The nicest thing about having a reasonably well established garden is that it can cope with the occasional period of neglect!
We’ve only managed to spend a small amount of time out there in the past couple of months, but we’re still happily picking as many lemons as we can use, and the asparagus bed is providing us with daily spears…
We let any lettuces that we (or the chickens) don’t eat go to seed, and as a result, we’re blessed with salad growing everywhere, including between the bricks…
My little succulent garden is doing well – I think I’ve figured out the right balance of fussing and neglect which keeps it going…
A couple of months ago, one of my graptopetalums dropped all of its leaves. I tossed them into an empty pot of dirt, and they grew into new plants…
Our one and only cactus – this little baby has been ignored all year, but it’s now bursting with daily red flowers…
A couple of the main beds are lush with edible leaves – chard, kale, lettuces, broccoli, leeks and mixed Asian greens. We eat what we can, and the chooks and worms deal with the rest…
We planted beetroot seedlings in the newest bed a month or so ago, and they’re almost ready for harvesting…
Our newest crop is fennel – we picked up a punnet from Bunnings to try them out. They’ve grown beautifully, but they’re still little…
We picked two small bulbs for dinner on Sunday night…
…and mandolined them finely for scattering over pizza. The fennel turns lovely and sweet as it bakes – Big Boy declared this to be his favourite pizza of the night…
And some sad news, our mad hillbilly chicken Bertha died today – very peacefully, sitting in one of the nesting boxes. She hadn’t been sick at all, so we’re pretty sure she died quickly and (hopefully) fairly painlessly.
Bertie was such a fabulously bonkers chook – we always wondered if she’d been stepped on as a chick, as she was quite lopsided and wonky. She was perpetually disheveled, with a bent over comb and breast feathers poking out at funny angles, and she’d happily walk around all day long covered in dirt and food.
She was fast on her feet, whippet smart and downright ornery. We loved her for being such a cranky, personality-filled addition to our garden and, whilst we’ll miss her, we’re glad that we were able to give her a few happy years in our backyard.
RIP Bertie…
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
WOW! So beautiful dear Celia, next year we think to do our garden, I am really so excited for this. Thank you dear, love, nia
Nia, that’s very exciting news! Not just for the fresh vegetables and fruit, but also for all the wonderful photos that I know you’ll be taking! :)
Hey
Do you have any tips for growing a lemon tree – Mine was fine – but now it seems to be half dead – there was a white kind of bug on – I think it is called white fly – treated it with home made spray of dish washing liquid and oil (cant remember it all – got it off the internet) Think I might have to take that tree out and start all over again
We live in Cape Town South Africa
Liesl, we spray our tree with Eco-Oil for leaf miner, and it’s growing well now, although it did do nothing for the first few years. Last year I was posting photos of our one single lemon, this year it’s gone crazy! We still aren’t having any luck with our lime trees though. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
So pleased your lemon has come up trumps!
Poor Bertie (at least she avoided the chop). Great garden photos Celia, I especially love the cos lettuce growing between the bricks. If you tried to grow them from seed you probably couldn’t. The fennel looks interesting, I might give it a go.
Glenda, lettuce are related to dandelions, so when they go to seed, they spread everywhere! It’s a good thing! :) The fennel is very nice, although it’s still early days for it yet!
I pickled my fennel it turned out beautifully.
That’s a great idea, thanks!
It’s so much fun to see spring arriving in your garden just as we’re heading into autumn, and jumpers, and mittens, and goodness me … I’m not ready to be cold and wet yet!! And sweet dreams, Bertie.
Yes, thanks for coming to play with us, Bertie! She was such a funny chook to have, we really enjoyed her company. She was seriously cantankerous some days though, it was hysterical to watch. Stay warm, Misky! x
I will – I’m pulling out jumpers and giving scarves a shake. Thicker socks. Autumn’s here.
SO much in your garden, Celia. I’m sorry that Bertie has gone to the big chookhouse in the sky but I’m sure she went as a happy chook.
Maureen, thanks for saying that, I like to believe they enjoy themselves in our garden.. x
I’m sorry to hear about Bertie, but it sounds like you gave her a very nice life. When we were growing up my mother had a few chickens & for some reason, one took a liking to my younger sister. Mr. Peepers used to follow her everywhere & would have to be put in his cage when she went to school or he’d follow her all the way.
You have so much bounty & yes, I’m jealous because I so wish that I could get to the point where I just needed to do basic maintenance. It seems the past few years things got away from me & now it’s a major chopping and clearing of the jungle! I don’t mind getting out there and chipping away at it but all I need to see is ONE snake & I’m back in the house.
