Is this possibly the best time of year in our garden?
I think it might be – it’s the start of Spring, and we’re getting sunny days with cool nights. Everything is growing lush and green, but it’s not yet warm enough for the bugs to be a problem.
The sweetheart cabbages and early season greens are all thriving…
As I mentioned previously, we’ve figured out how to cook with rainbow chard, which is a good thing, as the garden is full of it, in red, pink, yellow and white…
Remember that “purple sprouting kale” I was so excited about a couple of months ago? Well, turns out it’s just kohlrabi. And whilst I’m a little disappointed, Julie at Eveleigh who sold me the pot is devastated – she bought expensive “purple sprouting kale” seed from the wholesalers! Still, we like kohlrabi, so it’s hardly a disaster…
Our red beetroots are forming bulbs – last year it was so wet that they just rotted away…
I paid $6 for a celeriac at the fruit shop yesterday, and now that I know how long each of them take to grow, I don’t begrudge the dollars at all. Ours are finally starting to form bulbous bases…
Pete thought we should try growing broccoli rabé – not sure if anyone will eat it yet, as it’s quite bitter. I’ll have to try out Chicago John’s recipe…
Potatoes are going gangbusters this year…
Our potted Tasty Bite chilli, which is not hot at all, is forming new fruit. They look like small candies…
Julie was so upset that the sprouting kale turned out to be kohlrabi that she gave me this lovely basket of French marigolds as a replacement. They’re quite magnificent, and apparently a very good companion plant…
Our pond is in bloom. We never seen a frog, but something must be in the there, because we have an unchlorinated body of water in the garden, yet no mosquitoes. We think the dragonflies probably lay their larvae in there…
The pond flowers are petite, pink and just so pretty. I had to lie on my stomach to take this photo..
So tell me, how’s your garden going this month?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Well.. I’m certainly green with envy! Only spring there and look what you have growing gangbusters in the garden. I was taking photos yesterday, thinking that I’d do an “In my garden” post, much like your “In my kitchen” ones. I have to say I wish I lived in your climate and nearer to you so I could take a few lessons:D Gorgeous!! I’m trying to pick a favorite now, I think it has to be that Tasty Bite chili flower! xx
Smidge, I’d love to see what’s growing in your garden!! We’re having a great growing year, but last year was really wet, so it’s not always perfect.. (but I’m certainly not complaining! :))..
What a gorgeous garden and there’s not one bit of bug damage anywhere. I have serious garden envy going on.
Not yet, Maureen, but they’re coming. I’ve just seen the first white cabbage moths, so I’m madly rushing to eat the last of the cabbages! :)
Just gorgeous Celia!
:-) Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy! xx
Beautiful photos Celia. That cabbage is the biggest I’ve ever seen!
If you need some ideas for your rainbow chard let me know. I cook with it a lot!
One of my favorite things to do is to make fritters. Off the top of my head I basically saute chard (minus the stems) & leeks and mix it with raw, shredded kohlrabi. I bind it with an egg and a little flour and then pan fry. It’s great with a little spicy mayo dipping sauce too!
Enjoy your lovely garden. I’m sure you will be making lots of delicious meals :)
Emilie, the cabbage isn’t really that huge – it’s a sweetheart pointy one, so once you take off the outside leaves, it’s just enough for a bowl of coleslaw! It’s so fresh it seems a shame to cook it! I love your chard recipe, thank you! We have leeks and kohlrabi in the garden too – an eggs! :)
Your garden looks so nice! The peppers look so cool, I like their color. Glad to know that you don’t have problems with bugs; they can be quite a problem at times!
We moving into fall here. The only things I still have in the garden are carrots, potatoes, and some cabbage! The rest is all cleaned out, stored or canned. (I was in a hurry this year to get things done and cleaned out before the baby came! We have a baby boy.)
Manuela, the chilli peppers go bright red when they’re mature, and they’re small but plentiful, which makes them a good capsicum substitute. New baby!!! Such wonderful news, congratulations!! :)
Your garden is so beautiful and full of bounty!
