open sesame....

My wonderful gardener came in and pruned the peach tree. It is a beautiful pink blossom in spring and because I love it so much, I have let it get a bit out of control. This meant there was too much shade on the patch and also over the fence on the neighbour's yard.... so it was pruned.

a smaller peach tree than before......

Now there is light.......

see my little sunflower..... she finally sees the sun!

the changing sun and pickles

It is clear now that the sun is on her march across the sky. Parts of the patch are spending increasing time in the shade and this will impact on planting schedules and locations. Not all of the patch is in sun during winter. Some beds are in almost constant shade and this renders them useless for some planting. However, it is a good time to plant some winter green manure crops in preparation for the bursting season of spring.

the seasons of the sun

After spending time in the cold European winter, I can more readily appreciate the winter season here. I can still grow and harvest all through winter and I am beginning to think it is a more productive time than summer as we don't have the rain and humidity. This winter I will aim to plant enough veg to experiment with pickling. Jamie Oliver and Maggie Beer have some fabulous pickling recipes and I have plenty of glass jars waiting to be filled.

jars of pickles..... would look good in my cupboard