Eating from the garden....

Finally we are able to eat something from our garden! It is just lettuce but considering how late our garden got planted, we are thrilled! We planted a gourmet mix of lettuce and are enjoying the fresh tender leaves each evening with our dinner. I hand pick it about 6pm, wash and pat it dry. A simple olive oil and rice vinegar dressing is all that is needed; sometimes we add Feta or Parmesan cheese......... and a few Greek olives to make this salad hard to beat. I picked the strawberries earlier in the day and we decided to eat them just as they are. The sun has ripened each berry and made them sweet! Another wonderful summer treat, straight from the garden and right out our kitchen door.
We try to grow several things that can be used later and Sea Holly(Eryngium) is an example. It is an unusual perennial plant that grows larger with each year. The flower becomes a beautiful blue grey and stays that way even when it is dried. It takes the hot sun nicely and doesn't require a great amount of watering. Next to the Sea Holly is growing with a Sweet William plant, a species related to the Dianthus family and a native to the mountains of Southern Europe.The flowers are considered edible.