My kitchen garden

A satisfying day. I had a trip to buy some vegetables for my garden. This is my stash on the kitchen table, which is where they will hopefully end up in a few months.

I have planted them all, and assembled a rag-tag collection of canes and twigs around the vegetable patch, to hopefully deter Kipper from trampling on them. Although a few splindly canes will not be much deterrent to a 7 stone Dalmatian.

In the end I planted:

• green and yellow courgettes
  
• Vivaldi potatoes
• elephant garlic
  
• purple sprouting broccoli
  
• butter lettuce
  
• spinach
  
• violets
  
• a blackcurrant bush

I am hoping the to use the violets in my cup cakes, I shall have a go at crystalising the petals myself. And I was thrilled to get a blackcurrant bush, I searched everywhere for blackcurrants in the shops last year. I couldn't find any. I was hoping to make a Nigel Slater blackcurrant and mascarpone trifle. In the end I had to compromise and use blackberries, not the same, not as dark and juicy or as mouth-tinglingly sour.

I hope my kitchen garden survives. I bravely faced my worm phobia today. There are some absolute monsters in my garden, my dad always said there was. Unfortunately I think have probably doubled the wriggly population, given the number I inadvertently cut in half with my vigorous forking.

After an afternoon spent working in the garden, breathing fresh Spring air scented with herbs and damp soil, I am exhausted.