I love spring. Flowers begin to appear, bright green leaves grow on the barren trees, and some of my favorite produce is available. You already know of my love of asparagus, but there is a bounty of produce in spring. I recently picked up some freshly picked organic produce from Dervaes Gardens, an urban homestead in the heart of Pasadena, CA. Pasadena once was home to many farms and fruit orchards, but it is now known primarily as the home of the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade. And really good shopping in Old Town. So to have an actual, albeit small working farm with organic produce near my home is wonderful!

Their website says it best:

Dervaes Gardens is a backyard family business which sprouted in 1995 and is located in the middle of the urban Pasadena, California. From this bountiful one-tenth of an acre city lot, we grow and sell seasonal, locally grown vegetables, herbs, fruits and edible flowers.

Our specialty is in the unique, rare, and heirloom varieties. Although this restricts the amount of produce we provide, we specialize in quality, not quantity. We provide to you only the very best of what’s growing in our revolutionary organic garden.

On top of the picked fresh the morning you will come get it produce, they have fabulous seasonal preserves, and fresh duck and chicken eggs. All this from 1/10 of an acre!

When I picked up my order last week, it was so gorgeous I just had to take pictures. I recently got a new, fancy shmancy camera so I could take better pictures of my food. What better practice than to try and capture the essence of this bounty. I hope you enjoy my efforts. Be kind, I am still practicing…

Two recipes will be posted soon using the produce in these pictures, so stay tuned!

Gorgeous Swiss chard and a teeny weeny pea.

Multicolored Swiss chard, collard greens, pea shoots, frilly mustard greens, and kale.

Pea shoots - I love the curly tendrils. So beautiful.

A healthy, tasty and enticing bounty.