And so the sowing started

The busy season in the garden has officially started. Mealies, white and purple brinjals, butternut and gem squash are among the first sowings. From now on it will be harvesting and planting. The cabbages are ready for harvesting and we will need to see what the potatoes have done underground.

The celery, Swiss chard, spinach and leeks are producing a constant supply of greens for the table. With young carrots and beets producing some fresh young vegetables, the Wolff boys were in their element when they visited on Sunday morning. Oscar, the oldest of the brothers, went to the carrot bed and announced that “carrots are my favourite”. We found some nice big carrots. I think half of the enjoyment of the carrots is the act of pulling it out of the ground. After the carrots were rinsed the boys could enjoy some healthy organic snacks.

The yellow Clivia is flowering and is brightening up a shady spot near to where the azaleas have started to flower. For some reason the bees were enjoying the green lavender bush. I suppose it is because the rocket is now going to seed.  Next week I need to sow a new crop of rocket, lettuce and coriander.

The bank next to the canal that was cleaned during the week is a real pleasure. I asked that this be done after months of watching some of the weeds grow to hip height.

On the lawn a nasturtium has decided to take over the bay tree. The bay tree is now in flower with big bright orange flowers. Nature is doing what nature does best.

Boer and Brit

This past weekend, South Africans celebrated Heritage day. It got me thinking about my heritage in the context of a wider South African heritage.

A collection of Cape chairs

I have never seen my heritage as a static inheritance of the past. Being in a mixed marriage where one partner is Afrikaans and the other English, we have a smorgasbord of heritage to celebrate.

Towerwater malva pudding

We inherited each other’s heritage. It has become an ever evolving celebration of heritage with cultural practises that we adopt and incorporate in our life at Towerwater. Our core cultural heritage remains authentic. But we embrace new ideas where food, art, gardening practise and social etiquette is concerned.

At Towerwater we entertain a wide range of visitors from all over the world. They bring with them a fresh understanding of social etiquette that needs to be respected when entertaining guests from different cultural backgrounds.

Towerwater potbread

Between the Victorian cottage in Cape Town and the Cape vernacular house in Bonnievale, we have our diverse architectural heritage covered.

The homes are likewise furnished in period detail that celebrates their architectural styles and reflects our love for antiquity. It is a love that was inherited from growing up with it and enjoying it in the homes of family and friends.

Butterflied leg of lamb on an open fire

We love eating traditional South African food as the collection of Africana cookbooks can attest, but we constantly try new dishes that we encounter through new cookbooks or on our travels. The dishes we really enjoy become part of the regular fare at Towerwater.

Avocado and strawberry salad

The garden is a collection of fruit, vegetables and flowers that we love and that was loved as much by our parents and grandparents. The rose is as much at home in the garden as the ‘Afrikaner’ (marigold) and the Azaleas delight as much as the ‘Wilde als’ (wormwood).

Rooibos marmalade

My Dad believed in the medicinal value of wormwood. Wherever we moved, he would take cuttings from the ‘Groen Amara’ (Absinthe wormwood) and ‘Wilde Als’ (Roman wormwood). I grew up with these two plants in all the gardens where we lived.

Quinces, Hanepoot grapes, Pomegranates and figs are like fond memories of the special places of our childhood. That is why Towerwater is so special to us. It is a collection of our favourite and fondest memories. It is a celebration of heritage.

We can enjoy a ‘braai’ (barbeque) as much as a high tea at Towerwater, celebrating diversity in a common heritage.

Van der Hum marmalade

With a Seville orange tree still heavy with fruit, I decided to make some more marmalade. To celebrate the marriage of cultures, I decided to infuse this very English treat with some very unique South African flavours. I made a batch of Towerwater Van der Hum Marmalade and a batch of Rooibos Marmalade. Van der hum is a uniquely South African liqueur made of tangerines (naartjie) and rooibos tea, is made from an indigenous South African shrub.

Tea from India

Our friends the Wollfs brought us a souvenir gift of tea following their recent visit to India. What better way to celebrate cultures than with Indian tea and Towerwater marmalade on homemade bread. Prepared in a kitchen where the aroma of baked bread can fuse with the exotic aroma of Indian tea brewing in an English teapot.

