Leaves

Welcome to this month's Garden Share Collective, hosted by Kyrstie from A Fresh Legacy and Kate from Rosehips and Rhubarb, the theme this month is LEAVES.

Leaves, what would trees be without them? Bare, that's what they'd be. Without leaves a tree would have no means of making the energy it needs to grow through a process called photosynthesis, it would not be able to grow bigger, or produce the flowers that with luck will turn into the fruits and nuts that we love to eat. Leaves are also the way that a tree releases oxygen into the atmosphere, a fact that we don't always appreciate. 

 Leaves provide all living things with shade during the heat of summer and in autumn leaves not only provide a beautiful display of colour, but they also provide nutrients to the soil as they break down.

Just think how boring our food would be without the leaves of the many herbs available to add interest and flavour to our meals, think rosemary with lamb, peas with mint, pork and sage, thyme, parsley, dill and coriander, just to name a few.

Coriander

Dill

Other leaves provide us with nourishment, silverbeet, kale, spinach, bok choi and pak choi are some of my favourite winter vegetables. 

Dwarf Curly Kale

Mendania spinach

Red Taipan bok choi

Silverbeet

Baby beetroot leaves make a tasty addition to any summer salad, 

Beetroot

as do the leaves of the nasturtium plant.

Nasturtium

So when you stop and think about it leaves are very important. They provide everything from the oxygen we need to survive to the food that we need for nourishment; they really are a vital part of our lives.

Harvesting

It has been weeks since I have harvested anything from the garden unless of course, you count this.

Is this the world's smallest butternut?

Planting

Silverbeet 

Spinach
Kale

Cauliflower

Turnips

Wombok

Pak choi

Things to do

12 more garlic plants have emerged since I wrote the post on garlic and peas bringing the total to 16. If no more appear in the next week I will be planting more.

Weed - I can't believe how quickly they grow.

Sow more seeds for spinach, turnip, wombok, pak choi and carrots.

Sit back and watch the garden grow. 

That's it for another month of Garden Share Collective, you should pop over to either Kyrstie or Kate's blogs and check out what others have shared about leaves.