Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Green...

 We have a glut of limes, more than I could have dreamed of just two years after planting the tree. I spent Sunday making jars of lime curd (lime butter) and lime marmalade, freezing a hundred slices for adding to cool drinks, and scouring old cook books for lime cordial recipes.

Here's the lime marmalade, all ten jars. I've never made it before, but have to say it's very tangy and quite delicious!


After the marmalade, the curd (which I forgot to photograph, but is also rather delicious), and the frozen slices, I still had a bowl of limes leftover, plus the tree still weighed down with ripe fruit. Never mind, next weekend I shall be making cordial. 


Whilst I picked limes and worked away in the kitchen, hubby was clearing more of the yard and preparing to build another raised bed for the autumn planting at the end of this month. 


You can see in the back left of the photo above, the raised bed he built and prepared last month. He planted sweet potato in there on Sunday because it's an easy crop to grow here all year round, and will be used as a staple carb in our meals. 

Out in the front garden we have five huge pumpkins ready to pick, and many more just beginning to grow. We were just about the pick them late Sunday afternoon, when the rain came, and it's pretty much rained ever since. But I love the rain right now (its not flooding rain this time) which turns everything a lush green and brings on a rousing chorus from the frogs all night long. We even had baby green tree frogs taking shelter on the limes yesterday...




Elsewhere in the back garden, the roses I pruned right back two weeks ago have once again burst into life...



The vibrant purple of the Geisha Girl bush adds colour to the green background...







The zinnias, which are almost at their end, rallied for another burst of sunshine orange...



The chrysanthemums are flourishing and setting flowers already, which is most exciting as they were a gift from Blossom for Mothers Day in 2021...



The monsoon rains are here to stay for a while, but as we normally have very dry weather from mid autumn till late spring, I shall just be grateful that all our trees are thriving and growing deep roots.



The beautiful poinciana tree continues to grow taller and wider, whilst the elderberries have become the taste of town for all the small birds in our area. I can't reach these berries as they're about fourteen feet high so I'm happy to share them with my feathered friends.



There is something so wonderfully calming about the garden, especially right now, and I never cease to find beauty in all it has to offer. 

God really created much soul-lifting magnificence in nature. How blessed we are! 

Hugs


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13 comments:

Joanne said...

Hi Jennifer,
All those products you made resulting from home grown limes look delicious and sound so good :)
Your garden looks gorgeous even on a cloudy day ! Those green colours bring out all those florals. So inspiring for a quilt or stitchery :)
Great shots of that small frog :)
hugs, take care,
Joanne

Susan said...

You can squeeze and freeze lime juice for use in drinks and recipes. You can also freeze the zest. I often do this. You have a beautiful garden/yard.

loulee said...

Lovely to see your garden.

Jenny said...

Your tropical garden is beautiful. Great use of your lime bounty, lime marmalade sounds very nice!

Anonymous said...

I love the pictures of your garden. I never tire of looking at all of God's creations.

Mydearduane said...

Everything you do is so BEAUTIFUL 🌺🌺🎶🎶♥️♥️

terricheney said...

Although we officially have 12 days before spring, here in my state we are already experiencing the massive amount of blooming that goes on. Everything has burst into new leaf or flower and there is pollen on every surface, thick and gritty like sand. It won't last long this year with everything blooming so quickly. I just love looking at the newly green leaves and the blooming trees. It's like the world is arrayed for a wedding day.

Lin said...

After chunky Seville orange marmalade then lime has to be my next favourite, tangy and delicious. You are so fortunate to have so many. Your garden pictures are a delight as always. We had snow yesterday and everything was covered up, our poor daffodils looking very sad. But today it is raining and set to be 13 degrees - how can that happen! Anyway, the snow is melting fast and maybe we can get back to spring. xx

Tammy said...

Dearest Jennifer,
Your limes look amazing and the jars of marmalade look delicious, and the butters sound delicious as well. So much beauty in the bounty of your gardens. Love your elderberry bushes too. Mine are in pots but will soon need to go into the ground. But the deer are just horrible here and try to eat things to the ground including my elderberry bushes. So until the time I can get the money to invest in a lot of fencing for 2 acres I will most probably have to keep them in pots.. Your flowers are gorgeous and very vibrant in colors.. I love how fast your Poinciana tree has grown. It's all just Just beautiful.

Susan said...

How blessed we are. That says it all. Thank you for the peeks at your lovely garden. Spring is everywhere here, too. Blooming trees include redbud, tulip trees, Bradford Pears, plums, weeping cherry and weeping cherry. None of any of those in my yard, but various neighbors have them, and it's a lovely drive down the hill past all of them. Dogwood should be next! Daffodils are about bloomed out, and hyacinths, but my roses are showing red leaves, so there will be roses soon, too, along with tulips and fire lilies. I hope to see the marigolds have reseeded themselves, too. Just a hopeful time of year! Thank you for bringing Australian beauty into my life, too.

Kim said...

Getting to see your bright greens and flowers and cute tree frogs has been a delight. I'm excited to see some bare patches of ground in my yard since most of the yard is still under a foot and a half of snow. But spring will come eventually!
I see that you reuse non-sealing jars for your marmalade; do you use the wax method to seal them, or are they for the freezer?

Farm Quilter said...

Oh, your limes are so lovely!! I've never of heard of lime marmalade, but they look fantastic and are making my mouth water!! I am so enjoying the pictures of your garden! So far this year there have been about 7 days when the ground hasn't been white with snow (this winter matches my memories of winter when I was a child). The rain arrived last night and will produce some flooding as it is raining up to 8,000 feet, where there are feet of snow to melt, sending it down into the valley. I'm eager for the warmer weather to arrive, but I'll be hunkering down this weekend (as I have most of the winter), staying as warm as I can. Thanks for the peek at your beautiful garden!

Jenny of Elefantz said...

Hi Kim, in answer to your question I sterilise the jars and lids, then fill with the hot jam or marmalade. I turn the jars upside down. As they cool all the air is expressed and the jar lids re-seal. This method keeps all my jams shelf stable for years.