For some reason, I had this strong urge to start gardening sometime ago. It was somewhat strange as I was wondering why I would have the urge to plant after so many years. I succumbed to this urge and soon enough, I found myself planting water leaves in a small portion of garden. I made a post on the procedure from the start to finish. One can't harvest immediately after planting and I had to wait a month before I could rip the fruit of the labour.
Edited with canva
I harvested the water leaves the next month and they were really beautiful. Water leaf is one vegetable crop that we use readily in this part of the world and as such, it helps to cut the cost of buying it regularly.
When I thought of how much cost I had cut by just planting water leaves, I decided to plant other things in the garden at home.
A sneak peak around my garden
pepper plant
This is a pepper plant that's just beginning to bear fruits. Many African dishes are best eaten spicy and pepper helps to add spiciness to the dishes.
betel plant
The common name for this plant is "betel" but we traditionally call it utazi. It has three prominent uses; as a breath-freshener, as an antiseptic and as a stimulant. It is one of those leaves that are added to give dishes a rich green colour and a nice aroma.
scent leave
As the name entails, it has an amazing scent. Scent leaves are also added to dishes for the nice aroma and its outstanding health benefit.
Scent leaf has been known to reduce bloating and stomach aches for a while now. It also aids proper digestion.
L-R||young orange plant. Java pennywort
To the last plants for today, a young orange tree and java pennywort leaves. The orange tree would soon be transplanted as it can't be left to grow in the garden amongst other little crops.
As you must have guessed, we also cook the java pennywort leaves in our dishes. It's classified as a vegetable and can be used to garnish food too. Java pennywort grows in aquatic areas and damp soils.
I remember the first time I sowed a seed like it was yesterday. I was so nervous after I sowed that seed, I kept checking up on it daily, watering it and showing it so much love. The seed eventually germinated into a beautiful flower.
It's a good thing that I've planted a lot of edibles in the garden. This way, whenever a dish is to be prepared, we could get the vegetables and other spices from the garden. Sound pretty amazing right?.
Gardening is very peaceful activity. Whenever I'm planting, I get time to relax and think. Gardening doesn't only bring peace to me but it is also a form of exercise. It's a nice way to flex my muscles after sitting on a chair for hours. Some time in the future, I will also like to have a flower garden. A place where I could always go to relax and recuperate while being enchanted by the fragrance of amazing scented flowers.
All the images above are mine except stated otherwise.This is my response to 
With love, wongi ✨
