When I first moved to this property, I was so excited…but a little overwhelmed. I went from a typical subdivision lot to a 35 acre parcel of land. And, even though most days I felt as though I had died and gone to heaven, other days it seemed a bit too much to handle. There was so much to do and it was, for a long while, a 24 hour a day job. But then things got better when I realized that you just have to let some things go. But the one thing that kept coming back was that I needed to have a proper vegetable garden. I tried to put a small, circular English herb garden in but I planted mint and lemon balm (and didn’t keep them in containers like all the pros say to do) and it took over everything…total fail. Then I threw some raspberry bushes at the side of my house and didn’t know anything about rhysomes – shoots that grow from the bottom and keep growing into everything around it (like the lawn)…almost total fail (although I still have great raspberries).
Then I had a conversation with Tina, a friend of mine who studied horticulture in England and came back with a wealth of information and a thriving small business. I told her about my dilemma and she told me that I needed a proper chef’s garden and that she could help me plan it. At first she said “you don’t actually have to build it….let’s just do the drawings and then you can decide if and when you want to do it”. Then she explained what a chef’s garden was and told me exactly where it should be on my property based on the sun and space. A few of my husband’s guys from his office (he’s a builder) built it based on Tina’s plans and, voila, I had the perfect place to start my growing project. Everyone who comes raves about how beautiful it is…I wish I could take the credit but it was totally Tina’s vision…she is brilliant!
If you visit her website ( http://www.gardensensibilities.com/HOME.html) you can see my garden drawings from start to finish. Maybe she can help you too!
In the meantime, here are a few shots of what July and the glorious sun did to my garden:
This is the second round of my chives…they grew like crazy and I actually cut it all right down to the ground and gave it all away (I even brought it to a soccer tournament and gave it away to strangers!). This is all from one plant!
It’s nice to plant spring onions next to your regular onions (a tip from my dad) so that you use the spring onions that are ready first without being tempted to use the regular onions before they are ready! There are almost there!
Remember the nasty worms that were eating my leaves? Well, I think they got tired of my garden and moved somewhere else because all of the new growth is great! And you know what?……
…I’m getting grapes!!! I thought I lost them but here they are!!!
And the herbs? Rosemary, parsley and basil like never before!!
a variety of lettuces…I actually was very unorganized with this. I had 2 packets of seeds from last year and I just threw them in and left (I actually totally forgot I did this and then they grew and I was so excited!)
Here is my potato patch…you can see that as the leafy parts start to fall away, you begin to see the potatoes peek through (dig around and pull out the big ones but leave the little ones to keep growing)
This is the second patch (we got a bit over excited about planting potatoes that we planted 2 patches. Next year, one will be sweet potatoes!
Zucchini!!! Lots of them! Look out for great recipes…chocolate zucchini bread and zucchini pancakes! We had grilled zucchini for dinner!!
Loads of tomatoes…but still no sign of red!
These are flat beans…very popular amongst the Italian community. They aren’t that easy to find in the stores but we stew them with fresh potatoes and tomatoes to make a kind of “stoup” (soup/stew). They even freeze well!
These are bush bean…what you all know as yellow wax beans. But they grow in a bush that you have to pick up to pick the beans….these ones don’t grow upwards. Last year, I had a momma rabbit give birth to 6 babies in my bean bush…even though I “rabbit proofed” my garden…I will tell that story another time!
And, last but not least, my beautiful friend, Tina! It’s because she told me I could, that I did! Love you!!
