Forster Foliage in February

We are officially in the middle of summer! 

Strolling around the garden there are so many delights to enjoy!

Here are mangoes, bursting with colour and vibrancy.

The biggest avocado tree is loaded with Secondo avocadoes, a semi dwarf variety

which is flourishing in our mid north coast climate.

Note the varieties of lettuce, protected behind a chicken proof fence

(I always think of rabbit proof fence when I walk past this garden bed).

Below is an example of what ten free ranging chickens can do to your garden.

This was a healthy patch of sorrel at Christmas time, before the chickens arrived!

The dwarf Pinkabelle and Granny Smith trees are a delight.

I plan to harvest them before the flying foxes do

(wish me luck).

 Figs Figs Figs!  Black Genoa, Brown Turkey and White Adriatic.
So sweet and succulent.
We check each morning and night to ensure we get them before the birds, blue tongue lizards or rats eat them.

A baby watermelon, proudly nestled on the ground, growing every single day.

The capsicums have been abundant, even looking slightly weathered as these ones do, 

they are still sweet and luscious when cooked or finely sliced for a salad.

I am so proud to show this Banana Passionfruit.

This is the first time I have ever grown a passionfruit plant successfully.

Previously they were planted too far from the house for frequent watering.

However I have found they are incredibly hard to spot on the vine.

The flowers were prolific, but I don't know where all of the passionfruit went -
did birds eat them or did they prematurely drop off?
 I don't know and would welcome advice as to how to harvest these passionfruits.

The next crop of bananas, biding their time to ripen to a golden yellow delight.

Tamarillos, or tree tomatoes as they are known.

I don't know what to do with them, apart from turning them into a chutney.

Any ideas are welcome.

I picked the first Pomegranate yesterday.

These are truly beautiful fruits.

I had to share this, these are beautiful chicory flowers, a traditional Italian vegetable,

the flowers are gorgeous and I love the idea of blue nectar in the bee hives. 

More rockmelons, we have been eating them for three months now, these vines are great~!

There are two (yes, 2) pears on the Williams Pear Tree.

I check them daily, as does a gorgeous Rosella, hopefully I will win

and taste the sweetness of the pears before the Rosella does ...

Three years in the ground and this dwarf Ruby Red Grapefruit has hit the jackpot.

It was well worth netting for protection.

You can see the colour is slowly changing.

Hopefully we will eat them in early Autumn.

This quince tree is only one year old and there are five gorgeous quinces growing firmly.
I can't wait to cook them.

My healthy bunch of lemongrass had to be moved as it was pushing out

the garden bed's wooden supports.

I literally dug a hole in the ground, in the middle of the lawn and planted some here.

12 months on and look at it flourishing, sometimes neglect is a good thing.

Tahitian Limes.  This Lime tree was a house warming present from my brother and three years on,

we will be picking many limes in the next few months.

This yellow aubergine (Eggplant) is fruiting continuously.

We have picked kilos of grapes, sweet and almost seedless, these are succulent.

Here you can see seedlings shortly to be planted out, gardening is a continual process.

These are the highlights of my February garden.
I hope you have enjoyed strolling with me around the Garden Share Collective this month.
Kind regards and buon appetito, Merryn