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Thursday, July 4, 2013

In the Garden || Growing Room


A few weeks ago I posted about the new found sunshine that was slowly making an appearance on our deck. Since then Elsie and I have really expanded our little container garden and since we'd run out of floor space we needed to start thinking vertically. 

I was tired of having to buy fresh herbs from the grocery after always having unlimited access to them in our old garden so I set out to find some planter arrangements that could hang from the railings. 

What I ended up with were two long skinny planters along with adjustable brackets, they didn't look like when empty but once planted each one holds 6 different herbs for a total of 12 herbs without losing any floor space! 

 { oregano, chives, alpine strawberry, sage, cilantro, and rosemary }

{ dill, terragon, basil, parsley, thyme, and peppermint } 

 { peppermint }

 { alpine strawberry }

I bought the alpine strawberry for Elsie because her strawberry plants, having survived the winter, were not producing flowers and I was worried they were no longer viable. But during my photo shoot I noticed this...

 Better late than never!

And my fig cutting that I was telling you about, the one that looked like a dead stick in a pot of dirt, well just a few days after posting about it, Elsie and I noticed this...



 The weather on the Island has been spectacular and Monsieur Fig and I have been sunbathing on our patio, we move around to get maximum sun exposure.



 And 1 shoot has turned into 3!



Elsie has started some arugula, it was her favorite green from our garden. She loved to nibble on the spicy leaves while we were tending to the garden, since then I've called her Bunny Rabbit.



 And thanks to Mae we now have a little colour on our deck, I love birthday plants, they are the gift that keeps on giving.


 { parsley and cilantro }

 And these two are patiently waiting to be delivered to their new hood



I knew that our tomatoes wouldn't get enough hours of sunlight per day to be productive so they are now living on my Dad's patio where they have grown significantly in just a few short weeks. He texts me pictures of them regularly if I don't get over to visit them! The pot on the right is a gooseberry plant that I purchased at the Duncan Farmers Market, my Mom and sister each bought one too which is kind of fun, we have sibling gooseberries.

. . .

What I've learned most from the last few weeks in our "garden" is that you really don't need much to make a big impact in a small space. With just a few small pots I feel like I have an overwhelming abundance of greenery and growing herbs is an easy way to maintain an edible garden when vegetables may not be possible. Filling this space has been extremely satisfying and I feel very fortunate to have any growing space at all.  

. . .

And to my friends down south,  HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, 
I hope you're having a great Independence Day (I sure do miss those fireworks)!!!



6 comments:

  1. Wow! So glad to see your wee garden is being so very productive. I wish I could grow herbs like that. I never seem to have luck with them.

    You've inspired me: I'm going home and writing up a garden post!

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  2. hello to my cilantro and parsley!

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    Replies
    1. They are enjoying their extended stay on my patio, lol. It's a good thing too because they surely would have died while you were in Van over the weekend.

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  3. even though i too really miss the big garden i had growing up, i'm feeling thankful to have the balcony space i do have to put some greens in :) your little garden is really flourishing! what a happy space! xo

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    Replies
    1. Isn't it amazing what you can do with such a small space!

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