For me it's the same old story: this past week I harvested salads!
In this bowl I have lettuce ("Marvel of Four Seasons"), Rocket and Celery Leaf. The latter has to be picked when very young, and used sparingly because it is very strongly flavoured - but thoroughly delicious as well!
We have had two more small pickings of Radishes. Here's one - a mix of "French Breakfast" and "Cherry Belle".
We did also test a couple of peas (yes, literally two pods) to see if they were ready. The answer was "nearly". Next week I may show you some pictures of peas...
In the meantime, let me show you our latest acquisition in terms of crockery:
These are items from the "Steelite" range. They are all unique in terms of patterning, because they are hand-decorated. They come in many different shapes, sizes and colours. The items we bought are not marketed as a set; we just thought they go well together. And of course they are ideal for serving "Nibbles", such as Radishes!
Since my offering this week is a bit thin, I also want to show you some overhead views of my plot, as evidence that there really are some crops coming along, even if they are mostly not yet harvestable:-
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| The six 2.4 x 1 metre raised beds are the mainstay of the plot |
Anyone who is new to my blog will be able to see very easily from this photo what sort of person I am! I like things to be neat and tidy - especially my garden. I'm not apologising for this; I'm proud of it. Long-term readers will verify that by dint of carefully planned and meticulous work I manage to get a lot of produce from a small space. The whole garden is roughly 10 metres x 10 metres.
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| The paved area serves as both outdoor dining-room & seedling nursery! |
Oooh, now I'm wishing I had moved the hosepipe before taking the photos! :-)
Beautiful greens, and your garden is truly gorgeous! I can only wish for mine to be so pristine clean and organized but I'm happy with the messy even if it has few weeds :) Maybe once I'm retired I'll have time to keep it as pretty as yours :)
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, I'm not Retired either! I find that doing gardening little and often is the way to keep things neat, rather than leaving it to get overgrown and then having to do a massive clear-up. Of course that is easier for me than most, since my garden is right outside the door.
DeleteOh you need to take more pictures from overhead as the season progresses. It is nice to see the garden with one view. Maybe not all the pots, but the garden at least. It is lovely. I like things neat too, but I don't always achieve it.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing what can be grown on a small plot! Beautiful garden...French Breakfast are a favorite radish.
ReplyDeleteMark, if you hadn't written about the hosepipe, I wouldn't even notice it :)
ReplyDeleteYour garden is beautiful and inspiring! It should be featured in a gardening magazine. I have to admit that I've abandoned the idea of a neat and tidy garden, for the most part. One thing I've discovered is that when I allow certain blooming plants to occupy the spaces where I don't grow veggies (pathways, the corners of beds, unoccupied bed space, etc.) that I get really good healthy populations of beneficial insects that really help to control the bad bugs. I've adjusted my attitude about trying to control nature too much, allow it some free rein and it can work for you. I know that philosophy isn't for everyone and your garden is truly beautiful. Plus, my garden is at least 50 meters away from the house and I don't have to look at it close up every time I look out the window.
ReplyDeleteI harvested my first radishes this week after being inspired to grow some after seeing your beautiful radishes earlier this year. Your's were prettier but mine were tasty enough.
Thanks Michelle, for those kind words. My garden HAS been featured (twice) in a gardening magazine. It's the one called "The Kitchen Garden". I also had a small mention in "Grow Your Own" magazine.
DeleteVery pretty, Mark, as well as productive. And neat, as well. It certainly shows your love for gardening.I enjoyed the overview photo.
ReplyDeleteI love your overhead shots.. it's what I imagine my garden to be like some years from now. LOL.
ReplyDeleteWe are a bit slack at getting salads going this year Mark - we''l do better ince we can sort out the raised bed.
ReplyDeleteI'm just picturing you hanging out of a bedroom window like I do to take a photo of the magnolia
Your space is looking great and certainly very productive. and so neat too. I've been weeding most of the w/e, with the rain over the past few weeks, the weeds have taken oven.
ReplyDeleteOther than herbs and the rhubarb, I don't have much to harvest in my space yet.
Admiring those nibble bowls.
I thought your salad looked good and then I saw your wonderful plot. You have fitted so much into the space and it looks fantastic. I wished we had seen something like this when we designed our vegetable plot over 20 years ago! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteThose bird's-eye shots look almost CGI it's all so neat! I've never grown radishes, might give them a try next year.
ReplyDeleteI was about to mention the hosepipe but being the man you are it was probably all of several minutes before you realised
ReplyDeleteBeautiful garden! And I love the idea you have for using the upside down cups to support the netting. I may use that very idea for the netting on my strawberries. I also have a quest for a neat and tidy garden, but I'm afraid it is still a long way from being achieved.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful garden! It must be such a joy to maintain this lovely growing space.
ReplyDeleteNice harvests and beautiful (and very, very neat) garden. I like neat gardens too, but I feel that this year I let the garden get too big to keep it under control.
ReplyDeleteLove the aerial view of the garden - looks great!
ReplyDeleteI am new gardener after inheriting my dads tools after his death last year. It started as a few tomato plants as a tribute but has quickly grown to 13 varieties of veg. Yesterday I picked my first harvest of lettuce but before we ate I got some nice shots. I stumbled across your blog and now its like a daily part of my life. Thank you Mark for taking the time out to do this blog :)
ReplyDeleteHi Laura; thanks for introducing yourself. I totally empathise with your experience - I inherited much of my love of gardening from my Dad. I'm glad you like my blog, because it encourages me to do more!
DeleteYour garden looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the green umbrella-like thing at the corner of the patio?
Something very mundane, I'm afraid: the (retractable) rotary washing-line!
DeleteGorgeous greens, gorgeous crockery, gorgeous shots of your garden-even with the hose ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think that the smaller the garden the more organization is required. Your garden looks terrific.
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks very neat and tidy! We are getting lots of greens and radishes and hope to get lots of peas next week!
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