You may remember we’ve been building our garden for years now (oh, I really need to restore those archives, I’d love to link back to that work in progress).
This year, I promised myself, will be the year we finish it. Completely.

A few months ago T. and I were talking about the garden and what to do with it. I was not sure I was up to growing vegetables again and all winter I had been feeling a longing for a garden that was alive and interesting (as opposed to empty – or overgrown with weeds – as it was). T. felt the same way. “Wintergreens and texture” was what he wanted. And I added “flowers, lots of flowers” to the wishlist (since we can’t have flowers inside due to severe hayfever suffering family members, I really want flowers outside). So that’s what we went for.

Over the past months I have had so much fun buying shrubs and plants that met our qualifications. I know, it’s a wild mess, so many different plants, so many different colors and textures. But we love it. It’s exactly what we wanted.
I love going out into the garden now, there’s always so much going on, so much to see and enjoy. 

So, no edibles at all? Hmnn, couldn’t let that happen, now could I? Well, there are a few herbs hiding between those other plants (thyme, rosemary, borage, laurel). And we still have the roof terrace so I planted some herbs, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce there.

I may or may not be planning to find more containers and plant more vegetables…

Apart from the health-and-other-issues we had for the first half of this year, it was a very, very cold spring. So although I had some great plans and even ordered a seed catalogue to start making plans early last winter, I never really got into it until it was too late.

Those raised beds that once were filled to the brim with all kinds of vegetables? I just put some flowers in that the girls got me for my birthday and left it there. And yes, I seem to be struggling to keep those flowers blooming too. That cold, cold spring was followed by a heat wave. I am watering every night, but things are suffering…

The big bed in the back isn’t even filled properly and I leaving that one bare this year. That’s good for the soil, isn’t it?
Still, I can’t go completely without growing something, it seems. That little red bucket is a strawberry growing kit one of the girls got as a present and wanted to toss out (it seems my love for the garden wasn’t passed on to the next generation). I took it and am watching it closely to see if the seeds are actually catching on or not.

I bought some tomatoplants at the supermarket sale two months ago. I did that before and that was the only time tomatoes worked out for me. I put them in exactly the same container in the same place I had them back them. Here’s hoping for a little harvest…

Also on repeat: my little salad bar. Last year I was tired of fighting off snails and put some lettuce in the old barbecue on the roofterrace. It worked like a charm: we had salad from it for close to two months! If it keeps growing like this, I think I can at least add some leaves to our salad next week already. (I planted this only last week)

And last but not least… our plum tree is trying hard to produce. It lost most of its blossom in a freezing storm this spring, but there are a few plums hanging on. You can always trust old faithful to do his job 😉

My little companion planting experiment is doing great. I need to remember to sow a bit less next year, since it’s too full, but the idea works out. I’ve got loads of zucchinis, am spotting beans everywhere and the corn is growing like crazy.

The other bed is doing well too. The red beets are ready to be harvested, we’ll have to eat lots of endives again and I planted leek everywhere I could find the space for it. The little spot in the right hand corner where I planted lettuce is taken over by leeks too, the snails kept eating the little lettuce leaves before I could even see them.

Now to find a spot for the other leek seedlings. I sowed a bit too much…

On the roof terrace the lettuce is doing wonderful. No snails in sight. We already ate five or six meals and it just keeps growing back. Definitely going to do this again next year!

Things are looking a lot better then I thought they’d do. Considering I was away from home in February and March, sick in April, only started thinking about the garden late May or something (more or less giving up on it) and still can’t use the biggest bed (it needs to be filled again), I’m having a really nice harvest.