Let me take you on a journey. This journey is down our garden path. Spring is such a pleasurable time to be in the garden and as Kim was being artistic today, so I thought I would share her photos with you all. Click on any of them to enlarge to full size.
Down the garden path. Veggies on the left, herbs on the right!
A gift from Mother Nature. The Nasturtiums sprout here every year from seed that blew here from the other side of the path four years ago.
Beautiful reds and pinks!
Another gift from Mother Nature. These parsley seeds travelled 5 metres (16ft) to get to where this plant grew on the veggie bed side of the path.
The sage is bigger than last year after I cut it back by two thirds in the winter and gave it a generous sprinkle of blood and bone.
Cyclamens grown in the same pot for three years. They just keep coming back.
Spring planting has not yet started, but we are ready with some new stands we bought for the green house. Planting starts again on Sunday.
Seed pods will form soon, ready for pickling. Hopefully there will be enough for a small jar. You can substitute the pods for capers in salads.
Further down the path……
and further……
Look, someone at work! I had just finished planting 5 black beauty zucchinis and now I am spreading home made compost all around them.
Nearly finished work….
Buddha lends a hand. Nice spade mate! Glad you found a nice spot near the potted leek.
Look what else we have found down the garden path. Holly dog patrolling for intruders!
The path continues around the back of the house to the Cabbage Tree. Is that a flower spike that grows from within? Must have been all of the rain we have had for the tree to get this excited!
Led to the other side by the path, we discover the wicking bed. All plants growing well, but I fear it is too hot for the Pak Choy as it is going to seed. Better get it into a stir fry post haste.
Nice salad bed.
The Jonathan apple tree has finally burst its buds. No beasties eating them yet! We seem to have a scarcity of earwigs this year so far. The oil traps are out and waiting.
ANZAC Peaches formed from the blossom already. Doing well so far.
Finally at the end of the garden path, we have sprouting broccoli and cabbages. There is even some ready to pick.
Thanks for joining me, down the garden path, hand in hand. Lovely, wasn’t it!
the garden is really looking good gav. a pity im not there to see it in all its glory.
Beautiful pictures…thank you so much for sharing them with us. I hope that someday my garden will look as good as yours.
aka FB’s Karen (Webber) N
Your garden looks fabulous and it’s barely even springtime yet. Your vegetables seem much more orderly than mine – my broadbeans are all over the show.
Yes, Gavin, it was really lovely. I am very envious of your new racks!
Lovely garden, a nice mixture of rambling and orderly : )
I’m jealous of your sprouting broccoli. I bought purple sprouting broccoli seeds last year in a fit of…madness, then had to admit that I just don’t have room for something that will be in the ground that long.
FYI it’s the increasing day length much more than temperature that makes the bok choy go to seed. Once the summer solstice is past it won’t bolt on you. I’d love to know how the commercial growers get around that, though. Bolt-resistant variety? Vast greenhouses with controlled lighting? I’m afraid to ask.
@ Dad,
Thanks Father. I wish you could have seen it in person. Well, when you visit at Christmas, I hope to have a massive crop on the go. Tomatoes to tantalise the taste buds!
@ Karen
You are welcome. I have found that you just need to take one step at a time and once you get into a routine, it is very hard to stop planting things. As you can see, Mother Nature does half the work for you!
@ Deb
The massive amount of rain has made the broad beans grow like mad. I picked the tips off last Sunday to help pod development. We are going to have a great crop this year. Oh, BTW the tips were great sautéed with a little butter and garlic. Amazing taste.
@ Kate
We picked them up from ebay. They are mini green houses without the covers on them. You can get them fairly cheap ($30-40 each). The racks that the greenhouse company (The Bloom Room) were asking were upwards of $500 to deck out the entire greenhouse! Bollocks to that I say.
@ Tracey
Kim calls it our cottage garden side. As for the sprouting broccoli, I got a bit cunning this year. I planted them mid season in between one variety of cabbage was just forming heads, then when I harvested the cabbages, the broccoli just took off. A good use of space. Thanks for the Bok Choy tip as well. I won’t plant any in spring next year!
Gav
Love the walk down the garden path Gavin, gardens look fantastic.
Mistyhollows.
gorgeous garden. very civilised walking down the path, plucking what you need for dinner.
Looks fantastic, Gavin! I’m hoping my nasturtiums do what yours have done this year. Just one thing: do you REALLY love zucchini? Five plants is a lot!
What a fantastic garden. Hopefully mine will look as good one day soon. Keen to try the wicking garden bed in particular.
Love your garden!
Your salad bed is not just edible it is it beautiful…I’d love to be able to plant it as pretty as that!