The Garden (The Past)

I should probably start with the veggie garden and I practically live in it!
When we moved in it was a forest of weeds that was way over my head! During our time here we've put new fencing round it - need to keep the pesky rabbits out, and added macrocarpa sleepers to make sort of raised beds. Last year we put in an irrigation system as we've had a few droughts.

I start off all my veggies in little paper pots that I make, and I save seeds form the previous years - I plant mostly heritage vegetables.

When it's all cleared and resting it looks rather like this.

Over summer, it's like this

 

This is what it looked like when we moved in -  I was terrified of it!

Argh! Yes, it's been a lot of work, but totally worth every second.

My favourite thing to grow is tomatoes, all sorts of tomatoes!

 Garlic

Sweetcorn varieties

red onions

It's pretty prolific. With our sub-tropical climate things grow rather well. After  few years I've worked out what grows best for us and what we like ~ it's tomatoes, chillis, courgettes, aubergines, beans of all sorts, peas, squashes, loofahs, sweetcorn, lots of herbs, onions, spring onions, garlic, a large potato bed, artichokes, asparagus, etc! Oh and we've also got an awful lot of passion fruit vines and various orchards - lots of citrus, apples, peaches, plums, grapes and figs. And a banana grove!

It's not only veggies though, I've planted lots of flowers

The bed that runs along the front of the house is filled with white camillias, gardenias and hibiscus there are also various other flower beds around the place with my roses, more hibiscus, dwarf frangipanis, a 'real' frangipani and lots of bits and bobs...

 

and all these beautiful plants and flowers attract all sorts of amazing insects...

I have to admit that the garden is a real labour of love. I don't think you could have a garden like this and not love doing it. It's never finished, there are always a million and one things that need done, often I can't see how lovely it is because I focus on what needs to be worked on, however I try to take a step back and see what we've accomplished then I feel better!