The Vegetable Garden has colour too!

Following on from my last post showing some of my vegetable garden, I thought I would let you see some of the colour that turns up there - it's not all just green!

There's always plenty of flowers on the self-sown cherry tomatoes:

The seed heads on spring onions always fascinate me. I think they are really quite attractive:

Dianthus always put on quite a display and the bonus is that the flower petals are edible:

I discourage the basil from going to seed by pinching out the tops, but when it escapes, the flowers are quite a pretty shape: 

I'm always happy to see the bright yellow flowers of the zucchini, though I was a bit peeved when most of the flowers on my current batch of plants were male. (Yes, males are needed, but they're not much use for producing fruit!!!):

I love the delicate flowers of the chives:

Tarragon is making a lovely show at the moment:

Even the thyme has delicate flowers:

These yellow flowers are much smaller than the zucchinis, though they look similar. The cucumbers they have formed have been amazing:

These pretty pale purple flowers are actually in my front garden. I like them for their lovely striped foliage and the fact that they are very long lasting. It was only when I used an App to find out what they were that I discovered they are Society Garlic and are edible! 

There has also been plenty of colour going on in my 2023 Block of the Month quilt. It is looking so pretty! I have completed the quilt top and am very happy with it. Here's a sneak peak of one of the blocks:

The more I read the Bible, the more I realise how absolutely up to date it is for daily life. The new quilt has timeless truths from God's Word, written thousands of years ago, but totally relevant for 2023. The plan is to launch the BOM in January, so keep tuned!

Happy stitching!

Val

Nearer God's heart in a Garden

In her poem ‘God’s Garden’, Dorothy Gurney penned these lines: One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.  I think there is a lot of truth in these words. God put the first man and woman in a Garden and walked and talked with them there. The final picture we have in the Bible of the future is a heavenly, abundant, life-giving Garden. There is something special about the beauty of living plants growing and blooming and showing His glory, so it is not surprising that we can feel God’s presence in a garden.

 I love flowers, but the thing that I love doing best in a garden is growing fruit and vegetables!

At the end of last summer, I let some of my lettuce go to seed, and then sprinkled seeds around the garden. Invariably, the seeds that fall in the garden soil don’t come to anything, but the ones that end up on the pebbles that surround the garden beds, absolutely thrive! We had some good rain, so I had hundreds of seedlings pop up everywhere. I gave heaps away and transplanted lots into the soil.

These did amazingly well and for the last 11 weeks I have been able to share a huge quantity of lettuce leaves with my friends. They have been especially appreciated because I had an abundance when supermarkets were charging the highest price ever seen for a lettuce and many people couldn’t afford to buy them!

They are going to seed again now that our warmer weather has arrived, but that gives space to grow different vegetables, like silverbeet: 

I can’t remember ever growing Lebanese cucumbers before so I decided to try them this season. There are a lot of male flowers forming, but the fruit is also appearing:

Fresh peas have been tasty:

and some of the self-sown pumpkin ended up in a good batch of soup:

Zucchinis are forming nicely:

Cherry Tomatoes are thriving:

 The lemon tree is looking as if it will have another good crop:

and the new passionfruit vine and pawpaw tree are growing apace but are a bit small for fruit yet.

Talking of fruit, with Christmas approaching, Australians begin thinking about the wonderful cherries that are grown in some of our cooler climate areas and are a highlight of the Christmas fruit that becomes available. With that in mind, I have some cherries on the October month mini-quilt in the Days of Delight 2022 BOM design.

There's a lot to learn about gardening, but I am very conscious that I can plant, cultivate, fertilise and water, but ultimately it is God who sends the sunshine and rain and makes them grow. Yes, I know God is near when I am in my garden. 

Happy stitching!

Val