Snake? SNAKE? I’m with you on that one! I didn’t even like it when there were rats in the backyard, let alone snakes! The garden is lovely and not at all hard work at the moment, but we’re going to have to get new chooks. We need them to do the gardening for us! :)
My husband keeps telling me how harmless they are and that they eat insects. I’d just as soon let the birds eat the bugs and have the snakes go somewhere else! A couple years ago we had snakes everywhere. When our house was being painted, even the painter was getting freaked out because there were all draped over the shrubs (and he said snakes don’t bother him).
What a great succulent garden. I want one just like it! Only…it must thrive on neglect. Can’t keep anything else alive here – so many mammals!
Emily, we based our garden on Linda Woodrow’s plan, and it’s perfectly low maintenance for us. Here’s a photo of my young neigbour’s project explaining how it all works:
Poor old Bertie.
Lucky you with your fennel. Most of mine didn’t germinate and those that did germinate keeled over very quickly. Enjoy your asparagus.
Anne, the fennel really seems to like it here, but we did buy seedlings rather than seeds. Will see if they come back after we let them go to seed.. :)
A wonderfully productive garden!
Thanks Jean! It’s certainly keeping us in leafy greens at the moment!
You sure have lots going on in your garden, where you are is it spring or summer? I am in the process of putting my garden to bed for the winter. Beautiful cactus, love that shade of red.
Norma, we’ve just started spring here – our beds produced all through the winter months! Such is the blessing of a temperate climate!
I am so jealous of your lemon tree! We’ve no chance of getting one to fruit here, I’m afraid.
I’m sorry that Bertie passed away but it sounds as if she didn’t suffer which is a blessing.
Pat, it’s swings and roundabouts I guess, we can’t grow apples in our garden! :D
I’m so sorry to hear about Bertie, Celia. They really have such personalities don’t they, and are very special. Last month my dad was mending his cook shed on the farm and had a sick turn, he had to lie down on the ground for a while and he said he was quite OK because one of the chooks came and snuggled up beside him to keep him company the whole time. (btw, he’s fine now)
Gorgeous garden as usual sweetie, I’m jealous of your beetroot though, mine never seems to grow roots just leaves.
Becca, so glad to hear your dad’s ok. The healing power of chooky love! :) xx
Lovely tree with so much fruit!
I cannot get fennel to bulb for me- wrong variety I know- but they keep telling me it is a vegetable NOT the herb. Yours looks so good- and on top of pizza is brilliant! I use it in soups or just roasted.
Sorry about your chook, Celia. It is hard to say goodbye- even to farm animals.
Heidi, thank you! Lovely Joanna in Bristol was telling me there’s a couple of different varieties of fennel, but we only ever seem to get the bulbing sort here..
What a joy to have such choice of vegetables for stirfries or steams or as pizza topping seemingly thru’out the year! Most interested in the fennel, ’cause love it and have not grown them myself: your ‘bablies’ do look sweet and tender ~ daresay it is too late for this year but have to look at the nursery when I get there . . .
Eha, I’m not sure it is too late, we only put ours in a few weeks ago! Hope you’re feeling better, love x
I see an “in my garden” segment in your future….
Lauren, there’s already a monthly gardening round up run by Liz at Strayed from the Table! :) Here’s a link: http://www.strayedtable.com/grow/garden-share/ (my garden updates are sporadic and a bit hotpotch, so I don’t join in, but lots of my blogging mates are involved!)
Pour chicky, she’ll be safe where she is now!!! The first picture do I stop asparagus??? That would be so cool. Thank you for sharing!
Cornelia, thank you for saying that! I hope she’s happy wherever she is now. And yes, asparagus! It’s growing in the tiniest of beds – here’s a post I wrote on it last year…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2012/04/20/the-asparagus-diaries/
Your garden is so wonderful, Celia, no matter the time of year. Love how your succulents have flourished. Sorry to read that Bertie has moved on, though, I doubt she would have had a better life anywhere else on Earth, especially if she was “damaged”, as you suspect.
John, the succulents are dream plants for me – they cope with being ignored and they’re always so photogenic! :) Thank you for saying that about Bertie – I really like to think she had a good life here with us! xx
Aww RIP Bertie. Poor little chicken.
Celia I always love your garden posts. You’re such an inspiration. Now to convince Will that I need chickens and a garden like Celia’s!
Claire, you so need chickens! Will, Claire needs chickens! :) Maybe you need to come and visit them.. ;-)
Sad about Bertie, but she had a good life with you!
