Being in Poland reminded me about the gardening I know, miss and long for. There's no better motivation for me than picking up beautiful vegetables, fruits and flowers by myself and tasting them right away. Garden requires a lot of work, but the reward is worth it and the celebration big. Around this time of the year, there's something else that comes with the whole gardening process and more, harvest festivals. They are different than the ones in the US.
Villages present their crops in forms of the enormous wreaths. Various types of grains are weaved on especially designed metal constructions with decorative details, all natural and with reference to God. This is in thanksgiving for all the blessings.
There are presentations of the crops, delicious food and folk dancing but more importantly, the appreciation for the farmers hard work, that seems even bigger in difficult times.
We grow different things in different parts of the world, but you can only understand this, when you miss the taste of something from home... like gooseberries, black, red and white currants, wild strawberries that aren't common in the part of the US where I live.
Here is my Polish list...
Fruits
Most Polish fruits are cultivated for years, grown on trees, bushes and vines. Challenging at times they are sweet part of the garden and source of health.
The fruits that are about to be ready:
raspberries - my favorite fruit and lovely memories from the childhood
pears - it takes a few years to mature the tree and they are still a little crunchy
red currant - tart little balls, great fresh but used for jams too
grapes - cover the walls with success of delicious bunches
apples - I grew up with them since that's the most popular fruit in this country
blackberries - so beautiful and easy to grow.
Vegetables
The most important part of the garden is almost ready for the harvest. They were sown late spring. A lot of water, sun and that's how they look like now. Even though, the eatable parts grow under the ground, the greens get their popularity as well.
Vegetables from the Polish garden:
radishes - fast to grow, used for salads and sandwiches
carrots - super common, good fresh and cooked
onions - one of the Polish bases for cooking
celery - liked for the distinctive flavor that gives for the soups, both white and green parts
leeks - another popular ingredient for the soups and salads
beets - beautiful purple tubers, stems and leaves are used for different dishes.
Flowers
There are plenty of flowers blooming now, perennials and annuals, planted from seeds or bulbs, finally some are wild. They all are beautiful!
It's a good mix of:
dahlia - rich, big flowers that bloom for a long time
yarrow - white, tiny wildflowers, that are considered herbs
dandelion - so ordinary yet still very pretty
heather - evergreen for fall with cute purple color
African daisies - perennial, that shines nicely between the stones
lilies - great fragrance and easy to grow.
I happily learn more about the gardening and hope one day I'll have a beautiful garden full of fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Some weeks ago, I was hosting first in-person IF event, that took place at the greenhouse. For my guests I prepared wildflowers seeds so we can make our surroundings a little more beautiful. I'm looking forward to see them blooming next spring.
I brought some of the packets to my family and friends, which means that the American flowers will grow in Poland. There's a plant that I like here so I'm bringing the seeds to the US.
Fair exchange, I suppose. Bible says there's no borders for God... neither for the flowers!
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