Wednesday, September 14, 2011

in the garden









One of my very favourite parts of gardening is the part where you do nothing at all. Every now and again, on a sunny day, there is nothing more pleasant or relaxing than taking a little walk around the garden. Just to look. To absorb the season.

It is amazing to see the different changes over time in the same garden. Some of these changes occur overnight (when did that rhubarb get so big?) and some are much slower with changes from season to season or only really noticeable when compared to the year before. My first walks involved a lot of dust. Everywhere. And foot long weeds. Now we have grass and the beginnings of the bones of a garden.

I took one of these walks a few days ago. I now know which of our blossoms is the first to flower (our ornamental double apricot/peach) and I think our crab apples will not be too far behind. These trees have now grown slowly over the course of the year since they were planted. But they seem to have thickened and grown taller overnight.

I like to notice where the sun hits during the different seasons. Where the shade is. Though there is not terribly much of that at the moment. But as the trees slowly grow up there will be more shade. Building a relationship with your land takes time and I think is best taken slowly. Concentrating on just one part at a time, while planning in your head the plantings of seasons to come.

The vegie patch is one place I like to visit daily. I've been trying to sow a few small crops every week, trying to keep water up. It is satisfying to see the seedlings pushing through despite the frosty mornings. And surprisingly still able to harvest some vegetables, though the garden has laid dormant (and neglected) for over six months.

And dinner that night? We enjoyed a beef stew with kale and broccoli (from the garden) with beef, barley and our roasted beetroot on the side. There is nothing like knowing that the food you are eating has come from your own garden. For years I watched my mum dig a new vegie patch with each different house that we lived at (well into the double digits!).  I really didn't see what all the fuss was about as it just seemed like a lot of hard work to me.  I gardened for quite a few years before I delved into vegetable garden growing. But now I know why Mum dug and re-dug so many vegie gardens all those years ago.

11 comments:

  1. Lovely photos as always. I'm extremely jealous of your rhubarb, it is one of my favourite things to eat. Perhaps I need to include it in my own vegie garden?

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  2. I recently found your blog and really enjoy it, thank you. I was wondering what sort of seedlings are you planting out now that are growing despite the frosts? I am new to this climate and finding the weather a bit difficult to work out! Thanks again.

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  3. It's nice to just 'be' in the garden, isn't it! And soooo good to know part of your meal, came from the earth you nurtured and the seeds you grew!

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  4. Hi Psylova, I've been sowing several different lettuce types, bok choy, radishes and spinach.

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  5. Although im not much of a gardener i do enjoy walking around our garden seeing whats popping up. In our next house i plan on having a bit of a vegie garden. Theres nothing quite like having home grown vegies.

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  6. I love those moments too. Think I will tear myself outside now! How do you water your garden (i.e. the tank, bore, house water etc.)- water being on my mind at the moment!

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  7. Yes I was wondering about the watering too. Currently the vegetable garden is right up the back and watering by hand with a watering can up and down can be tiring work.

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  8. How gorgeous are those blooms? So full of the promise of what's to come :)
    My parents always gardened too...I think with having six children it helped immensely in the financial sense but it was always something they were passionate about. I kick myself now at not taking more notice when they helped me get a garden established back home...but I am rather enjoying the process of learning on my own too and via what I learn online :) Can't wait till we are harvesting our own vegetables.

    x

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  9. Oooh, I can't wait to have a veggie patch all of my own. I remember making my first veggie patch at a rental property. I planted all sorts of seeds and seedlings and made my own compost and felt very proud. Pumpkin seeds from the compost sprouted and took over the whole garden, swamping everything else! And we moved before I even got a pumpkin in return!

    Hoping for more success this time around. :)

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  10. i love how you can prepare dishes with your own produce. peter and i have a vege garden in the making. gorgeous photos. such a lovely way to live.

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  11. Alison and Lillian - we are on tank (rain) water and at the moment I am carting the water up with a watering can. We are planning on installing a small tank above the vegie garden and using the run off from the new verandah. Looking forward to watering with a hose again!

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