We caught up with our garden gal Poppy to see what she’s up to in her Central Otago garden this spring and summer.
Winter is slow to ease off here; Jack Frost lingers even as the daylight extends, and often visits the garden into early December. As the days grow longer my excitement builds and my brain fills with ideas for the seasons ahead.
My garden is a constant work in progress and this season is no exception. I will have a new terrace built into the slope which, all going well, will consist of four or five raised beds and a berry cage! This development will open up a lot more space to grow edibles and ornamentals. The possibilities feel endless, and I’ve been planning out the plantings like crazy over winter.
With all this new space I’d love to grow more crops that I can store and use in the kitchen all year round. Rows of Roma tomatoes for saucing, cucumbers for pickles, beans for drying, greens for blanching and freezing. Growing preservation crops like tomatoes and cucumbers on the new terrace means space in my polytunnel can be reserved for heat loving crops such as eggplants and peppers - yay!
The berry cage will be a totally new experience for me! Previously, I didn’t have the space to grow many soft fruits, and my knowledge is mostly limited to container growing. This opportunity to learn and grow with the garden really motivates me.
Boysenberries, blueberries and raspberries have my heart, so they’ll be the first thing I plant in there. I can’t forget about ornamentals either, I plan to reserve one or two of the new beds for flowers. Sweet peas, snapdragons, cornflowers, nigella, dahlias - anything I can pick and take inside! I’d quite like to experiment with strawflowers and statice for drying too. There’s a lot to look forward to!
Spring and summer is a joyous time to be in the garden. Each new growing season is a chance for education, discovery, satisfaction, and happiness - something can be gained from every high and low point. I can’t wait to see what this season will give us!
My #1 spring and summer must have is the Tui Seeds range! The germination rates are amazing and all the varieties are reliable growers. Success is much easier when you’re growing from good seed.
Follow along on Instagram @poppysfarmyard as Poppy brings her plans to life!
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Growing through the warmer seasons at Poppy's farmyard Comments
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