Tuesday 20 April 2010

The Edible Garden.......


In the summer the garden becomes an extension to the house. We read and write there, paint and draw there, mark exam papers there, well 'A' does. We eat, drink (mostly coffee) and cook there...everyone is welcome, especially all the creeping, crawling, buzzing, flapping, trotting and running, winged, two or four legged creatures that venture in from the woods.......

including this little monkjack deer....that I shot (with my camera of course!) I spotted him from the kitchen last summer boldly eating our pelargoniums........


...he spotted me.......but just carried on eating.......

...I believe they're good in salads...........

I'm not sure how old he/she is because even when they are full grown they aren't very big......he is so cute........

anyway this is our garden.........the view from the little shed at the bottom.....I was sheltering from a sudden shower of rain last summer and didn't want to go back into the house....everything was such a lovely shade of green and I loved the drumming of rain on the shed roof .......I had to run back in to get my camera and by that time it had stopped...


The garden isn't very big and we like to grow as much as we can to eat.....we have some fruit trees. Three apple and one cherry plum,a gooseberry and a blueberry bush. A couple of rhubarb plants and our pride and joy just peeping out above the wheelbarrow is a red mulberry tree, that produces the most delicious fruit you can imagine...... we get lots of fresh berries to eat, lots to give away and enough to make mulberry sorbet to last the winter. I've still got a little left from last summer secreted in the fridge......it's even better than home made vanilla ice cream, but tastes really good with it especially with some kind of sponge cake or biscuit.....I'll show you the process when the fruits ready to pick at the end of the summer........


So we have a tiny orchard...I'm not sure how big it has to be to constitute being an orchard...but to me it is......and I'm determined to hang my hammock there this summer...and you only need two trees for that....



We also have a small vegetable patch that I try to grow pumpkins and squash and lettuce etc....but we have a battle with all our little garden friends, especially the long eared variety....first name 'Bugs.' That's why I decided to grow some pots of vegetables and herbs close to the kitchen where I could keep an eye on them.....but as you saw above it didn't work.....
...like our home, the garden is also an eclectic mix of furniture.....some old with sentimental value others practical like the horrible green plastic ones that aren't at all beautiful or even homely but so energy saving, no need for repainting or sanding down every spring....just a quick wash down....
and there's my little green house, that I've put away this summer as we had so much snow and frost I didn't even try to germinate any seeds this year....I'm going to wait for the village horticultural sale in a few weeks and hope they did!

...below is the gateway to the garden, soon to be replaced with one made from findings in the woods......

This is the little vegetable section which also has the cherry plum tree, the blueberry bush, lots of strawberry plants, herbs, some flowers and an amazing vine that grows enormous, and produces tiny little green grapes that are so sour they make you pull a funny face when you eat them! Oh, and some of the eclectic mixture of furniture including a little wicker chair that came from my grandad and used to be in an aeroplane.....it's been every colour under the sun over the years and now is a kind of lovet colour.....but it's all covered here to protect it from the rain......hopefully soon I'll be posting lots of photo's of alfresco meals seated at it...with all my garden cushions out....oh and of course the hammock......

......the famous mulberry tree........

.......runner beans at the end of the garden.......


......that's it for now......

2 comments:

  1. I want to live at your house! That little deer is just gorgeous. I have always wanted an orchard no matter how small but space does not allow at the moment although I am thinking of getting some potted citrus. Thanks for taking the time to take and share all these lovely photos.

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  2. ...we're really lucky to be so near the woods....the best thing is early in the morning at weekend to take our coffee there...sometimes in pj's and wellingtons! We have to keep an eye open for people walking their dogs though! ....and its great to have space for a few trees....

    That's a good idea about potted ones though..it's just a lovely feeling to be able to pick fruit from the tree yourself...your little ones will love it....

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