My Secret Garden

 

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.

– Alfred Austin

Hey, Lovelies.

I live in a treehouse on the side of a mountain. The steep and terraced gardens around our home are long established, filled with tropical plants and shrubs, lots of natives, rainforest giants, banana trees, a lemon and an avocado. There isn’t much room for new gardens, or places where herbs and vegetables would get enough sun, and any of those places are well away from the house.

I miss the established herb and vegetable gardens we had at our old farm. I miss being able to walk at the door at any hour of the day or night and have tubs of herbs, or a garden within a short easy walk.

I wasn’t sure how to solve my dilemma, and so I was quite excited to realise that I could turn the little deck where our washing line is into a herb garden.

Ben found me pots and a few hanging baskets for the deck railings, and we got busy planting. Now I have tomatoes, strawberries, basil, two kinds of parsley, coriander, ‘stinky fish weed’ (houttuynia cordata – a herb I use for lyme treatment), lemon balm, oregano, thyme, chives, garlic chives, shallots and sage. I still have space for a few more plants, once I work out what else I may need (which includes obtaining some of my Mum’s mint and strawberry runners).

Also on my wish list is a kaffir lime, and a Meyer lemon, which grow well in pots.

It’s only a small space, so it’s easy for me to maintain, and I can access it easily when I am cooking.

Here’s what it looks like, three weeks after planting. I’ll update you when there is more to report.

Love, and the sublime smell of fresh tomato plants and sun-kissed basil, Nicole xx