It’s nice to keep occasional tabs on the progress of things like the garden. I particularly like the above photo, which Teresa took (on my iPhone) recently. Thanks to mum, for the arch. We have roses and (?) climbing up both sides, and now, after about four or five years, nearly meeting at the apex.
The apple tree nearly died on us. I had to lop off a big chunk that appeared to be diseased, several years ago. So it’s a lot smaller than we’d like it to be. But it’s great it survived whatever afflicted it, and is coming back strong. It is producing a lot of apples this year. More than ever before. They’re only just getting ready to harvest. So I can’t report on their quality for eating, juicing or cooking just yet. Fingers crossed they’ll be nice!
Also producing a healthy crop are Teresa’s fig trees. There are, I think, four or five, all planted as cut sticks, about four years ago. I personally think we should lift one or two and transplant them elsewhere. But for now they’re staying put. We’ve harvested a few figs from them already, but not gotten around to trying any!
One crop we have been both harvesting and eating is a variety of chillis. Most of which are growing in the greenhouse. But a couple of which, inc the one pictured above, are outside, either in a pot in a raised bed, or the herb bed. These are quite varied, some being quite mild, others pretty ferociously hot.
I often covet the big banana palms we sometimes see on TV, when Gardener’s World visits somewhere, or the public submit their own garden shorts. I spotted some at a recently opened local branch of The Co-Op, when buying some lunch one day last week. Small, and £6 each, I bought one. It’s in the greenhouse at present, and will stay there to be potted on to a much larger pot and allowed to really grow.
Our garden is, like our home, small and a bit on the messy side. That annoys me somewhat. I’d prefer a bigger home and garden, and even more than that, I wish we could vanquish the beasts of mess and clutter! But ultimately I love both home and garden. They’re our private refuges. And both are a constant source of succour to us.