Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Foraging for Nasturtiums

A bouquet of nasturtiums on my table

I love nasturtiums, probably because they were my mother's favorite flower, and I am so lucky to be living in Berkeley where the colorful blooms pop up everywhere throughout June. They thrive in our Northern California climate. When I want flowers on my table, I head to the streets and forage. No one seems to mind that I pluck their cheerful nasturtiums into beautiful bouquets and head straight home to put them in water. In fact, strangers start conversations while I'm snipping, commenting on the beauty of my bounty, probably assuming I'm picking from my own garden.

I've picked in the flat lands

I've picked in the hills
And most often I pluck from a side yard in the Gourmet Ghetto

During nasturtium season I enjoy the freshly foraged flowers on my dining room table and on a recent Sunday afternoon my guests raved about the vivid centerpieces at an alfresco lunch on our deck.


The red wine BBQ chicken is still on the grill



2 comments:

  1. I love nasturtiums too -- for the same reason ! (being your sister). I plant them every year as they do not proliferate here in the same way with our frigid winters. In fact I just planted mine last week (late, I know)-- they should be blooming now, like yours. But they should be trailing over the CT rocks in the border soon.
    lucia

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  2. I love nasturtiums too— not just for their own understated elegance, but because you love them. Your unabashed account of your harvesting conjures pictures of slapstick thievery. Run Taya, run!!!

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