harvest time

I don't think I've done an update on our little garden since way back in June. Our vegetable plot was coming along nicely and we were looking forward to sampling everything once it was ready.

We had mixed results with our produce in the end. The cabbage went the same way as the cucumber (devoured by snails) and although our courgette season started well with some lovely big juicy ones, the snails and slugs soon tracked them down too and we didn't see many more reach full size before being munched away.

Here are some pictures of some of the things we did get to eat...

Our first shiny courgette // One of many handfuls of beans which we enjoyed through August & September // Our tomato crop has not been quite so bountiful // Another lovely bright courgette

I exaggerate a bit with regards to our tomato crop. It has been a bit better than one green tomato, but we have had nowhere near as many as expected, especially as we had about 10 tomato plants (or more) on our patio. They just didn't seem to get going properly this year, and looked a little feeble. I hope we have better results next year.

Below is a photo of my flowering Cima di Rapa, grown from the seeds I received in the secret seed swap. Doesn't it look pretty?

Unfortunately over the last couple of weeks the caterpillars have got to it (disaster!) and now all it's leaves have been stripped away and I have very little hope for it's recovery. I think caterpillars may have overtaken snails as my no.1 gardening enemy. No Cima di Rapa for us this year anyway.

The good garden news is that the season isn't quite over yet, and we have a couple of squashes going strong on the patio. Let's hope they manage to grow big enough to eat before the weather turns wintery.

Aside from harvesting this years mini crops our thoughts have been turning to next year and we have already planted out some bulbs for the early spring months.  We layered them up (bulb lasagne!) to make the most of the space we had and I'm excited about seeing them pop their heads out of the soil when the time is right. 

Daffodil // Tulip // Iris // Snowdrop

I've also been gathering seeds from the garden, ready to plant out next year (or for future seed swaps?)

We had loads of Nigella flowers this year so I collected a bunch of seed heads up once they had stopped flowering and dried out a bit. I also collected some dried sweet pea pods, nasturtium seeds and the last of the runner beans.

All ready for next spring. It's nice how much gardening is about forward planning.

green fingers

Sorry for my absence. I've been spending a lot of time outdoors and have just arrived back from an early summer holiday. My gardening obsession is still in full force though.

Here are some recent botanical based images from our house and garden taken from my Instagram feed.



Planting out the beans on Ben's birthday // Pest control - collecting the snails for relocation.



African daisies (Osteospermum). I like their purple undersides // Love in the mist (Nigella) - we have these everywhere!



A new pot for a tiny succulent // Aloe vera (I've been meaning to get one of these for ages)



How the garden grows. Our veg patch before and after our holiday // Bringing the garden indoors - a mini bouquet.

Now that we have a lot of things planted outside the garden is looking nice and full. Unfortunately we have already lost our cucumber plants to those pesky snails, but the cabbage, courgettes and beans are growing nicely (despite being a little nibbled). And we have a lot of tomato plants on the go. Four different varieties!

We planted out some more seeds yesterday too. Some wildflowers have been scattered around the garden, and the Cima di Rapa and Cicoria I received in the secret seed swap have been potted and placed in the greenhouse.

I'll keep you posted on how things get on.

runner beans

We bought a mini greenhouse for the garden this weekend and decided to plant a little something to put on one of the shelves now that we have it set up.

We started with a tray of runner beans - three different varieties. Just look at them! Such lovely colours.

Hopefully it isn't too cold out there for things to start growing.

I'm lucky because Lyndsey let me sign up as a late entry into her Secret Seed Swap and has set up a mini swap for me and a couple of other latecomers. I sent out my packets yesterday so will share some pictures after they have made their way to their secret recipient.

Such a nice idea. And it means maybe I'll be ready to add some more things to the greenhouse in the next couple of weeks.