Vertical gardening

Despite having a big block, we're still always looking for more places to plant things. And I'm always trying to find ways to use the bits of stuff that Anthony collects for 'just in case we need it'.

So there were a bunch of old gutters lying around (don't get me started on why we have old gutters lying around!), and we thought it might be a good idea to experiment with some different garden arrangements.

Anthony screwed three of the pieces of guttering to the fence above my raspberry garden, on an angle one above the other so that they will (hopefully) drain OK. We then filled them up with potting mix, and planted a bunch of things, including strawberries, parsley, oregano, a chilli plant and some lemon grass.

If nothing else, it will be a good experiment. If it works, it will be a good way to do herbs (leaving me with more room for my vegies!). I do like the idea of using the unused space, and using materials that would otherwise be chucked out.

See all the yummy blackberries in the background? Can't wait until they're ripe!

I'll keep you posted about how they go.

Little Harvests

We have had a fair amount of rain (more than 50mm) over the last few days, with some big thunderstorms keeping things interesting (I love summer storms!).

I've been too busy to take pictures but the storm clouds have been amazing!

So I haven't been out in the garden much, but this morning was able to go and pull out a few weeds and pick some food!

A punnet's worth of yummy blueberries:

Some potatoes for dinner (slow-cooker vegemite roast lamb with home grown rosemary and garlic!):

 And my first cherries in a couple of years! YUM!

This a dumb thing to say, but the stuff you get to pick and eat is definitely the best part of growing food (oh, and we'll be a bit better off when the zombie apocalypse comes)!

Garlic....

“Without garlic I simply would not care to live.” – Louis Diat

I love garlic. It probably doesn't make it very pleasant to be around me sometimes, but it is one of my favourite favours (and aromas! There is nothing like the smell of garlic sautéing!).

So growing garlic is one of my favourite gardening adventures.

And today was garlic harvest day.

In January 2012, we visited a friend in Meander, Tasmania (an absolutely gorgeous part of Australia, if you ever get the chance to go there). When we were leaving (to do some more Tassie touring), he gave me three heads of beautiful organic Tasmanian garlic. Since then, I've been growing it. Today, despite my chooks' attempt to decimate the garlic crop a while back, I harvested 28 lovely heads, including an enormous one, at least 5cm wide!

My monster garlic head!

I know a lot of people don't think that organic makes much difference, but garlic is one of the vegetables where I can really taste the difference. This garlic tastes so good!!!

So I've picked it, braided it (I just watch this video for instructions- I still need a little practice!),

My 'braids'

and it's hung up in a little old caravan that I'm planning on turning into a drying/storage room.

I cannot wait to cook up lots of lovely garlicky things!

I love roasted garlic cloves with some roast lamb, or a bit of cabbage fried in butter and garlic (and perhaps a little vegemite!). My father-in-law used to swear by a raw clove of garlic and a slice of cheese every evening. What's your favourite garlic recipe?

War of the Weeds

Weeds are nature's graffiti. ~Janice Maeditere

We've always struggled a little with weeds. In the beginning it was because I wasn't as focused on the garden as I am now, but since Anthony (my partner) starting breeding parrots, it's gotten harder and harder. Because of course parrots spread their seed around, and it grows. Into weeds. For a while he encouraged it because the birds ate them (and I wasn't as focused on the garden), but after a while he didn't need to encourage it, if you know what I mean...

Beautiful things sometimes like weeds.

And then about a year ago I broke my knee. Not too bad, but it put me out of action for a significant period. In the springtime, when everything is growing, including weeds!
By the time I had enough mobility and confidence to get back to the garden, it was late summer and the weeds had taken over! Then winter hit and I think I've mentioned that I don't do so well in winter.

So when spring arrived again this year and I was feeling much more like gardening, I had an enormous task ahead of me. To get rid of the weeds and get my garden back. To give you an idea of what I was facing, here are some before and after shots of what I've managed so far. But believe me, there is still a loooooong way to go!

Beside the driveway...

and after.

Eek! Front yard.

And from another angle.

And now.

A little better...

What happens to your garden when you're busy?

Did you notice I'm a sometimes blogger too?

