87THINK (^) | BELONGINGS
O
n one of my windowsills sits a
small oasis of fragrant greenery.
At this time of year, the light is
good for growing, and there is
a lushness to the foliage. As I open and close
the window or draw the curtains, I can’t
resist t ra iling my ha nds across t he leaves
to release a burst of aromas from the basil,
coriander, Moroccan mint and rosemary
currently occupying the window box. I live
in an apartment on the first f loor, so this is
my little piece of gardening heaven.
Although there is a perfectly pleasant
communal garden to sit out in, that is tended
by professional gardeners, it isn’t stocked
with the types of plants that make my heart
sing. For that, I need plants with fragrance,
delicate f lowers and pleasingly subtle colour
mixes. My kitchen herb garden is what I
miss most from when I had my own garden.
Not long after I had moved to an
apa r t ment , a t hought f ul f r iend went to t he
trouble of measuring up my windowsills and
found a company online that hand-crafts
window boxes to your own specifications,
and surprised me with my very own
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window box through the post one day. It
looks like a small crate, the wood is painted
a soothing sage green colour and has the
words ‘Danae’s Herb Garden’ stencilled
on the front. It is lined with hessian, to
prevent little bits of soil and leaf debris
escaping from the pots onto the windowsill,
which gives it that lovely garden shed feel.
Every day, my window box filled with
herbs brings me pleasure.
I have a lot of fun choosing which herbs to
put in my window box. I usually select ones
that will be used in the kitchen on a regular
basis. Basil gets hand-pounded into
homemade pesto in my deep blue pest le
and mortar. The fresh clean taste of the
coriander brightens up a lunch box salad
and is divine with curries. I mainly use the
Morocca n m int leaves to ma ke a ref resh ing
after-dinner tea. The rosemary may get
added to a roasting tray to provide a pleasant
contrasting note to the end result but, often,
I just pinch off a sprig to rub between my
finger tips and inhale that intoxicating
aroma that teases your senses and sharpens
your memory.
My herb window box
by Danaë Fiedler
WHAT I TREASURE