PHOTO 1
So where should I go first? The
aiand (garden centre, from the word
aed = garden, also fence), where they sell
suve/lilled (“summer flowers”, annuals, also
ühe/aastased),
lille/taimed (flowering plants),
lille/amplid (hanging baskets of flowers),
kasvu/muld (“growth”/gardening soil) and
köögi/vilja/taimed (vegetable plants)
kasvu/hoonesse (for the greenhouse).
Or should I turn right in the direction of the
võõras/emad ("stepmothers", i.e. pansies, also
aed/kannikesed, “garden violets”) and
puu/kool (literally tree school, i.e. nursery), where there are
roosi/istikud (rose seedlings),
püsi/lilled (perennials, also
püsikud because they last,
püsivad),
ilu/puud and
ilu/põõsad (“beauty” / decorative trees and bushes),
heki/taimed (hedge plants),
vilja/puud (fruit trees) and
marja/põõsad (berry bushes). And in teenie-tiny print – yes, this is a
silma/kontroll (eye exam) –
köögi/vilja/taimed (vegetable plants)
ava/maale (for your garden, plot of land).
Estonians say they can’t wait to dig their fingers in the earth and get them covered in soil: „
näpud mullaseks”.
PHOTO 2
Without even trying, without going to an
aiand to buy baby plants –
NAAT (ground elder) and
NÕGES (nettle, stinging or otherwise) just pop up on their own; here beneath a
hekk (hedge) in Põhja-Tallinn. The first are the most tender and packed full of
vitamiinid. Make sure they’re still
krimpsus (wrinkled, unfurled) in the case of
naat, and the
nõges is preferably still young. Perfect for salads or straight into a mug of tea.
Kõrve/nõges (stinging nettle) can be tamed with a shock of hot water or steamed.
Pista kotletti! Put some into your hamburger patty mixture, if you’re an
omnivoor. Photos and text: Riina Kindlam, Tallinn.
