A Garden View

This morning, I decided to take a few photos of plants growing in our backyard. Usually, my hands are wet from watering or muddy from yanking out a few weeds, so I don't think of holding my camera. Much of so-called "beauty" is fleeting and transitory, and tomorrow things will be all different. But a camera might catch a few glimpses, and enable me to share.

In the photo below, the flower is called "Cosmos". Maybe we can see with it a little portion of the universe and its cosmic harmony. These are very "tough" flowers that require little watering or fertile soil to grow.



Our Japanese eggplants are growing pretty well (so far). I've been watering them every day. Below is a photo of a purple eggplant flower that we hope will eventually turn into something we can eat.



And this yellow flower belongs to our Japanese cucumber plant. And we're counting on a future meal from this too. Yes, our current garden philosophy is somewhat in "practical" terms, but the vegetable flowers are as pretty as the decorative kind (in my opinion).



The red hot stuff below is cayenne pepper. I've heard that peppers are a good treatment for a sore throat, but not exactly sure how one should take it in. Also, the active chemical in pepper (capsaicin) is supposed to be able to fight off cancer, provide pain relief, prevent inflammation, good for gastrointestinal problems (stomach aches), and increase metabolism.



Basil is another herb that comes in handy for cooking. Basil plants are quite fragrant, so it adds a dimension of experience being near them, as well as the white flowers attracting bees. Fresh basil is great in pasta dishes.



Below is thyme. I'm not sure if this herb is the short or long kind, but there's never enough of it during the day. We took some thyme today to cook with some chicken.



And finally, this is our lavender plant. It doesn't require much care or watering, and it seems to grow well in our climate. Apparently the oil from the lavender plant has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, but I haven't tried this myself.



Well, that's all for today... I hope to post more garden photos in the future (thyme permitting, that is).