In all the best partnerships a person settles into the niche that they excell at and develops his or her skills in there. John’s niche is the walled vegetable garden. It was not always like this.
I used to do all the vegetables but then came the animals and the manure and the compost! Well the compost turning needs a tractor, the man likes to work with the tractor and so began a trickle down effect. He made the compostand began to decide which garden got the compost. So he started taking over the vegetable gardens and I have become more involved with the manure making animals. 
Stalkers garden. There are other gardens but this is his favourite. It is filled with his choicest spring foods, lettuce, onions and radishes. Tomatoes in every corner. 
Cabbages and broccoli are in big beds of their own in there. Cilantro, parsley and celeriac. Horseradish. Strawberries. Yesterday I planted 150 potato tubers out in one of the East beds and there is room for two more rows. Twenty artichoke plants are scattered about the flower beds and 10 more blueberry bushes arrive soon. My leeks are calling to me to plant them out every time I pass them. John is not fond of leeks. The fennel bulb seed has been sown and the hazelnuts (that we are growing for pig feed) are struggling back to life.
The end of March is almost upon us and already we are well underway.
In the old days around here, so I am told, the Granny’s planted scented lilac bushes around the Out Houses. The Long Drops. Lilacs for the loo. I remember there was an outhouse at one of my grandfathers rather rudimentary country cottages in New Zealand. It had a stable door with the two short doors one above the other and was situated down a little path from the house. My Mother used to say that you either opened the bottom door and lost your dignity or opened the top door and reveal you identity, or shut both and suffocated to death.
There was many a time we would walk down the back path to the stile in the back fence, aiming for the the hills in the shimmering summer heat and see a disembodied head watching us above the bottom door of the dunny. Dignity intact though.
Good morning. We have a chilly blustery morning. TonTon and I shall be driving to the retirement home soon with The Old Codgers weekly list of bits and pieces. The Sheep Sitter also known as The Sheep Midwife will pop in on Mama while I am away. Mama is her usual sedate self this morning. Maybe she will take us all the way through April like she did last year. Mice and men should not make plans apparently.
I pick about two pound of asparagus a day so far, not enough to sell on the green truck yet. So far we have had it steamed or roasted. Soon I shall start making hollandaise sauce and mornays. We are still enjoying the fresh taste of unadulterated asparagus. And so are our friends.
The Herald Cat has arrived to encourage me to get a wriggle on! But this grey windy dawn does not look inviting. I will wear my clown pants again this morning I think.
Good morning. Have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
86 responses to “Lilacs for the Loo”
My grandmother used to plant Lily of the Valley, and I have always loved their delicacy and scent. They are early harbingers os spring too. Lilacs fill the whole property with perfume. Too bad they’re not great cut flowers, because imagine if the house could smell that wonderful. But they wilt in a vase. Any secrets to how to keep them longer?
Ronnie
I don’t know, pick very early in the morning?.. sometimes they do well and sometimes they don’t, but we do keep trying don’t we ronnie! c
Oh, the garden looks wonderful, and so full of promises! Lilacs are my favorite bush, and when we moved to our current house, we planted 50 in a semi-circle in front to give us some privacy from the neighbors when they grew. Unfortunately, we found that our soil (and ground water) is very alkaline, and the lilacs don’t like that.
How disappointing, did they grow at all, ted? It would have been a tremendous idea too! c
Thanks for my trip to the veggie garden today Celi,. potato day here too along with broad beans, but a tad less than yours.
Ah broad beans, you either love them or hate them!! But they love to grow.. c
I am loving spring at the farmy!
It is a stunning time of year!! morning rumpy.. c
Would you look at those pics of your veggie garden!
Aah yes, I too grew up with a long drop way back when we used to have the old wooden shack on stilts where we used to have family holidays!
Good morning Celia. Have a beautiful weekend and here’s hoping Mama comes to the party this weekend with them lambies.
🙂 Mandy xo
oo a house on stilts Mandy? so the snakes did not get in? i need to find out more about this.. c
Got a good storm here this morning. The electricity blinked off and back on a couple times. Some loud thunder and a couple close flashes of lightning. From the radar looks like it may have missed you.
You are right, it missed me and went straight to Chicago John.. better luck next time i guess.. have you started planting your veges? c
Aaahhh, memories of the outside loo! Visits down the yard in mid-winter, opening the door to reveal pipes lagged with sacking and the wonderful aroma of a parafin lamp!
Christine
I bet the scent of a paraffin lamp takes you straight back there! morning christine!! c
Several times you had me laughing here Celi! ” My Mother used to say that you either opened the bottom door and lost your dignity or opened the top door and reveal you identity, or shut both and suffocated to death. ” lilacs by the loo, the long drop, quite brilliant. 😉
My favorite springtime scent is Daphne…as a girl I had it growing just beneath my perpetually open bedroom window. I wish I could spray my pillow with it today. That might be the secret to a sweet night’s sleep.
Have a lovely day and weekend!
Oh daphne.. I just LOVE daphne, now i wonder if I could grow that here, I am going to investigate, that is one of my childhood scents too! thank you.. c
I do love the lilacs. Ex-Pat’s house is surrounded by huge lilacs. I want to do that with my Bungalow now, though it will take years for them to reach the size of his. Hope you and Ton Ton had a lovely visit with the Old Codger.
we had a lovely visit and I bet your ex pats house will be smelling sweeter now that you have given it a good cleaning and opened the windows to let the scent of the lilac in. I heard a saying once.. “The best time to plant a tree is yesterday” So maybe you could buy yourself that lilac on the way back to your own lovely bungalow as a treat! and pop it in the ground soon.. c
The new header image and the matching green border is beautiful. And John’s raised beds are works of art. Hopefully Mama’s lambs will arrive soon you must be tired of waiting.
It is becoming tedious in that i cannot leave her, anything after twins will need help, she is an old sheep. hopefully not long now! c
Happy Friday and Have a Great Weekend:)
And for you! It will be lovely here this weekend! c
Morning Celi!
Your Lilacs are gorgeous, mine are way behind… But they will get there too 😉
I am glad you have lilacs giovanna, they are such a delight! c
Everything looks like it’s coming in great!
it is and such a fun time in the garden! c
Fantastic vegetable garden!
Morning mad! c
hahaha, I would be the top door.. no, probably suffocate rather than suffer humiliation:) I think I am madly in love with your garden.. would give my right arm for a bundle of your asparagus.. just imagining it on my plate in the morning next to some eggs bennie:) Runny yolks, hollandaise sauce dripping on the asparagus.. just sayin’ xoxoxo Smidge (mail asparagus to 123 Smidgen Lane SW, Calgary, Alberta Canada 1LU 2DA
(laughter).. S’midge Cottage, Smidgen Lane! c