It's not for lack of trying; I'm just one of those people that likes to do lots of things.
To give you a bit of an idea of the many things that keep me busy (apart from my garden): I have a gorgeous 11 year old son Oliver that I completely dote on (spoiled yes, brat no!). Those of you that have seen me in my previous blog will know how important family is to me). I am a music buff, and spend a bit of time talking to other tragic Foo Fighters fans. I'm quite involved in the Canberra Lego community, and am quickly becoming an AFOL in my own right. I am a keen (but extremely amateur) photographer, and a Sh'Bam instructor, with three classes a week that I team-teach to keep me busy.

I also work full time at a local university, and have recently been a part of the Human Brochure campaign, with the culminating activity being one of the things that has kept me from my blog over the last week.

However, I have embarked on this endeavour because I want to document my garden. Something I wish I'd done from the start. But it's never too late.

So what does happen to your garden when you're too busy to look after it? Simple: Weeds. The bane of my life, and a story that will be told soon!

The Sometimes Gardener?

Why am I the Sometimes Gardener?

I'm one of those people that gets all excited and passionate about a project and throws absolutely everything I have into it, and then get distracted by...Oooh! Shiny thing!

It can be hard to concentrate on the garden when this is the view from your front door...

Seriously though, I do love to garden. I love the satisfaction that comes from seeing something that you've nurtured produce something beautiful or edible. I love the feel of soil between my fingers, the sun on my neck and I love that bone-tired feeling after a good day in the garden.

But there are a couple of problems. I have a lot going on in my life, with periods of intense busyness, I don't do well in winter (as I've mentioned previously), and sometimes I get discouraged or overwhelmed by the task ahead of me. Last October, I also broke my knee. Which set me back in many areas, but overwhelmingly so in my garden. The weeds grew tall and took over, the pruning didn't get done, and worst of all I didn't get to plant anything. It's taken me a year to get my mojo back, but I'm hoping I'm on the right track now.

...and this is the view from the back!

In the past I've been a bit of a set and forget gardener: plant the stuff and hope it will grow, occasionally water it, pull out the odd weed. I've had some success with this, but I want to get serious. I want to grow lots of food, share it with others, and become just that little bit more self-sufficient. Hopefully this blog will help me stay on track.

Coming up: tackling the weeds, my chooks, the grapevine.

This is my garden

I live on a 1/4 acre block in Canberra, Australia.
Canberra is a good place for gardens, especially food gardens. While we can't grow tropical stuff like avocados and mangoes, we have the kind of climate that is good for lots of fruit (apples, stone fruit, passionfruit etc), as well as lots of different herbs and vegies, and my favourite, berries!

My delicious organic Tasmanian garlic,

This is the food I currently have growing in my garden:

• Tasmanian garlic (grown from bulbs a friend gave to me when I visited in 2012)
• Asparagus
• Herbs: chives, basil, dill, coriander, marjoram, parsley, comfrey, camomile
• Pears
• Apples
• Apricots
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Boysenberries (although I've been trying unsuccessfully for a while to get rid of these!)
• Strawberries
• Passionfruit 
• Vegies: tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, lettuce, leek, spinach, kale, peas
• Almonds
• Oranges
• Rhubarb
• Cherries
• Pomegranate 
• Bay tree

Soon, I'm planning on planting more veg: corn, capsicum, chilli, celery (and all the other 'c' words!).

I'll tell you about it!

Bloggin' in the garden...

I've missed blogging. I blogged for a few years on a completely different subject; but that blog reached its natural end. But gosh I love to write. And I love to blog. So I thought I'd blog about my garden.

I'm a sometimes gardener. I get very motivated and do lots of stuff, and then tend to just let things run a little wild. Or lose interest (that's generally in winter. I don't like winter). But, when I do garden, I get some great results. I don't know what it is. I'm the child of keen gardeners (my dad's a trained horticulturist, my mum's just keen), so I grew up with a nice garden (and many trips to the nursery), but perhaps most of it is just luck.

What I'm really keen about though is growing food. I've tried flower bulbs and natives, but I definitely get the most satisfaction from growing something that can be eaten. It doesn't hurt that I like food and cooking too!

So, I hope you'll join me on my adventures in gardening! Welcome!