Renting a garden

Despite my love of gardening I actually don't own my own garden and never have. People, non-gardeners mind you, can't understand why I would bother putting any effort into someone else's property. For me it's a no-brainer. When you rent a house there isn't a lot you can do to the actual rooms to fit your taste. You can't knock down walls or extend rooms but you can do that with a garden and it will always be an improvement from doing nothing. I have yet to meet a landlord who has complained about me working on their garden. In fact in most cases I am adding value to their property.

The cost is very low too. I take cuttings from plants I like, I make my own compost and fertilizer, and I save money by growing my own vegetables.

I spend a lot of time in the garden, whether I'm gardening or lying in the shade reading or hosting a BBQ. To me it makes perfect sense to work on a garden whether you own it or not. For the last few years I have been renting a house with a fantastic space at the back. It is large and flat - quite a rarity in this area. There were some beds already growing a mess of plants but I have extended them and added new ones. There are a few limitations though, like the ugly concrete path dissecting the garden and the concrete area you need to cross to get to the garden. How I would love to rip all that up. For the time being though I will just work on training the focus away from such eyesores.

Even though I don't own it this is my garden. One day I will have my own garden, preferably a large area in the country where self sufficiency will be my aim. Until that time I will continue to be the model tenant and enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Make Your Own Ice Bucket

This is a great little project to show off all your flowers and looks wonderful on the outdoor dining table. The finished product is sure to impress your guests.

STEP 1

Collect a variety of flower heads from your garden. For this one I selected Cornflowers, Shasta Daisies, Marguerites, little rose buds, Sweet Peas, Lavender, and even some Dandelion flowers.

STEP 2

Put all the flowers in a plastic container. I used a round one here but you can use any shape you like as long as it fits in your freezer. Also it must be large enough for a bottle of wine to fit in the centre and still have an area at least an inch thick around. Add water.

STEP 3

Place another container in the centre which is roughly the size of a bottle. If you have a large enough freezer (which I don't) you could actually use a bottle as the centre mold. I have used a pickle jar. There should be some flowers at the base under the jar. The jar will need to be weighted down to stop it floating up. Arrange the flowers around the container to get a nice display once it is frozen.

Place in freezer.

STEP 4

When the water is frozen remove the inner jar by filling it with warm water. This require a bit of patience. You don't want to melt too much of the ice or crack it. Run some water over the outside of your container to loosen the whole thing.

Your finished product should look something like this. Sit it on a plate, put your bottle of wine inside it and enjoy.

I Love Summer

So we survived Christmas. Yay. The big test for my garden is coming up. Every year on New Year's day my garden hosts a BBQ for all the family - about 12 adults and as many children. The adults perform the required oh-ing and ah-ing at the garden and the children do their best to destroy everything with the cricket ball. Usually in winter, once things have died back, I find all manner of toys nestled under the foliage. This year we have a badminton net set up which should do considerably less damage in the long run.

Some of the dahlias are just starting to open so hopefully by next week they will be in full bloom. And the Cosmos are just about there too. I've given up trying to control the tomatoes. In the first few weeks of growth they get a lot of attention - pinching out the side shoots, applying fertilizer, and carefully supporting them to the bamboo stakes. At this time though they get quite unruly and dense. So I just make sure they get enough nutrients and protection from the wind. I figure that as long as they are producing fruit then all is well.

The Monarch butterflies are finding the swan plants and laying their eggs. Two caterpillars (above) have already had their fill and wandered off to make their cocoon somewhere. I love summer.

What to grow over the arch

I am very excited.I have been given a garden arch.

I have it in place after extending a few beds but am now faced with the daunting task of deciding what to grow over it. Ideally I'd love to move a red climbing rose to it. The rose is currently going crazy on the fence beside the vegie garden. Although it is growing really well there I should use that space for more beans or Snow Peas. Anyway, moving the rose with the least amount of trauma should happen in winter so I'm still faced with a bare arch for summer.

So I need something quick growing and temporary. Sweet Peas? Beans?

Tigridia

Things are humming along in the garden now. The warmer weather has brought on a wonderful flush of healthy blooms on the Iceberg Roses. I have these planted between pink bush roses which are covered in buds but not open yet. Hopefully the Icebergs will continue to flower for a few months yet.

The Tigridia (pictured) is popping up in great clusters. This is a delicate flower which only lasts about a day but I get 2 flowers per stem and they are quite amazing. I've never seen Tigridia growing anywhere else and it took a bit of research to discover what they were. They grow from little bulbs which must have been planted by the garden's previous caretaker. They are great multipliers so each year I get more and each year I give them to other keen gardeners to grow in their own gardens.