Kainga, where Roses bloom, life is lived at a gentler pace.Living Simply, doing all those good things like stitching, gardening, cooking and reading.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

"Gardening is good for the soul, waistline and hip pocket."

Hello,

Lots and lots of gardening going on here at Kainga. The perfect weather for it. We even saw our first Bob Tail Goanna on Saturday afternoon. I was scattering some snail pellets amongst some Nasturtiums that are growing near some roses and I saw him. I stopped putting out the pellets immediately as Bob would do a good job of eating the snails that are there. I just hope he didn't digest any of the pellets.


 We have several types of flowering prunus. This one is out the back, hard to believe that less than a week ago it was just bare sticks.

Telstar Blue Dutch Iris.

Each year we purchase some new Dutch Iris Bulbs, this variety is called "Telstar Blue" There were supposed to be 26 in the packet, ours only had 25. Which is actually a better number as plants are meant to be planted in odd numbers.


 We have several patches of potatoes planted, I picked this lot last weekend. I can't remember the variety as it is a patch that just seems to come up each year. I leave enough in the ground and plant other plants over the top and next Winter they come up. The everlasting potato patch. Please note" the green part of the potato that you can see will not be eaten. This is poisonous. It went green because it wasn't covered over by dirt or straw and the light got to it.


The Broccoli plants did very well this Winter and continue to do so. One advantage of growing your own is that we know nothing has been sprayed on them. Completely organic plus this year we had rain in July unlike last year.
I love that within 5 minutes from picking veg in the back yard a bowl of soup can be made from the produce.


 Each day I have been making soup in the Vitamix. It only takes 5 minutes and I have piping hot soup. I change the recipe around a little each day. This one contained several stems of Silver beet and a couple of florets of Broccoli plus some Rice Milk, Chicken Stock Powder and some Lemon Pepper. Today I used up some leftover Potato Bake and Cauliflower fresh from the garden, Chicken Stock Powder, Skim Milk and Chinese Five Spice.



I planted one punnet of Parsley in different spots in the garden. Each and every plant has blossomed. Last week I  decided to dry some using our dehydrator. It took two loads two dry this lot. I have enough to last quite a while. I filled up one of those 1 kilo plastic flour containers.


These are the flowers near the kitchen window. Stocks, I can't get enough of their perfume, Lavender that just seems to keep popping up all over the garden. The Mint on the left I purchased as a reduced item at the shops. One of those little packets of herbs that are ridiculously priced but are often reduced because no-one wants to pay that price. I got a packet for 90 cents. Roots are forming on the stems already. A great way to get herbs growing at a reduced price.

I would love to hear how your garden is treating your soul, waistline or hip pocket.

Happy days.
Bev C

22 comments:

Melody said...

A fabulous report on your garden. It is looking wonderful and your soups sound delicious too. Spring in the garden certainly is a wonderful time.

Chookyblue...... said...

oh those potatoes look great.....amazing how the bushes burst into bloom so quickly.......

Fiona said...

lovely garden... my prunus hasn't got buds on it yet... and I never thought of sprouting mint roots like that... I love garden scent in the house... and the jasmine is flowering so it's coming inside...
Hugz

Michelle Ridgway said...

Ah Stocks....definitely a favourite perfume. Love it! Lots of wonderful produce from your garden. I am pleased because we actually rescued 3 pawpaws from our pesky possums.. despite netting they managed to ruin a bumper crop. Plus some cos lettuce that went to seed has popped up sweet little lettuces everywhere.. Such a nice surprise!!

Cheryll said...

This post is loaded with "spring" pic's...LOVE the Iris...just gorgeous! EnJoY your beautiful garden and blooms. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Bev,wow what a productive garden you have,we gave ours a spell this year,so we hope to do some spring planting,hope you have an awesome day my friend.xx

Nat Palaskas said...

Happy spring Bev. The prunus leaves dye well too. I like your soup idea - Hugs Nat

Maria said...

Sew nice to see your garden in bloom and producing lots of fresh veggies too...

Astrid said...

Happy September! Love to see pics from your garden. That broccoli looks so yummy and so true what you say about growing it in your own garden; we know what we get. Our garden is first priority as soon as I recover from that darn cold. Love gardening, even if it sometimes kills my back. Have a wonderful week!

