Lettuce or Lattughino?

Maureen keeps telling me it is lettuce, but I am super impressed with my lattughino.  To me it is not just lettuce.  It is an especially beautiful green and dark red ruffled leaf  that has endured the winter and graced our garden to provide us with our first salads of the spring.  As listed on the seed packet I planted it in September and watched it provide colour to the garden throughout the winter when nearly everything else had died off.

The best I can gather from searching the web is that 'lattughino' is Italian for Lettuce.   So it really is just lettuce after all.  I would be elated if a linguist could kindly clarify this point?  What is evident is that planting in August/September can make for enjoying an early spring fresh salad.  Parsley has been cropping for some time already, the first leaves of rocket are ready for picking and next week the first of the red lettuce and radishes should be available to enable us to put together a zesty salad.  Call it Lettuce....Call it Lattughino....I'll call it Yum.

The Edible Garden

Alys Fowler's garden at her home in the west midlands provides plenty of inspiration of the possibilities of having both an edible and beautiful garden.

Her new programme on BBC 2 'The Edible Garden' is a short 30 minute way to get some new ideas for your existing garden, be inspired to begin or muse on similar experiences -- successful crops and failed sowings.

Organic White Potatoes Seeding

We've saved a few organic potatoes from the shop and have allowed them to shoot in order to plant and grow more potatotes. I just think the shoots are absolutely beautiful. And they grow so quickly. I can go to work, come home, observe and notice the growth.  All very exciting.  I'll let them continue to sprout on the windowsill for awhile longer and then plant them out in a patch I have prepared in the garden.