I am proud of our heritage and delight in sharing it with family and friends. Recording and practicing our uniquely South African heritage may assist in preserving it for the next generation. 

Catching Dandelions and releasing stars

The spring lawn is covered in yellow dandelions. I suppose one can call them ‘a pride of dandelions’ as they crouch between the last leaves shed by the oaks in preparation for their spring foliage. I wondered about them being called dandelions. Was it the yellow faces surrounded by a mane of yellow petals or was it because the round seed head looks like a lion’s mane just before a gust of wind disperses it.

I have never thought of them as weeds, although their growing in the lawn does bother me sometimes. It is known that one can use every part of the dandelion; root, leaves and flower. It can be used for food, medicine and as a dye for colouring.

According to the Medical Centre of the University of Maryland, USA, the dandelion is full of vitamins A, B, C, and D, as well as minerals, such as iron, potassium, and zinc. The leaves can be used to add flavour to salads, sandwiches, and teas. The roots have many health benefits and can be made into a tincture by immersing them in vodka for a couple of weeks. This sounds like my kind of plant.  Dandelion root is well-known as a detoxifying agent. But it has also been used to treat everything from arthritis to hangovers. The flowers are used for making tea and even wines. The more I research this plant, the better it gets!

The health benefits of dandelions are numerous. Some maintain that it improves digestion, aids weight loss, eases congestion of the liver, helps to purify the bladder and kidneys, and more. They are believed to have anti-cancer properties as well.

An interesting titbit that I learnt recently is that the dandelion is the only flower that represents the 3 celestial bodies namely, the sun, moon and stars. The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars.

I enjoy releasing the stars by blowing into the puff ball. But now after learning about the health benefits, I am going to capture the dandelions in their prime and make better use of this gift from nature.

Borage and bees

The garden is a hive of activity as spring unfolds petal on petal of blossoms. Borage and other flowers offer bees a selection of nectar sources from which to choose.

We had to replace two orange coloured roses in the rosarium. The decision fell on two new roses, namely “Afrikaans” and “Lovers Meeting”. The rosarium is looking healthy and early roses are starting to appear randomly on the rosebushes.

The quince blossoms resemble pink water lilies against a sea blue sky. Blue and lilac are the dominant colours in the herb garden with borage and lavender attracting the bees.

Behind the cottage I can only stare up at where the granadillas are hanging out of reach waiting to drop. The Port-wine Magnolia’s heady scent fills the garden and wraps the cottage in its sweetness. Memories of my mother come flooding back.

The clivias are starting to flower and although not as prolific as my neighbour’s, it still makes for a pretty sight under the fiddlewood with its’ orange, yellow and red leaves.

Near the cellar, the pot of red freesias has started blooming warm against the green and white of a cellar window.

The empty beds in the vegetable garden will soon be filled with new seeds as the planting season starts, while the cabbage patch is ready to be harvested.

The garden is bursting into leaf with the excitement of a new season. If I was a bee, I would probably also hang on a blue borage flower that looks as though it has captured some of the blue African sky above us. 

Die soet van ‘n bitterlemoen

Die lekkerste van Towerwater toe kom is om in die oggend die luike van die dubbel deure oop te maak en die sonskyn die vertrek te laat in stroom.  Daardie eerste blik oor die grasperk na die kruietuin gee vir mens onmiddelik insig oor wat die dag inhou.

As die dag grys en koud in die verte lê waar die wolke die berge wegsteek, is dit sommer ‘n dag vir langkook lam skenkel met geroosterde knoffel en roosmaryn aartappels en ‘n goeie Pinotage. Op grys dae kan mens maar die luike wyd oopmaak want daar is geen son wat instroom nie, en die koue sit nog teen die ruit.

Maar op die dae wat die son sommer sulke skuins strale deur die akkerboom se takke  gooi en die warmte van die oggend kom sit teen jou bors, dan weet jy hierdie is ‘n groot lekker dag. Die voëls se gekwetter in die tuin het jou dit al lankal vertel nog voor jy die luike oopgemaak het.

