The first precious harvests

I love this moment in the garden most of all I think.  Everything is lush and green and growing quickly, and those first few pods and berries and leaves are ready.  And of course the first ones are always the very best.

Aren't the colours on this blueberry wonderful?  The softest of greens, the barest blush of lavender and a lovely faded denim blue.  The biggest boy was disappointed this morning that the blueberry he ate wasn't the first to be consumed.  No, that was the one I had last night.  Yum.

There aren't many strawberry plants this year, but we've still had a few good bowlfuls.  The littlest boy loves them, we all do in fact, and the fruit salads have been so nice I've wondered why I don't serve fruit for dessert more often.  The children actually prefer it to other things a lot of the time.

The runner beans have buds on them, and mysteriously they seem to be a nice salmon pink colour.  They're a variety called Celebration that I've never grown before, and I wasn't expecting pink flowers.  I think I shall enjoy looking at them.

The broad beans are just about ready to be picked.  There aren't many at home, some plants mysteriously disappeared, as they do.  We might end up eating them all small and raw.

These are sugar snap peas, Sugar Ann, grown especially for the littlest boy who eats sugar snaps whenever he can.  He's not a fan of cooked vegetables, but he enjoys raw ones, so I often give them to him raw with his meal.  Sugar snaps are great for lunchboxes as well, I really can't grow enough of them.

The tomatoes are looking surprisingly good.  They were so small and sad looking to start with, but they've rallied admirably so I'm feeling hopeful for a good harvest.  Again, I don't think I could grow too many of them.

The tree fruit is quietly doing its thing.  Apples and pears slowly swelling in the summer sun.  Many have fallen in the June drop, and the trees are left with just the right amount for them.

One of the last remaining peaches.  There weren't many to start with and most of them have been footballed off.  I'm not that bothered though, it will allow the tree to put more energy into growing bigger and stronger and more able to withstand small boys.

The herbs are doing nicely, especially the chives.  They are some of my favourites, so useful and easy to grow (stick them in and forget about them) and at this time of year they have the most beautiful flowers.  The flowers are nice pulled apart and sprinkled over salads.  They're onion-ey, just like the leaves.  The bees really love them too, I've seen so many different types of bees on them, in fact they're almost never without a bee.

The first of the flowers are blooming too.  In fact I'd go so far as to say that everything in the garden is rosy.

I hope it is with you too.