In The Garden

By Silver Blue

Hello, and Welcome! I’m Jonathan Everyday, or John Barker, or Silver Blue depending on how you arrived here. This all feels a bit comforting to me, and alien at the same time. I used to be Hampton Roads most prolific blogger (The Ramblings of Silver Blue) from 2003 until I walked away from it in 2008. Since that time, I’ve developed (I’d like to think) in my photography ability, and in my culinary passion as well.

The Eyes of Silver Blue is a way for me to share some of my photos with you. (For Food, visit The Wannabe Gourmet – I don’t update it as often as I should, but some of the best of the best dishes and their respective recipes appear there.)

Let me introduce you to the 2011 garden:

The upper left plant is known as Cinnamon Basil. The other three are your standard Basil.

Sage. One needs not be a sage to tell that the herbs I grow go well in Italian cooking, even though I am not Italian.

Depending on what part of the world you’re from, this is either slow-bolting Cilantro, or slow-bolting Coriander. Also known as the “parsley of the Latin American cuisine.”

Take time for Thyme. Wonderful with pork, and really, REALLY good when used to infuse vinegar for salad dressings.

Two different types of rosemary. (Notice the only herb missing is Parsley, as I have Sage, Rosemary and Thyme…) Both of these rosemarys have the same flavour profile, so it doesn’t matter which I use in my cooking.

Finally, more regular basil, and in the lower right, a “boxwood basil”. Same scent, different leaf structure. I love making pesto, and that is why I grow such a plethora of basil.

Finally, every garden needs a guardian:

Saint Francis of Assisi, (or as I’ve been known to call him, Saint Francis who’s a sissy). The statuary was a kind gift from my friend (and coworker), Vijay Kalburgi.

You might ask why I have a container garden when my house is situated on a vast plot of land. The answer is: ease of watering, harvesting, and maintaining.

Silver Blue, over and out.

Published by Silver Blue in basil, cilantro, container, garden, rosemary, sage, St. Francis, thyme