There are few things more rewarding than sitting down to enjoy a delicious meal made with fruit and vegetable harvested right outside your back door. To most Italians l’orto - the kitchen garden - is an indispensable part of everyday life. Whether they are avid gardeners with raised beds and greenhouses or just grow a few herbs in pots on the kitchen windowsill, "la verdura" they plant, care for and harvest tastes like no other vegetable on the planet. After having enjoyed the orto's treasures over the winter, with the sun gently warming the soil again, it's time to get ready for spring planting. This week-end I will close the laptop and pay a visit to the local garden shop with a list of vegetables and herbs in my pocket, but as usual I will also get whatever their gardener will suggest - last year it was pineapple sage and Nubia red garlic. Who knows what he has in mind this year! I look forward to finding out and to a week-end nell'orto.