We have some tomatoes and jalapenos and one zucchini and a few cucumbers and I think a bumper crop of brussel sprouts- but I’m not sure exactly what we will end up with! I’m not a great veg gardener.
Heidi, that all sounds wonderful! We can’t grow zucchinis here, and I have no idea why, but maybe one year we’ll get it figured out!
Celia, I have vegie patch envy, though mine is coming along…. I now have silver beet (rainbow chard), parsely and bunching onions to keep the garlic company.
Also, this week an automatic irrigation system is going in to keep it watered over summer when I am not there.
Pretty soon I will be able to do an IMG.
Glenda, now that your patch is set up, you’ll be surprised how little work is needed to keep it going. The rainbow chard is becoming popular here – so much so that I didn’t bother planting spinach, which is both harder to harvest and more bug prone. Look forward to seeing what’s in your garden! xx
What a productive patch. Your Tasty Bite chilli looks fabulous and even good old kohlrabi looks enticing. As we slide into autumn, it will be good to get a dose of spring from your wonderful photos.
Anne, I hope I can repay the favour, I’ve so loved peering out your kitchen window at your veggie patch! I have to say, if the purple sprouting kale was going to turn out to be kohlrabi, I’m happy that it was at least very fine kohlrabi!
Celia I am green with envy…I cannot wait to see what you come up with….
Don’t be envious darling, I can share everything but the taste with you all. :)
What a marvelous garden! Some day. . .
Pamela, it bring us enormous joy! And I was inspired by your IMK post to start giving away little bags of herbs and vegetables, thank you!
Wow, Celia. Your garden is outstanding, the weather must be just right at your place, along with all the love you pour into making the veg grow so beautifully. I just went into our courtyard to check things after last night’s massive damaging wind storms and it’s so chilly and windy out there again! Gah. I think we are in for a late start to Spring here in Canberra. I, too, am green with envy of your flourishing patch!
Lizzy, I think we copped the wind storm right after you did – we’ve been buffeted the last couple of days!
Looks lush. Start of autumn here. Lighting wonderful.
Thanks Peter – early morning light has been great for photos!
The warm weather is really kicking things along Celia and your garden looks great! I had no luck with celariac either and I do love it so! What a shame about the Kale though :( You’re lucky not to have mosquitos, we have to watch our water trough for them every summer as our cat its terribly allergic to them- as we found after an $800 vet bill!
Becca, I’m hopefully going to have four celeriacs, but goodness only knows when. A cat allergic to mosquitoes – goodness, that’s hard, and expensive… x
I’ve been so busy in the garden this week that I missed the giveaway (boohoo). It’s all looking fantastic – enjoy the marigolds, such happy flowers!
Alison, I’m sorry your missed the giveaway, but hope you’ll click on Jason’s site and maybe get some – they’re very useful! The marigolds really are cheery, aren’t they? :)
I have marigolds on my shopping list for the markets this weekend. I heard they’re very good to keep the bugs away.
I wish I had just a teeny bit of your garden. Mine is quite disappointing at the moment although the tomato seedlings I transplanted a few weeks ago are thriving. I have about 7 plants so I’ll look forward to lots of tiny tomatoes!
Claire, you’ve had such a busy year, I’m sure next season in your garden will be great! Hope you get heaps of tomatoes! xx
The colours of the veg are amazing Celia, it must be all the rain we had earlier this year along with your gardening skills. We have a lot of cabbage coming up, I’ll be giving them away like zucchinis in a few weeks.
Rose, really, I don’t know that I have all that many gardening skills. My job is more to try and make sure the boys will eat what we grow! But the chooks, and the worms, and the mulch seem to keep the garden going. I love that you talk about giving away zucchinis, I’ll be buggered if we can figure out how to grow them in any quantity..
That glossy chillies are so beautiful! And everything looks so beautifully lush and green! :D I won’t show you my garden hehe ;)
Someone commented that the chillies look like little toffee apples – and they’re right! :)
If you blanch (briefly, drain, then shock in ice water) your broccoli rabe it will take away the bitterness. Some of my friends add a bit of sugar to the blanching water.
