ReplyDeleteOh how lovely Bronnie!!
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