We had some strange weather this year. Steady and predictable to begin with, then a delightful blistering heatwave, followed by some days in July that I can only describe as… cold. Cold as in the outdoor pool dropped back to below 22 degrees and I didn’t bother swimming for a week. The season finished well though, with late warmth going right into October.
All things considered, the garden did pretty well. And there was even a lovely sunflower as an accidental centrepiece.
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It was a bit of a weird season this year. Things didn’t really go to plan. But they never really do, do they?
Since time was scarce having to run around after an almost one-year-old, I decided to work smart this year. I started early with the radishes in a small free standing garden bed to reduce the amount of weeding. I watered them and I remembered to put the lid on every night. Except one night.
And then this happened. Snow.
I’m not saying I didn’t panic and squeal when I first saw it. For all my bravado of I’m Australian and I’m not scared of spiders or sharks or snakes, as I rolled back the fabric laid over my garden to reveal a long, scaly skin, I let out plenty of squeals. Then I immediately burst out laughing… before abruptly stopping and peering closer to make sure it was just that – a skin.
The back of our veggie garden, directly in front of the composting area, is separated by a small fence. Behind this fence live four charming redcurrant bushes and a forest of strawberries. During the first summer in our house we enjoyed a lot of strawberries from this part of the garden. Last year, however, I noticed a growing trend. Maybe it was something we changed, or maybe it was just bad luck. It seemed the back part of our garden was getting taken over by this weird green, leafy plant. We were told it could be eaten, if one so desired. We did not desire. My strawberries were soon engulfed by these beastly plants, with only small pockets of mint surviving the takeover.
We had had a particularly wet start to the summer this year. And there’s something that comes with a lot of rain when you’re trying to grow a garden… slugs.
There is a reason why I don’t bother planting lettuce. And slugs are it.
Just look at that thing. Gross.
Coriander seems to be one of those things – you either love it or you detest it with unrivaled passion. When we looked at herbs to grow last year, I decided I wanted coriander. I am, if you haven’t already gathered, one of the lovers. And it’s not so easy to get coriander on demand over here.
So how did we go, you may ask? Did we manage to reap what we sowed following the fails of Green Thumbs Part 1 and the improvements of Part 2… well… in the end the results were mixed.
This year marked our first summer in the house, and therefore, my first chance to start my own ‘vege patch’.
I was an expert gardener, I proclaimed. My younger days helping my dad in the garden obviously meant I knew everything about growing vegetables.
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