burgundy magnolias picked from a forgotten and neglected tree

wild stock of Gladiolus tristis grown in pots, elegant and beautifully scented

a happy experiment for our garden, anemones in shades of pink, mauve and red (variety St. Brigid)

galangal happiness

Proof that a little love and nurturing is a just adequate substitute for tropical heat and humidity - I present to you: galangal, grown in Cape Town, 34 degrees south of the equator.

Radicchio, so pretty, so revolting

It really is beautiful. It made me ache with longing while it was growing. Fantasies of radicchio with walnuts and goat cheese might have occupied an unreasonable proportion of my early winter thoughts.

Radicchio 'Treviso Precoce Mesola' (seed from Thompson & Morgan, UK)

Summer is almost over

The frangipani are still heavy with flowers, but dusk creeps in earlier and earlier, and barefoot is not nearly as pleasant as it was a month ago.

pining for the tropics

If you know where to look in Cape Town, fine Indian dining and the ingredients required to replicate it are at hand. Fresh curry leaves? Easy, brought in from Durban several times a week. A vast and dazzling array of dried spices, secret and not-so-secret mixes, and sacks of rice in suitably picturesque printed cotton? No problem. Choose from dozens of shops, replete with ceiling high stacks of stainless steel tinware, and the heady scent of authenticity.

The rest of Asian cuisine is rather more of a challenge.

It's March

lily time. Amaryllis belladonna. Always on time. Exquisite, but a little creepy. Softly pink and sweetly fragrant cannot mask the subtle bitterness that warns of toxic alkaloids.

The scent evokes an old perfume in a dusty recess of my childhood memories. Feminine, but with a dark, slightly jarring undertone. I think it was a scent my grandmother wore for evening occasions in the 1970's. Something that smelt of Europe in the 40's, a relict from a grander life. But I'm not really sure, and don't have the words to resurrect it properly.

better than Peter Mayle

Rodale (ca. 1950) How to Grow Fruits and Vegetables by the Organic Method, 31—Harvesting and Storing Fruits..........p654:

"Melons— The gathering of them is a fine art. They must be ready to leave the parent vine—a trifle reluctantly, perhaps, but the parting is definitely in order. The seeds should be mature, the fruits as heavy as they will every be and, again, that subtle change has taken place in the colour of the rind. In case of doubt, test as you would a cheese: cut a plug and examine and taste it.

Grapes—Grapes are never so good as when they grow, spread out, over a stone wall in the sun. When they drop at a touch, then bring them to the table and let their perfume fill the room."