Gardening – A well-planned garden

The overgrown, weed-infested property did not deter local resident Kate when she found a house she could afford. In fact, she saw a blank canvas with all-day sun and the opportunity to develop a garden that suited her.

Now, three and a half years later, every spare space is planted with a diversity of vegetables, flowers, shrubs and fruit.

Cleverly placed paths lead visitors through small raised garden beds fitting snugly into the front garden, many framed with low-growing fragrant culinary herbs. Each bed is fitted with a bamboo frame that can easily support frost cloth if necessary. The beds are intercropped to grow small quantities of Kate’s preferred vegetables. For winter, this includes carrots, beetroot, lettuce, spring onions and Chinese greens. A variety of flowering plants, shrubs and herbs provides a colourful backdrop to the raised beds.

Behind the house, Kate has developed clever ways to repeatedly grow seasonal vegetables in a range of containers, including tubs, pots, bins, bathtubs and her own homemade self-watering bins. Bamboo climbing frames support climbing plants, while old recycling bins and grouped containers provide easy access and maintenance. They are filled with potatoes, salad vegetables, kohlrabi, red cabbage, celeriac, broccoli, radicchio and cauliflower.

Kate’s garden is designed for year-round production, and she is currently completing preparations for winter. Kūmara beds have been harvested and re-composted for replanting, while kūmara growing down the shared driveway will be harvested later. Perennials such as sorrel, asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, silver beet and artichokes have been fertilised and, where necessary, divided. The olives have also been picked and cured.

Although Kate has invested in a variety of dwarf fruit trees, the orange, lemon, grape and pomegranate plants still need pruning, while the small feijoa hedge requires shaping and mulching with compost. To keep the soil as warm as possible and reduce slugs and snails, she does not mulch the vegetable beds during winter.

Three compost bins filled with household waste, garden trimmings and leaves supply the compost needed to refill pots and containers and refresh the soil in the raised beds.

Kate says her “one mouth household” is well supplied with vegetables, and she has created many microclimates that should continue producing crops whatever the winter weather brings.