Die tuin is ‘n marmalade tuin met oranje en geel sitrus wat swaar aan die bome hang. In die boord groei die geel en oranje kappertjies mals oor die hoop klippe wat nog ‘n muur en vloer moet raak by die ingang van die kelder. Maar die tuin het besluit vir nou is dit ‘n berg van kleur waar die bye fees vier.

Onder die vioolhout wat herfs oranje buite die kombuis deur staan, begin die clivias oranje en geel te blom. Oral waar ek kyk herinner marmalade kleure in my tuin my van die werk wat voorlê.

Dis marmalade tyd by Towerwater. En met die soetlemoene wat al vergete deur belhammels/niksnutte/rampokkers, noem hulle wat jy wil, gesteel is, is dit net die bitter Sevillelemoene wat oorbly. Die Seville dra die oranje vrugte soos medaljes op sy bors asof hy wil sê ek het die aanslag oorleef.

Die persone wat die Valencias geneem het ken al die tuin. Die Seville is nie soos ander jare ook gesteel nie. Hulle ken al die bitter verassing wat onder die uitlokkende oranje skil vir jou wag. Daar is altyd ‘n oningewyde persoon tussen die diewe en die Seville met die bytmerk wat verontwaardig onder die boom laat val is, is bewys dat iemand nog nie die Seville ontmoet het nie.

Ek ken daardie eerste kennismaking met ‘n Seville lemoen as jy hom nie ken nie. Jare terug het ek vir 6 weke deur Spanje  ‘gebackpack’. In Seville met die rye en rye lemoen bome langs die strate het ek gedink ek het in Utopia geland. Vrugtebome as skadubome is net te wonderlik en lemoene soveel as wat jy wil eet. Die feit dat niemand anders die lemoene eet, wat plek plek al begin afval het, moes seker vir my ‘n waarskuwing teken wees. Die tweede dag in die stad kon ek dit nie meer hou nie. In die Maria Luisa Park het ek een gepluk. In die koelte van die tuin, weg van die warm Andalusiese son, het ek met soet verwagting my eerste byt in ‘n Seville lemoen gegee.

My eerste gedagte was dat die lemoen vrot was of met iets gespuit was om te verhoed dat mense dit eet. ‘n Vrot lemoen kon ek weg gooi maar ‘n vergiftigde lemoen kon my dood beteken en ek moes nog Cordoba toe. My akkommodasie was klaar bespreek.

Daar en dan het my avontuurlus saam met my lemoenlus in die drom beland en het ek besluit om net goed te eet waarvoor ek betaal het. Toe ek uitvind dat dit Seville of bitter lemoene was, het ek baie dom gevoel . Maar dit wys jou wat ‘n skuld gevoel kan doen. Ek is geleer om nooit iets te vat voordat jy nie gevra het of jy mag nie.

6 Flesse Seville marmelade en 6 Flesse Seville en gemmer marmelade

Ek het besluit om alles reg te kry vir marmalade maak en het die flesse gesteriliseer, die skaal en suiker uitgehaal en my messe geslyp. Met alles gereed vir marmalade maak, kon ek al my ander take in die tuin aanpak.

Later die middag het ek ‘n pluksel organiese lemoene en suurlemoene gaan pluk en hulle gereed gekry vir marmalade maak. Ek weeg nie meer die lemoene nie. Ek weet al 7 Seville en 1 suurlemoen gee vir jou ses flessies konfyt.

Die hele kombuis ruik na sitrus olie en waar ek elke skil sit en snipper, ruik my hande later die ene lemoen.  Die vars reuk van lemoene is soos die sonstrale wat deur die ruite bars waneer ek die luike oopmaak, vars en pure genot.

Die maak van marmalade raak ‘n ritme van sny, sap uitdruk en snipper, lemoen na lemoen. Nadat ek die warm flesse vol warm marmalade geskep het en hulle verseel het, het ek eers alles skoon gemaak.

Met 12 flesse oranje marmalade wat op die geelhout tafel staan, kon ek tevrede sug en besef ek weereens die soet in die bitterlemoene gesit.