recouping my losses Dec 13

the infamous Jasmine grapples at the Comfrey which is getting taller daily

 lost a fair number of plants to a combination of predators this week,  the passionfruit , 3 pumpkins, and all my capsicums and chillies dematerialised overnight a fews days ago ... needless to say i felt very disheartened...none of these were particularly small..oh i lost 2 zucchini plants also....it was a massacre.   so today i have put some extra tomato seedlings i had into the capsicum spot and popped a few pumpkin seeds into the now empty mounds, i also lost all my basil parsley sunflowers and marigold seedlings..i know what got them, harlequin beetles ew..hard to kill without nasty poisons..ill have to find the colony. anyway this is how its looking out there today

Zucchini setting little flower buds

Scarlet Runner (2nd year plant) almost touching the netting

Sage and Oregano going great guns, Sage Gnocchi for dinner tonight!

Basil seeds freshly planted with a sprinkling of eggshell it will be a dappled light hot house in there amongst my beautiful San Marzano heritage tomatoes

a non tricky view of the entire garden, the empty patches in midfield the result of the recent massacre

Grapevine relentlessly moves onward providing a nice protective canopy

Columbine seed pods,  the flowers all finished, but this beautiful cottage plant continue to be a visual delight

one of the growing number of strawberry plants

2 Dec

Runner Beans creeping up the trellis

Spuds gone wild!

Parsley seeds almost ready to harvest

Zucchinis settling in well

Grapevine on the loose

Zucchini freshly planted, such elegant leaves

harvest day

Gardening in the kitchen

Broadbeans and rochetti, ready for harvest

Voila! eggplant, passionfruit, brocolli and pumpkin now visible

Broadbeans roots, must ascertain what the white things are

rochetti seed harvest

Bag o Beans

Beetroot, next for a seed harvest

Lookin' out my backdoor

Tomato trellis

under a canopy of bird netting

comfrey flowers are almost finished now

columbines and nasturtiums continue their beautiful display of colour

i am decorated with falling jasmine blooms

coriander flowering

under a canopy of bird netting the grapevine creeps its way across the garden on its support wires

runner beans are starting to creep out of the soil

Sage flowers

Broad beans approaching harvest

tiny bunches of grapes starting to form

zucchini, sage and strawberries, oh, and my toes

Potatoes are doing well in their bags

a busy day

The Comfrey now displays its blooms proudly behind the strawberries

The elegant curl of its buds highlighted by the gentle curve of its leaves

Columbines now display their delicacy for the pleasure of our apian friends

Potatoes peeking out, time for another layer of mulch

Tucked in behind the rochetti, onions and broadbeans are pumpkin seedlings newly planted

A flurry of lavender buds offset my bed markings

Sage flowering amongst its shading rochetti and broadbeans

Broadbeans striving for height and budding grapevine groping for footholds for its tendrils

Grape, perhaps the most picturesque of fruit vines

Light and shade dapple the elegant form of its leaves

But today is a busy day and there is work to be done

Moving bricks, and preparing the new bed and frames for planting this rocket is almost due for removal, so that the zucchinis can go into place so it has a few more days to (hopefully) throw a few true seeds then it will be eaten with thanks for its bounty

The continental parsley continues do develop its flowers.  A visual delight and hopefully a few good seeds also

Lavender bud

Broadbeans are forming, looking forward to making felafel with some of these

The form of the broadbean never ceases to caress my eye

Spikey beetroot leaves forming high, flowers and eventually seeds to follow

The grape again, glowing gold in the sunlight

Dropping to lush greens in the shade

Forming flowers and new growth

Coriander flowers forming

Broadbean flowers finishing

Passionfruit beginning to grope for foothold

A shower of jasmine highlights the solid elegance of the grape leaves

Broadbeans, rochetti and coriander all to be replaced as they finish their cycles,  the broccoli and kale almost ready to go into place

The beds are marked out now and most of the "Sleeper" edging is in place. The snails made a meal of my lettuce seedlings, however i have a few left which are now defended by eggshell. The tomato stakes are in place, the bricks are stacked neatly in a quiet corner there is still a lot to be done but not today as it is time to cook dinner