MY GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN IS IN FULL BLOOM

Last weekend I travelled to a little Russian town bordering with Estonia to pay a visit to my grandmother and explore her big garden that never fails to amaze me. This is where I spent most of my childhood summers and now whenever I am visiting here I cannot help but become a tad bit nostalgic. Below are some photos of what can be found in my grandmother's garden.

Cherries, which were kind of (extremely!) sour, but great for jam that can be enjoyed on dark frightening winter nights while reminiscing about sweet moments in life and day-dreaming about the next ones..

These should be different types of zucchini. Note: they only look small, in reality they are gigantic. I carried back home 3 of them praying along the way that my newly bought suitcase doesn't crash into pieces or if it does it will happen while still in Russia so that my travel insurance covers it.. nothing terrible happened though.. pheuww!

One of the many pumpkins..

 

Dill, this one is best for using in marinades.

Cucumbers in front row, followed by carrots, dill, spring onions etc. Overwhelming... :)) How does she manage to do all of this?!

Raspberries in the process of ripening..

Peppermint, great for tea and what else!

 

Red currants. For couple of years I have made marmalade of these wonderful berries. It suits really well all sorts of meat and Christmas dishes. Particularly on top of gingerbread... mmmm...

Gooseberry

My favourite types of apple - Ranetki - they are super flavoursome and sweet, not to mention for me they smell of childhood and great memories. Great for all sorts of preserving. Unfortunately impossible to find at local farmer's market in Tallinn.

Tomatoes. I remembered about photographing when we had removed all the ripe tomatoes, so only the green ones got to strike a pose. Let's hope they mature quicker now.

Gooseberries again...

Amazing garden, right!