Bouts Choisis said...

Love gardening! Our garden here is much bigger than we've ever owned before. If I was honest - it's a bit too big now that we are getting on in years! What is amazing is how things grow and grow in Normandy - plants we brought with us are at least twice the size they were in the UK! Of course that means that the weeds grow twice the size too... Your garden is looking lovely and growing veggies and taking cuttings is certainly good for saving money!

debbie said...

Love your garden pictures! Your soup sounds so yummy too. I currently have cherry tomatoes, rainbow silverbeet, and pansies galore. I've had no luck with lavender at all, either seedlings or seeds, but I refuse to give up.
xx debbie

Karen said...

I always enjoy seeing what is happening in your garden. It is wonderful to have your own fresh produce. That broccoli is wonderful.

Anthea said...

I love your garden Bev! Well done on the vege growth, very clever.
We have black thumbs when it comes to the garden, & as you know, most of our gardens are Aus natives, which are currently looking lush & starting to bloom with their red, yellow & orange colours...

Terri said...

Wonderful to see all the great things happening in your gardens these days. I love that you have so many edible plants. Our gardens are winding down for the growing season, since it's late summer in our part of the world. But our blackberry shrub is starting to produce berries for the first time. Hope the squirrels don't get to them before me!

Lin said...

Lovely to see all the produce from your garden. Your soups sound great. Autumn is here, although we are back to summer at the moment, and I shall soon be making soups again. We have had a wet, cool summer so plenty of produce although the tomatoes got blight so I have not had any for a month now.We have some beautiful peppers and aubergines though and grew tomatillos for the first time. Always good to try something new. xx

Christine said...

Productive and beautiful. Spring has come to Queensland before the southern states but it looks like it reached you even earlier!

Queen Of The Armchair aka Dzintra Stitcheries said...

What a delicious post Bev! We started a little garden this year and had some broccoli even though some of them had lots of little bugs in them. We put in Brussels sprouts. But maybe it's not cold enough for them as they are balling up but not firm. Happy Gardening Bev and I love soup!

Julie said...

A lovely post Bev, I just love the pics of your garden & your growth is amazing for the time of year. Love the small bottles of flowers you have dotted on your windowsill. I just noticed my first iris flowering yesterday. That soup looks delicious & so easy to make in the Vitamiser.

Catherine said...

What wonderful green soup Bev. So vibrantly green & delicious. I adore stock, such a unique & lovely scent. That's a jolly handy patch of perennial potatoes that you have. They look nice & healthy too.
The parsley here is just romping away at the moment so I've been tying it in bunches & putting it out on our little fruit stall for free & people have been delighted to take it home. I sowed 6 different kinds of flower seeds about a month ago & they are all coming through nicely now. Won't be long & I will be able to plant them out. Have a happy week. Much love Catherine x0x0x

Mrs Knitaddict said...

Amazing garden you have Bev!
I passed to Jimmy to enjoy these great pictures and he went green of envy? or simply admiration.
Those veggies and roses are out of this world. Congratulations!
Your embroideries and those hexagon balls as pretty as always.
Lots of love,
Dolly

Deb said...

I love soups, too! I'm in the market for a reliable hot thermos to take soups with me on the go. Our garden has definitely helped both hip pocket (love eating fresh veggies straight from the garden!) and also waistline! I've lost 82# and hopefully will lose more in the months ahead! Enjoyed this post.

Bobbie Lynn said...

Hi Bev,
Your garden looks amazing. You can tell it is Spring there. Your vegetables always look beautiful and those little potatoes look yummy too. I enjoy them boiled or roasted. They are great in a roast too. Maybe next time I grow a vegetable garden I may have to try growing them. My summer vegetable garden is coming to an end. I have three butternuts that I'm waiting for them to mature and that it it. The roses are starting to look better. The summer heat was not good for them but they love the spring and fall. I had fun using my tomatoes in my cooking and I have some pasta sauce that I have frozen for later use. It will be interesting to see, when ready, the butternuts. I have a few out in the house for decorations and hope they will continue to ripen.
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for sharing your beautiful garden.
Blessings,
Bobbie Lynn