Tuesday, October 26, 2010

635

We have a small house, on a very small block (330m2), with a very small garden. We live in the burbs not inner city, so it is small for out this way, but that's the way things worked out for us.


If I had my way, I would go Mediterannean style and squeeze something edible into every square inch of our garden space. I'd be happy to give over some of the reasonably big front yard to raised garden beds so as to extend a little more our vegie patch. I would trellis pumpkins up the side of the house and hang strawberries from the verandah. It's not unreasonable that although Geoff appreciates our fresh veg, he doesn't want to surrender the whole yard to it.


As a result we squeeze things in where we can, like our strawberries. I think I inherited some from mum and dad and they grew, as they do, and had babies of their own, as they also do and we have had a small (maybe 1m x 1m) patch just inside our front gate.



They always amaze me with their generosity. I really don't do anything with them, don't feed them (a shortcoming with me and all our plants) and only water in the middle of summer. I do mulch around them to keep the fruit off the dirt, but that really is it.



Every year they perk up, so green fresh and lush with very alert leaves and bear gorgeous flowers and fruit for us. I'm not sure our bird and possum neighbours have realised that they're there yet, but they will. Generally we see a fruit and think "that will be perfect tomorrow", only to go and discover a slug has eaten everything bar the skin, a possum has taken it completely or a bird has pecked a big hole in it. It's time to drag out the netting and sticks and try to protect those gorgeous globes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We have also got heaps of strawberry flowers! No strawberries though.