Pics from the Garden

I snuck out into the garden this afternoon after class and took a few snaps to show you.

In the vege patch
Here are the snowpeas ready to get climbing. They are Yakumo Giant snowpeas and they can get as long as 12cm or so and still be lovely and tender.
The unidentified leafy green, which I think is English spinach. Its leaves are thicker than usual. Consulting my open seed packets reveals it may be Mediana variety.

The artichokes are really getting ready to go forth and multiply when the warmer weather hits.

And you can see the baby beets around them, gradually getting chubbier and ready to munch.

But what has been eating my baby artichoke?

And here's one of my purple asparagus seedlings. Doesn't look very purple at the moment, but it does have quite a way to go . . .
















Meanwhile in the herb garden
The Tarragon is just peeking through after its winter sleep . . .

And Yarrow has produced some babies!

Sweet Violet has just started to bloom . . .















And Melissa is growing under cover of last year's growth, yet to be removed.

The Applemint is creeping outwards . . .

And Pennyroyal is consorting with some mint (haven't worked out who just yet)!


Lovely Angelica has survived the winter thus far


And Rocket's in flower

Next to a self-sown seedling



And here's the first Comfrey leaf of the season
















Over to the fruit trees
The nectarine is in blossom . . . .

And the quince is about to burst into leaf



















For the soul
Gorgeous, fragrant blooms - Daphne, Jonquil (Erlicheer) and Hyacinth - what a lovely trio!






















Hope you enjoyed your little visit to my garden.

love and light
naturewitch

This Weekend in the Garden

I didn't get done anywhere near what I had wanted, but the snow peas are now weeded, hilled and mulched, with a few parsnip seeds and carrot seeds planted to keep them company. I also managed to put some wire between the stakes we put in a little while ago, so they now have a trellis to climb as they grow.

Excitement set in last week as I noticed that the purple asparagus seed I planted a few weeks ago has mostly germinated. Today I counted 44 baby asparagus plants, out of 65 seeds sown. Given they are just emerging (the tallest one would only be about 15mm high), I'm hoping for more little asparagus babies over the next few weeks.

Didn't do quite so well on the artichoke front. To date, only three seedlings have appeared, but there's still time for more. The seed was over a year out of date, so I'll try some fresh seed and see how that goes. Meanwhile, in other parts of the garden, the artichokes are growing well, so I'm sure we'll have heaps of artichokes to eat later in the season.

Wandering around, I noticed a couple of leafy green plants in one of the beds. Unfortunately, when sowing the seed I didn't label it, so was not so sure what it was. It looks like spinach, but maybe it's some sort of turnip? A quick feel underground reveals no tuber; a quick munch reveals spinach. Wish I could remember what type it was; I think it was something a bit different. The leaves are thicker than usual, but just as yummy. It's now three hours later and I haven't dropped off my perch, so I'm guessing it's OK.

The potatoes I planted about a month ago when I was planting the kiwi fruit have now made an appearance. They get a bit of protection where they are, so I'm hoping they will be OK if we get any late frosts.

Checking on the carrots led to three lovely long ones being pulled up and grated for lunch, alongside one of our winter lettuces. The beets are coming on and I must start pulling up some of the larger baby beets to thin the rows out for the others.

Apart from all that, the deciduous herbs are starting to wake up, with one of the comfrey plants, a French tarragon and some of the mints sporting green leaves again. It won't be long now before spring really will have sprung!

love and light
naturewitch

Back at Home

Been on holiday for the last couple of weeks, enjoying the sun and surf at the Gold Coast. Great fun, but sooo good to be home.

While we've been away Autumn has well and truly arrived in the garden. Most of the summer crops are now dying back and I'm not certain if the cold weather will hold off long enough for the maize to crop - guess I'll have to get it in the ground earlier next season.

Good news - some lettuce and Asian vege seedlings have emerged and the winter brassicas and beets continue to do well. My herb seedlings are continuing to grow, too. I'm leaving a couple of mega zucchinis on the bush to see if they ripen fully so I can save the seed for next season. Surprise in the garden - a little artichoke plant, which must have come up from some artichokes I let go to seed more than a year ago! Oh, and our one pumpkin from a self-sown vine this year was ready to pick when we got back, along with a heap more tomatoes - pumpkin and tomato soup anyone?

Have a herb exam to study for now, but will try to post later on this week.

love and light
naturewitch