A Meadow of Herbs

I have been spending a lot of time outside these past few months. Wandering the forest, breathing in the crisp air, a respite from COVID-19 and the growing sense of isolation living in a cold climate can bring.

These days the gray of the sky feels more like a mood and less like an atmospheric attribute. The endless stream of very short days seems, well, endless.

So I find myself musing on greenhouses, filled with the smell of moist soil and dazzling color. Glass houses that transport me to the long summer days that are just around the corner....

“My eyes widened at this jungle of freshness, the earth on the ground. The back wall, around thirty feet high, burst with terra-cotta pots filled with every herb imaginable - basil, thyme, coriander, parsley, oregano, dill, rosemary, and lavender. There were tomatoes of almost every variety beaming with colors of red, dark purple, yellow, and green. Lemon trees. Avocados. Lettuces, like roquette and feuille de chêne. Zucchinis and eggplants. Fennel, celeriac, artichokes, and cucumbers. Leeks, asparagus, cabbages, and shallots, oh my. I exhaled a happy breath. ― Samantha Verant, The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux