A walk to "De Moestuin"

Groupon had a good lunch deal for two persons at "De Moestuin" in Utrecht and I  bought the voucher. I had always wanted to go there and this was a good time. We decided to walk and use a route from "Utrecht te Voet"  These are walking routes from the inner city to the outlying areas or vica versa. We walked the "Waterlinie - Lunetten" 10 km trail which  leads close to "De Moestuin". We started in Nieuwegein.

 Some pictures along the walk:

 Peony Poppy (Papaver Paeoniflorum)

Seed head

Tip: 

Pick the seed heads when they are fresh and hang them upside down somewhere warm and dry for a month. If you want to collect the seed, place a sheet of paper underneath to collect the tiny black seeds as they fall. 

In Lunetten we saw these Giant Hogweeds (Heracleum mantegazzianum) along our trail.

 

  Lunetten is a neighbourhood in the southeastern part of the city of Utrecht. It is named after the lunettes (bunkers) which were build in 1819 - 1821 to protect the "vlakte van Houten" (plains of Houten). There are 4 bunkers left in  this area. This  picture is part of Lunet I. It is now an educational center where they teach pupils about democracy (Fort van de Democratie) :

This is Lunet III.

It has been modernized and is in use by a scouting group during the weekends and BSO (after school care for children 4-12 years) on weekdays:

 

After about 2 1/2  hours of walking we arrive at "De Moestuin". This is a non-profit foundation. It's an organically cultivated garden in Utrecht where they also preserve traditional varieties of vegetables: the forgotten vegetables.

People who are incapacitated for work carry out all kind of work under the supervision of professionals. It also has a store where their produce can be bought and other organic food. The lunch café is connected to the store.

Woven twigs fence:

 The lunch café:

 The herb garden:

 Did you know that these are onion flowers?? When the onion plant matures this is what happens:

 Mallow (Malva Sylvestris)  Kaasjeskruid:.

  

(Mallow is considered to be helpful in cases of irritations produced by dry coughs, forming protective layers on the inflamed mucous membranes. It alleviates inflammations and mouth irritations. It is very useful in treatment of different sorts of respiratory complaints. It can also be useful in treatment of gastroenteritis and constipation. Tea made from the root acts as a very good diuretic.)

Meadowsweet (Filipendula Ulmaria) Moerasspirea

 

(Moerasspirea Meadowsweet's herbal uses had a base in scientific fact, in common with many other folk and herbal remedies. In the 19th century, chemists isolated salicylic acid from Meadowsweet. The acid was a disinfectant so it not only made rooms smell better but helped the fight against bacteria. It was a painkiller and anti-inflammatory but hard on the stomach. Only after it was synthesised did it become an acceptable candidate for mass production and sold in tablet form as 'aspirin' – 'a' for acetyl and ' –spirin' for Spirea, the original botanical name for Meadowsweet.)

 California Poppy (Eschscholzia Californica) Slaapmutsje:

 (California poppy is used for trouble sleeping (insomnia), aches, nervous agitation, bed-wetting in children, and diseases of the bladder and liver. It is also used to promote relaxation.)

 What is the name of this flower?:

 String Beans:

Working in the garden:

 Zucchini/Courgette:

 Did you know that the female blossom grows on the end of the zucchini and the male blossom  directly on the stem?

 

 They are edible and can be stuffed. Who is interested, here is a recipe. Have not tried it but it looks good.

 Marrowfat Beans (Capucijners)

 

More vegetables and grapes in the greenhouse but it was time to leave the garden. We bought some fresh picked lettuce and radishes and also a jar of date chutney which I had on my sandwich with goat cheese for lunch. By the way...the lunch was great but forgot to make pics ...

I will definitely come back here.

We walked the same route back.......