Oooh, thanks for the tip, Norma! xx
You know that I have MEGA GARDEN ENVY don’t you? And you have a pond! I never was into garden (boring), but since I’ve started my little balcony plot I really think I’d like to have a proper vege patch. Did you plant your beetroot from those strips of seeds (that come in the packets)? I was worried my beetroots would be too close together, but yours seem quite snug themselves.
Mel, we actually bought beetroot seedlings this year, which is why they’re so close together. They’re hard to thin out too, as they kind of intertwine together at the roots. Hopefully we’ll still get golf ball sized beets! Btw, someone recommended Indira Naidoo’s balcony gardening book recently – I haven’t read it, but it’s supposed to be quite good?
It’s a good book – I was given a copy which set me on my way to starting up my Garden!
Our climates are so different., Celia. Our gardens would not look anything like yours until just about Summer’s start, with our ground frozen solid through much of February. I do so love Spring, though, and can certainly identify with your joy at its arrival. If this is how your garden looks now, I cannot wait to see it in mid-Summer.
That was kind of you to link to my recipe and I do appreciate it, Celia. Remember, if the broccoli rab is too bitter, you can always blanch it first in salted water to moderate the bitterness a bit. Mom often did that with vegetables to make them more palatable for us kids. It worked for me but not so much for my siblings. Their loss was certainly my gain!
John, I don’t think it’s too bitter, but the leaves seem to get bigger every time I go out and look at them, so I’m not sure if they’re getting bitter all the time. I’m going to try doing something with them this weekend!
I thought of you a couple of days ago – I was at the butcher’s, and he had made his own guanciale. From free range pork! Admittedly, not as good as the imported Italian stuff, but far more affordable! I was quite excited.. :)
What a find, Celia! That imported stuff is over-rated anyway. ;) I hope your butcher makes a lot. You’re going to need it when I visit.
Can I see parsnips in that photo?
Linda, I’ll let you know. We didn’t plant any, but then again, as far as I was aware, we didn’t plant any kohlrabi either.. ;-)
I think Spring is the best time in a garden because things grow so slowly in winter and often lie dormant and then suddenly, Spring arrives and everything seems to take off so it’s a much more satisfying and exciting time. I love the look of your pond. And it does look like you’ll have lots of potatoes. You have so much variety in your garden. I’m going to plant a herb garden this weekend – very ambitious I know! xx
Charlie, we’ve gone a bit potato mad this year – last year was disappointing because of all the rain, and I do so love fresh from the ground spuds! Mind you, I think that means next year we won’t be able to grow them, as we’re supposed to let the soil rest.
Hi Celia, the garden is growing so well isin’t it.
You can pick some of the broccoli rabe leaves very at the stage they are now for a mixed salad, or very briefly added to a stir fry……..lovely either way. e
Elaine, thank you! I’ll give it a go – I’ve been using the chard leaves in a stir fry, and they’ve been going down well.
Wow, so many good things Celia. I especially love the colour in the beetroot and chillies! Happy spring gardening!
Thanks Jane! Happy spring gardening to you too! :)
I love the colours of your garden, gorgeous ot look at, tasty and healthy. The caterpillars have resumed their chomping of my balcony plants in the last week… on well, they have to eat too :)
They do, but it’s hard to watch them do it. Thankfully, our chooks love eating them, so we can sometimes look on them as chicken feed.. :)
Fabulous to see the luscious green and vibrant colours of your garden at a time when I can only dream of planting in the shimmering heat here.
Sally, thank you, I always wonder how you cope with the extremes of temperature over there. We’re very fortunate that it’s so mild here. x
Beautiful Celia! Your garden looks so healthy and vibrant. It really must be so satisfying bringing in all those goodies to eat, knowing that you grew them all.
I hope the bugs stay away when the weather warms up.
Ah Brydie, that’s a lovely thought and you’re kind, but it’s not going to happen, especially when we refuse to spray or dust anything. Which makes the current state of the garden even more enjoyable! :)
Howling gales and pouring rain here in the Adelaide Hills today as winter comes roaring back at us. I’m not sure my garden is still out there at all and I’m damn sure I’m not going out to look!
