Hi everyone, here's some inspiration, gardening advice, and a meal all in one color challenge!

It's been a while since I have participated in lovely @kalemandra's #colorchallenge however, a couple of weeks ago, I was out in my garden and I noticed something brilliantly purple begging for my attention.

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At first, I wasn't quite sure what it was since my garden is a rogue combination of my permaculture training mixed with a natural order experimentation so really what I am saying is, there is no method to the madness existing in my plot. It's a do or die, survival of the fittest type of showdown out there and so sometimes, (I admit despite my studies), I don't always know what's growing, where!

I am really impatient as you have probably heard me say before. I am getting there, working on grounding myself and coming into the present but when I am waiting for something... it feels like my head is going to explode!

Here's something else that is purple out there! I don't know what it is either, let me know if you do! :P

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I love that nature and the garden teach patience and gratitude. Every time I see something spring up from the tiny seeds I planted, I am filled with such extreme thankfulness that life has come and that it will produce clean, healthy food for me.

Not everything grows and that's OK, that's another lesson on its own with its own equal importance.

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As for being thankful, feeling a deep appreciation for everything around me, well that is something that devours my soul when I am in the garden! I can hardly contain the excitement and love I feel! Everything is so alive and it's all a miracle as far as I am concerned!

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When I plant my seed, I intentionally choose what I want to grow and then I just toss it where I think it would like to be.

I don't have rows or signs, nothing is neatly managed and you know what? That's the way nature is in real life! Things grow where they want! It's crazy isn't it?

Do you know that by dispersing different seeds all over, it makes them less susceptible to being attacked by predators?...
Monocropped plants get attacked viciously by pests because they are on a buffet for whatever likes to eat them, all stacked in a row as if they were on a plate, ready to be gobbled up!

Not in my garden and I tell you, things are growing so fast. Every morning when I wake up, I take my dogs out to the garden and as they run around and play in the grass, I look at all of the growth and it never ceases to amaze me!

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The day I came out here and saw this little guy hanging, I think I squealed with delight! Eggplant! How adorable it was hanging there, growing like the miracle it is. A gift from Mother Earth, cared for by the sun and water to nourish and support my lifesource.

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How incredible is that?

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I could not wait to see what my own, grown eggplant would taste like! That's where the patience came in, watching and admiring this small plant turn bigger and bigger every day. (This one is still growing out there!)

Do you know that the closer to when you pick the food to when you eat it gives the most benefits?

I waited until dinner to pick this so that it was at it's very best for me to eat it and let me tell you, it was the best eggplant I have ever had!

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Of course, lunch wouldn't have been purple enough without some of my spinach! The spinach is growing like weeds here and although this variety is technically called 'red spinach' it looks much more purple than red to me!

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The part I was collecting was green but the wines of my malabar are certainly purple as well!

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And now, I present to you, my deliciously, rainbow-inspired, freshly picked lunch from my own garden (beans and mushrooms were from the farmers!)

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All that waiting sure paid off as this was such an enjoyable meal that was packed with love from the food I grew myself!

I love inspiring healthy eating through my own recipes and experiences! Growing all of my own food is my ultimate goal in my cuisine quest as I am sure you can tell, it's my passion!

Sending you love today, and every day! Happy Sunday Steemians!

XO,
💚🌱🍆