Divine July Gardening

Gardening in July is very enjoyable.

The pests are minimal, we have pleasant weather and the weeds are scarce.
Vegetables such as broccoli, snow peas and cauliflower grow better at this time then any other season.

            This is the first sign of Spring!

Pink Peach blossoms on the first day of August.

These are advanced Pak and Bok Choi plants.

 Baby bok choi and baby pak choi. 

 When you are doing a stir fry, pick the outer leaves and let the rest continue to grow.

 Freshness at it's best!

These Cavendish Bananas are slowly turning lighter, a long way from yellow, but delightfully maturing.

Look at these delightful white snow pea flowers.

You can eat the tender shoots (the tip of the plant) but in a few weeks we will be picking lovely fresh snow peas.  Crisp, firm  and delectable.  Wonderful  for blanching for 1 minute, chopping up finely into salads or stir frying quickly with your dinner.

Note the old fence my husband was given, this reminds me of school  but it is perfect for climbing plants such as snow peas.

Broccoli plants keep reshooting
providing endless broccolini stems
for many weeks.  Easy to grow,
these are hardy and invaluable
as everybody likes broccoli.

Red cabbages, dense and delightful.  Shredded finely for salads or braised with cider vinegar and sugar.

Garlic chives, very handy for stir fries, fried rice and noodle dishes.
One clump will continue to grow for years, they also grow well in a pot and are particularly fragrant.

You may think it strange but I can watch bees for ages.  Look at the pollen sacs on the back legs, fully laden, it will tire this little bee out returning to the hive with this load.  I can smell honey and know Spring will ensure good honey.

Edible Pandanus to the left, this one is doing well. It's predecessor rotted in a pot, but this one in the ground has two  baby pups already.
On the right are grape vine cuttings, taken when the leaves dropped and the vine was pruned.  Grapes for good health and next year, hopefully good wine.

Our Winter tomatoes taste better than any you can buy during Winter.  

The tomatoes are sweet, red and delicious.  Not quite Summer sun drenched but still wonderful.

Seeds sprouting on the left of many vegetables in anticipation of our Spring garden.

A big bunch of broad beans.  Enough for us, my parents, my brother and close friends.
Giving is sharing and it is easy to grow more than you need to spread the joy of gardening.

                                              I love  Papaya! 

I ate Papaya for the first time in Fiji where the bright red fruit was sweet and delectable.
I hope we can do justice to it here in New South Wales. 

 Note the bird netting, which will be increased when the fruit starts to ripen.

This tree was planted six months ago at which time it was 30cm high.  

I will definitely keep updating the Papaya photographs.

So this is the bulk of our July garden.  We still have beautiful kale, so picturesque and healthy but gardening seasonally ensures  you get the most benefit from what grows well during each period.