Spring Garden

After a two year break with little babies, this is the first garden bed that got planted a couple of weeks ago. It has taken off, a bit of a green jungle, since I don’t believe in tidy rows. It just makes it too easy for pests to work their way along the banquet. The interplanting of different types of plants creates balance where plants help each other out with providing shade, mulch and while pests get confused. 

Beans, peas and tomatoes along the trellis with herbs along the front for easy access. All kinds of different annual flowers are mixed in along the seedlings to attract some friends to the party.

Since the kids helped planting here, its a bit of a surprise garden bed too. Turns out they love parsnip and beetroot (chips)!

On the right you see the next garden bed, which got planted out a month ago.

A close up:

dill, parsley, parsnip, spring onion, silver beet, bokchoi and mixed lettuce.

While on my garden break, I’ve let the beds go, but focused my attention on the border, which keeps the grass from sneaking up on the vegetables. Here you see asparagus alongside the other permanent plants, trees and bulbs.

Peaches!

Only a meter deep, but this permanent border bed has capsicums, eggplants, chillies, flowers, asparagus and bananas in the back. Along the left you see the proper garden bed with garden waste piling up, the chicken coop is due in a couple more weeks. The chooks will clean it all up, compost, fertilise then spread the mulch and it will be ready to plant out again. And so we go, round and round in this mandala garden.

Along the entrance, in the border a kaffir lime tree shares the space with ginger, parley, mint, flowers, asparagus, while a sweet potato plant is making plans to invade.

Flowers and chillies are alongside a mandarin tree and a lillipilly shrub, bordering eggplant, capsicum and beans before the proper garden bed starts. 

  A dry spot in the garden has now Aloe vera flowering

 A mulberry, mandarin and a plum tree are happily sharing spaces with some grevillea.

The drier top of the border is perfect for an olive tree, rosemary, lime tree, curry plant, callistemon, bay leave and thyme. While a passion fruit is starting to make a pest of itself. The chook dome in the background, home to 6 lovely chickens keeping us in eggs.

The view from the deck, homegrown dinner taste even better when you can look out onto your hard work.