An update on the green thumb

It's been a fair while since I first posted about Striving for that green thumb and well, I think that my thumb is turning a faint shade of green. I remember saying to Roy not so long ago that I couldn't imagine getting much joy or satisfaction out of having a garden but I truly am enjoying my delve into gardening. I especially love the satisfaction I get out of seeing my plants thrive and flower. Even though I don't have much space to garden, I think I'm making pretty good use of our balcony. It's nowhere near as lush and green as our landlady's balcony downstairs but I'm guessing she's got a fair few more years of gardening experience on me.

In March I put some soil and seeds into some recycled yoghurt containers, crossed my fingers, watered them regularly and delighted in the fact that the little, dried seeds were turning into moist, green life that was popping out of the top of the soil. I had nurtured life and it sparked an interest in me that I didn't think I had. Roy and I had to travel for the whole month of June so I entrusted my green babies to my good friend Annabelle so she could water them and watch them grow. I got them back from her safe and sound and thought it was about time that I repotted them because they were outgrowing their little pots.

I watered them and watched them grow some more and recently I had to leave to go back to Australia for family things and I once again handed over the care of my green babies to someone else. This time, Roy looked after them and I'm not sure if it was his particular care or the warm weather that Switzerland experienced while I was away but they were huge and lush when I returned. I was so impressed and happy with their progress that I couldn't stop looking at them.

This wasn't from a seed. It was already at our apartment when we moved in but this was it's first flower since we moved in. So vibrant and beautiful.

Fern leaf lavender

Jalapeños

Jalapeños

My basil is slowly taking over the chives..

Strawberries!

Starting to flower! Not the best photo but you get the idea.

I'm not sure I need that many Jalapeño plants but I'm sure Roy will enjoy eating the chilies when they grow. I can't wait to have our own place with a bit of space to make a nice garden!

1 year on

So I missed the boat for posting on the anniversary of Roy and I moving to this land of mountains, cheese and chocolate but I will make up for it now. The 8th day of this month was one year since we arrived in this rich and lush land via train after having spent the month before tripping around the UK with Roy's family. We've had some great adventures during that year and I thought it would be fitting to commemorate it by looking back on these adventures.

I remember staring at the giant mountains in awe from our humble little hotel room in Martigny.

After spending three long weeks in the cramped hotel room we made the move to a tiny town called Saint-Maurice, about 10 minutes drive away from Martigny where we were fortunate enough to have views like this.

We've had some nice hiking adventures with so many great places to explore.

I've had some fantastic cooking adventures with my great friend Lu.

It was too big for our tiny fridge so we took advantage of the chilly conditions outside.

A romantic anniversary adventure by the shore of Lake Geneva.

Exploring some great Swiss cities.

Vevey

Berne

Fribourg

Geneva

Montreux

Neuchâtel

Watching as the landscape starts to turn white as the snow comes for winter.

Having some great adventures in the snow.

Having our first white Christmas with some awesome friends.

A pretty special New Years in Paris.

Some really good times exploring other European countries.

Germany

Italy

France

Netherlands

Croatia

Montenegro

Bosnia and Herzegovina

England

We've had so many fun times whilst living here, a few too many to name them all but these are just a few. We've got another year to go and I'm sure we'll be having just as much fun this year as we did in the last.