Boo's garden

My nana was a great gardener. She lived in a small 2 bedroom unit in Glenhuntly. The backyard was nearly all concreted in when she bought the unit. She transformed it into a little garden oasis.

As a child I adored visiting and going out the back to pick and eat some fresh delicious produce. Not much made it back inside to be washed, eaten properly or taken home. Sun warmed juicy cherry tomatoes that burst in my mouth. Ripe red sweet strawberries that my brother and I would fight over. Cute little baby carrots that definitely required a good wash before eating. Sweet yellow corn, so sweet and fresh that it would be eaten minutes after picking, no cooking necessary.

Upon moving into my little house two years ago I was excited at the though of my very own garden. A veggie patch. Fruit trees. Being a little self sufficient...

I love the way that gardening, and having a little veggie patch, connects me to my memories of time spent with my nana, and makes me feel as if she continues to live a little through my gardening.

I had some early success with broad beans and snow peas. Friends grew bucket loads of zucchinis but my vine had none that survived past the size of a pea. My cucumbers were prolific....neighbours would come home to cucumbers left on their porches, friends would have cucumbers forced upon them as they left my house and work colleagues looked oddly at my collection of cucumbers on my desk!

One thing I hadn't realised was how gardening could be seen as a socialist pursuit, a radical form of empowerment of the people, away from big corporations and multinationals. My education began at
Diggers Club- gardening porn for inexperienced brown thumbs wanting to be more green. Heirloom varieties of amazing vegetables and flowers. The more bizarre the name or the appearance the more keen I become.

My dutch purple podded peas have flowered, and the pods are just developing nicely now

The peas are supposedly a normal green, but the stunning vibrant flowers and the purple pods so attracted me. The plants have grown incredibly well, some are as tall as I am (not a great achievement perhaps after all...)

Another one I was keen to try was the purple dragon heirloom carrots

I've yet to try these.I gave this away to a friend for her little girls to try.

I can highly recommend the online shopping at Diggers. They deliver in cardboard containers- seems odd but works. I was dubious when the strawberries I bought arrived; 10 for $10. When they arrived I thought I'd been duped and they were that cheap for a reason. They were teeny tiny seedlings. Having planted them I am now starting to see strawberry blossoms and little green berries! Can't wait to be able to eat them right off the plant!

What's in your garden at the moment?
What do you want to plant?
What activities do you do that bring back memories of friends or family?

Love Boo xox