Friday, 1 May 2015

May Garden Share Collective

It has been such a warm Autumn in the mid north coast of New South Wales.  We were lucky to escape the strong rain and wind that Dungog, Newcastle and Sydney recently experienced but have had enough rain that we rarely need to water our plants.


I am still picking the odd dragonfruit (pitaya) but this is the last one
(as my neighbours picked the other one on top of the fence).



There are over 100 avocadoes on the big secondo avocado tree.
These are lush and full of flavour.


Ever present lettuce are always delightful to grow and have on hand for salads and sandwiches. 



It is a great time of year to grow rocket as it doesn't shoot to seed too quickly in this weather.


Zucchinis bursting with flavour and delicious flowers to fry as well.


I was so excited last year when there were 5 custard apples on the tree.
This year there are over 30, can you imagine my excitement!?


I  am including echinacea as a herb, although it is a pretty flower as well.


The 4 jalapeno bushes are still producing flowers and fruit.
I do love a hot chilli.



We pick the capsicum green before they can be invaded by pests.


Fancy a leek?


My little kaffir lime tree is finally starting to grow enough so that I can pick a few leaves occasionally


Green pawpaw grow beautifully in our climate.
Pawpaw need a male and female plant to produce fruit but readily grow from seed.


As do papaya, the rounder cousin to the pawpaw.
This green, soon to be red papaya is self fertile, producing both male and female flowers.



Luscious red pomegranates, bursting with flavour.

Oranges, slowly ripening. 


This is a Fejoia which grows on a tree.


Ruby red grapefruit, grown successfully as a dwarf tree.


The snake beans are having a second round.
A good dose of fertiliser ensured that these vines kept producing for months.

These are the highlights of my May garden as part of the Garden Share Collective hosted by Liz.
Please, browse through the other Garden Share Collective members gardens.

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Posted by at

28 comments:

  1. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella2 May 2015 at 15:03

    Your garden collection is always so impressive! Dragonfruit too! :o

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu4 May 2015 at 20:34

      Thanks and we are so lucky to still be picking the dragonfruit. This is the first time I have tasted fejoias and they are a little like a custard apple but not quite as sweet.

      Delete
  2. Rachel (Rachel's Kitchen NZ)2 May 2015 at 22:34

    What a beautifully productive and interesting May garden - Merryn - thax for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown3 May 2015 at 20:14

    Stunning! Very productive Merryn. What do you do with such a bounty of avocados? They look glorious. Enjoy your month in the garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu4 May 2015 at 20:39

      Thanks Kyrstie, with all of the avocadoes we eat them. In wraps for lunch, as a side with dinner, a salsa with Mexican food etc., We give a few away but can happily eat so many ourselves and as they only ripen 1 - 2 weeks after they are picked, they can stay on the tree for months. No wasting of avocadoes here :D

      Delete
  4. e / dig in hobart3 May 2015 at 23:07

    my head is spinning seeing all that wonderful exotic produce... my garden is dwindling to a wintry end.
    I thought pawpaws and papayas were the same fruit, just called different things. thanks for teaching me something!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu4 May 2015 at 20:35

      Winter is definitely coming E and I must say I really do prefer the papaya to the pawpaw. I could send you some seeds if you think you could grow them in Hobart.

      Delete
    2. e / dig in hobart4 May 2015 at 22:01

      sadly I think that would be wasted ... but that is such a lovely thought. just think of me next time you enjoy a juicy slice or two :-)

      Delete
    3. Merryn@merrynsmenu4 May 2015 at 22:10

      I certainly will and thanks for your kind thoughts regarding the storms just over a week ago. We were lucky here to be in the safe U of a horseshoe shape with the storms all around. My eldest son came home on Tuesday from Newcastle and said they had closed university for two days and he had no power or phone so he decided to come home and let the storm pass.

      Delete
  5. Daphne Gould5 May 2015 at 10:54

    We have a native tree in the US that is called a pawpaw too, but it doesn't look like a papaya. And it is a temperate fruit tree, though it tastes like a tropical fruit. I always thought that when people said pawpaw in certain regions of the world it was synonymous with papaya. I didn't know it was a cousin to it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu5 May 2015 at 19:41

      I would love to see what your pawpaw tree and fruit look like Daphne, it sounds intriguing. It is only since we have grown both types that I know the difference between pawpaw and papaya :)

      Delete
  6. Cecilia5 May 2015 at 12:08

    Your pictures look amazing. It must be great to have such a lush full garden! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu5 May 2015 at 19:42

      Thanks Cecilia, I so love gardening, it is relaxing and enjoyable plus eating the product of your labour is a bonus :)

      Delete
  7. Kitchen Riffs6 May 2015 at 09:45

    What a great looking garden! We're just getting into warm weather here, so we're still in the early stages of our garden. But our roses just started to bloom today! So life is good. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu7 May 2015 at 22:13

      Roses are the best, most fragrant flower ever and you know it is warming up they show their buds. Enjoy your Spring time :)

      Delete
  8. Bek6 May 2015 at 17:16

    What a lot of produce you have! I love seeing what goes on up north. I am very jealous of your avocadoes, I just bought two trees which I hope will soon be fruiting like yours. 100 avos, what a dream.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu7 May 2015 at 22:16

      I know Bek I so admire your southern garden, it would be nice to swap some avocadoes for your apples :)

      Delete
  9. Hotly Spiced6 May 2015 at 21:14

    The neighbours need to keep their hands on their side of the fence! What a tremendous variety of produce. I'm a big fan of feijoas but you don't see them very often in Oz. How wonderful to have so many avocados xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu7 May 2015 at 22:15

      Exactly what I thought Charli, they had enough growing on their side of the fence. Most people think Feijoas have to be cooked like quinces but they are quite pleasant eating when fresh :)

      Delete
  10. Amira7 May 2015 at 10:25

    Woow you have a lovely collection of produce.. I would like some avocados pleeeeeeease :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu7 May 2015 at 22:14

      I would love to give you some Amira :) Thanks for admiring my garden :)

      Delete
  11. Unknown9 May 2015 at 05:34

    You have such a wonderful amount of fruit! And custard apples. Yum yum yum yum. I wonder if I'd be any chance of growing them in Sydney? What a lovely garden. Enjoy all those delicious avocados.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu20 May 2015 at 21:04

      You could try a custard apple tree in Sydney in a particularly warm spot. Other sub tropical fruit trees can grow so it would be worth a shot. I am just loving the avocadoes :)

      Delete
  12. africanaussie13 May 2015 at 20:44

    I am always amazed at the variety of produce that you grow. so many tropical type of fruit, but then things like leeks which definitely dont grow in the tropics. You must have your own little microclimate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merryn@merrynsmenu20 May 2015 at 21:05

      Thanks G I think we are blessed with our block with it's north facing slope :)

      Delete
  13. dedy oktavianus17 May 2015 at 08:04

    awesome garden, i envy you my friend...
    Dedy@Dentist Chef

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)