Your garden posts are a joy to read, and look at, especially at this time of year, when my garden is giving up for the year. We have a bed of chard to see us into the winter, and courgettes the size of marrows as they were left to grow for two weeks while we were away. Other than the apples which are ready to pick, that is all we have left. It must be so good to have a garden which is productive all year round; it is possible to make a UK garden which is more productive than ours, but it needs more space than we have.
Suelle, I remember being inspired to plant rainbow chard all those years ago by a post of yours. Thank you! It’s become a staple in our garden! xx
I love using baby fennel and your greens are looking amazing! Sorry to hear about your chook – but at least it was a painless end to her life :)
Tandy, she was a great chook – I really do think she had a great life! x
sorry to hear about Bertie Celia, you gave her the best life possible! I don’t know a lot of people who would still keep chooks who stopped laying so she certainly lived a very privileged life.
I can’t believe how wonderful your garden looks considering how little time you’ve spent out there! It’s certainly thriving!
You’ve inspired me to plant fennel, they look so good! I adore a good fennel and orange salad and my little one likes to eat raw fennel slithers just like chips :)
Lisa, the secret really is the chooks – they do most of the gardening for us. They rotovate the soil, fertilise it and eat all the slugs and oxalis bulbs. If they could only figure out how to eat onion weed, then we’d be completely set! :)
Vale little Bertie – lucky little chook to have had such a peaceful existence. The red flowers on your cactus are very beautiful and the ornery little lettuce looks so beautiful amongst the paving stones – there’s so much to be grateful for in a garden isn’t there Celia.
Jan, we ate the cantankerous lettuce last week. I expected it to be bitter, as we hadn’t been watering it, but I guess it’s been getting a bit of rain lately as it was lovely and sweet! x
Lovely garden Celia! I am so envious, all you have to do is drop seeds and plants appear…and beets in one month!! Mine have been growing for more than two months now and they are still small. I think I need to move back to the Southern Hemisphere…
Bernice, it really is lovely out there at the moment – the weather has suddenly become very warm. I hope it’s not an omen for a scorching summer though! x
Your succulent garden looks amazing. Mine was coming along so nicely but then the village cows got hold of it and nibbled off all the ‘good bits’. Was very depressed! But am inspired now to start again.
I shouldn’t smile, but how lovely to actually have village cows, let alone ones with a taste for succulents! I’m sorry too though, as I know how annoying that must have been. I hope you get some new ones growing in a cow-proof spot!
I’m so sorry to hear about Bertie. What a loss. Did the other girls seem to be distressed? I’m glad she had a peaceful end to her life and lovely that she died tucked up in bed – that’s the way I’d like to go. I love the look of your asparagus. Is it easy to grow? And your fennel crop looks very good and I would love a slice of that pizza! And don’t get me started on your lemon harvest – all good things come to those who wait! xx
Charlie, the other girls are getting old and grumpy – they don’t really seem to notice when one falls off the perch except to have a bit of a power struggle to re-establish who’s boss if it’s a dominant hen. I’d love to tell you if asparagus is easy to grow, but I’m still not sure we know what we’re doing with it. It just comes up occasionally in the little patch and we eat it, but I’m not sure if we should be getting more – there doesn’t seem to be a big harvest these days.. x
Sad about Bertie but also good that she got to go peacefully at home :) You have had such a success with the lemon tree, and I am just amazed to see the aspagarus poking up stalks as happy as you please. It’s proof of your design and methodology that it can cope with periods of gardener hiatus.
ED, thank you, I think that’s right. Now that it’s established, the garden ticks over with very little effort from us, although we do get out into it for a look-see every day just to make sure things are ok..
Love the idea of little lettuces popping up all over your garden :-)
(Sorry to hear about Bertie too. xx)
Brydie, she was a great chook, and we’ll miss her. x
Oh Celia, sorry about Bertie…
Your garden looks so pretty, love the collection of edibles and the plants…awesome.
Juliana, thank you, she was such an interesting bird. I’m glad she got to spend her time with us!
I love that you have lettuce growing in between the bricks! It’s wonderful to have vegetables growing everywhere! I’m sorry about Bertie, but I’m also excited to see you new additions.
Clare, it’s hard to fathom that a whole lettuce could grow up there, isn’t it? It shows that lettuces really can grow anywhere!
RIP Bertie. You gave her such a good life.
And thanks for giving me an idea of what to do with a single fennel bulb from my veg box.
Sally, thank you! Fennel pizza, best use for the veg IMO! :)