Seeds

Seeds, where would we be without them?  They fill our flower beds with colour and fragrance, and allow us to grow tasty, nutritious food to feed ourselves and our family. They are the perfect little capsule, containing everything that is needed to start the next generation of plant life. They lay dormant sometimes for years waiting for the perfect growing conditions and then, they spring into life. 

This year I am trying to grow all my vegetables and flowers from seed.

What I'm growing

Sown 24th September

Melons

Hale's Best 

Sugar Baby
Luscious Red

Tomatoes

Honeybee 

Rouge de Marmande

San Marzano

Unknown truss (seeds were from shop bought tomatoes)

Corn

Kelvedon Glory

Jubilee Bicolour

Cucumber

Lebanese (sprouted today)

Zucchini 

Green Bush

Beans

Windsor Longpod

Brown Beauty

Butter 

Cannelini

Red Kidney

Borlotti

Leafy Greens

Cos lettuce

Green Mignonette

Salad mix which includes

Lolla Rossa

Bionda

Red and green salad bowl and

Great Lakes

Endive

Kale

Medania spinach
Celery

Eggplant

Snowy

Rosa Bianca

Capsicum

Hungarian Yellow Wax Sweet

Basil

Sweet Genovese

Thai

Radicchio

Palla Rossa

And a new one to try this year, chickpeas.

Flowers
Borage
Alyssum Rosie O'Day
Poached Egg Plant
Nasturtium
Zinnia
Candy Tuft
Calendula

So, hopefully not only will my vegetable garden be productive it will look beautiful as well.

This is my contribution to this months Garden Share Collective 

hosted by Lizzie from Strayed from the Table, Krystie from a A Fresh Legacy and Kate from Rhubarbs and Rosehips. To see what they and others have to say click on any of the links above.

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The Garden in August

When I moved into my current home in March 2009, the first thing I wanted to do was get a vegetable garden established. The only usable land was located right down the far left hand corner of the property, not the ideal location for it, but it was the only space that wasn't covered in concrete. The lady who originally owned the house was a tennis coach and although the house sits on a 1/4 acre block, most of the backyard is taken up by a tennis court. 

My back yard, lovely isn't it?

It wasn't much to look at that first year, the soil (for want of a better word) was like talcum powder, and the water didn't soak in, it just ran off, but I still managed to grow some wonderful vegetables. 

April 2009

The garden looks a bit different today, the giant compost/rubbish bin is gone, as are the tiles, and barrow loads of manure, as well as a lot of home made compost have improved the soil, it's also gotten bigger, and now measures 9.2 metres long (30 feet) x 5.5 metres wide (18 feet) in total. I've tried a few different layouts over the years but in the end kept it simple with seven beds either side of a central path. The beds themselves are different lengths but are all 2.1 metres wide.

The vegie patch now

To make it more attractive to beneficial insects I'm in the process of making an insect hotel, I've installed a bird bath (which is already attracting a lot of attention) and there is a shallow dish of water on top of the insect hotel for the bees and butterflies. I've planted two salvias, "Joan" and "Hot Lips", a Marguerite daisy in the pot you can see on the right hand side. I moved my two small plum trees into the garden to shade the bird bath and the insect hotel, and when the ground is warm enough one the rear beds will be sown with a mix of flower seeds, dill and coriander.

I still have to put up a new fence and arbour, finish the insect hotel, and when the winter vegetable are finally finished, dig in more compost and mulch the beds ready for summer planting.  So that's my garden, not the prettiest, and not always the tidiest, and despite the constant attacks by aphids, white fly, caterpillars and a multitude of other pests, and weather that isn't always ideal, I love it, it is my favourite place to be.

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