Artichokes

This is my artichoke plant this year. Last year I had two small chokes but this year two big ones and five little ones. They take some time to process for cooking, but I will try them when I know I'm not going out anywhere the next day. The first and only time I had them (in Italy) they created a mighty wind overnight! The plant has become something of a villain, a big aggressive thing that overshadows everything else in this bed, so I'll have to cut it back after harvesting if the dahlias underneath it are to have any chance of surviving. I love the colours of the chokes; green and purple are very attractive. It's interesting how beautiful vegetables are. Think of carrots, aubergines and tomatoes, even the humble onion is a work of art. The tomato seeds I planted have germinated, but the heritage "Purple Calabash" is incredibly slow-growing, I hope to see some fruit from it by the end of the summer.

We've had terrible gale-force winds from every part of the compass over the last fortnight. My garden is very sheltered, but even here some of the climbing roses have been torn off the wall and lily-stems broken off. I had to go next door and fix the fence I share with my neighbour, as the pieces of corrugated iron were coming loose and banging like the devil. He wasn't home, so I made the repairs anyway. Having a hammer in my hand makes me feel very powerful and Rosie-the-Riveterish. Woman can, woman do!