That’s a pain, Amanda, I hope the sun comes out for you this weekend! x
Celia, your garden is looking exquisite! I love the bridge too :D. I don’t think I’ve noticed that in any photos before. I’ve not been home in a month so I don’t know how our garden is faring… I’m moving out soon too, probably to a place with no garden… bad times ahead :D
Oh no, no garden! What will you do with the chooks? Sounds like you’ve had a glorious time away, Nick!
They belong to my parents anyway! I’ve been living at home :D. My time away has indeed been glorious!
Damn. I keep forgetting how young you are. ;-)
Haha – a compliment, I think…
It’s a compliment, love. With just a hint of jealousy thrown in.. ;-)
Your garden is doing great and it is only spring. I absolutely love the photo of your beautiful cabbage forming…it would be wonderful framed for your kitchen. I blanche my broccoli rabe and that takes some of the bitterness out if you have a problem.
Karen, thanks for the tip! I’ll give it a go! x
I think you will be happy with the result.
Wow your garden is so full of life at the moment! Our spring has arrived but it is definitely not warm like Sydney yet. My tomatoes won’t go into the ground until late October when the risk of frost will finally be over. Your kohlrabi looks wonderful. Do you eat the leaves too? I’ve never grown them. The broccoli rabe can be salted to lightly pickle then chopped and stir-fried. I’ve also pureed mine and made curry out of it. It grows really well through the winter for me so we eat it a lot. If you are interested in the recipes, look for “stir fried mizuna” (which broccoli rabe taste very similar to) and “saag curry” under my vegetable recipes :)
Thank you! I was thinking of making saag – but I was going to use the chard. It’s nice to know the rabe will work as well!
I am impressed with your garden. I have parsley that grows well and the rest either has mildew or has been overtaken by turnips.
Miss K, interestingly the only thing NOT doing well this year is the parsley!! Usually we can’t give the stuff away, as the neigbourhood is overrun with it!
Your garden looks wonderful. My geraniums have survived the hot, hot summer and are still thriving on my balcony and the bridge. The basil is looking a bit sick and the mint has gone to seed, my wisteria has put out a lovely long shoot which hopefully will produce some flowers next spring…..all is good.
Sounds glorious, Deb! :)
Spring is lovely. Of course Melbourne is about half a season behind Sydney, but it is still lovely.
Cosmo, we’re been blessed with a particularly mild winter, and the garden has thrived on it!
Your garden is looking gorgeous. What is that pink pond flower?
Jason, thank you! I think it’s known as a Pink Rotala, but in all honesty, it was just a generic pond plant that we picked up at Bunnings. It’s done really well! :)
It looks absolutely amazing, especially the chillies! Have a super weekend – and my IMK post is done :)
Thanks Tandy! Hope you have a fabulous weekend too!
What a wonderful garden you have, Celia. It’s good to hear you’ve found a use for the rainbow chard. I used some yesterday in a spinach and rice pie. I’ll look out for the tasty bite chilli, they do look like lollies!
Jo, they end up like regular chillies, only without the heat, but they’re such an interesting plummy colour when they’re young!
Lovely, leafy green things growing in your garden! We have one lettuce plant of 1m! We forgot to pick before going away. It seems about to produce little flowers. Also have about 40 apples on each tree but only about 5 mirabelles this year. Too wet in May-July and too hot in August.
Anna, what a huge lettuce! It will probably seed and next year you’ll have oodles of lettuce to harvest! :)
Way to go girl! Nice. This year I decided to really give fall/winter gardening a sincere effort – so I have been clearing out a lot of marginal summer stuff in order to make enough room for the fall/winter crops – Of course, I’m leaving the tomatoes and winter squash so it can properly mature – or try to. But all other space is dedicated to things that should make it well into the cold months – But right now, I’m racing the bugs to see if they really will be able to eat everything before the first frosts kill them. Ha!
Doc, it’s so much colder in winter where you are! What are you going to plant? I believe the rainbow chard is a frost survivor..