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Monday 14 March 2016

My New Herb Garden

You're always going to be criticized, and sometimes envied, but never let that distract or unnerve you. Keep pushing ahead with your gut instinct, knowing you can do this. 
Sarah Rutson Of Net-A-Porter


I have a fantastic  new herb garden thanks to  my wonderful Peter. He put in all the work.





I had a beautiful Macrozamia palm growing in my front garden. I would often just stand back and admire it.

It was grown from a big red seed collected on a bush walk on the New South Wales South Coast many years ago. This isn't a great photo as I have already started cutting in back, but you get the idea.

Peter noticed it was outgrowing its position in the garden. It was making the wall skew, so sadly it had to come out.  

I decided to turn the garden into a herb garden.

I began by cutting the Macrozamia back and chopping down another small tree that had popped up.




Peter dug the palm out. No mean feat. The roots went down into the ground a long way.




The middle of the trunk continued to grow so I advertised the stump on Gumtree - free to anyone who could collect it from my footpath.


 It went in 2 hours.

I bought a few bags of potting mix to replace some of the clay in the hole that was left.


Peter mixed the potting mix in with some of the original soil.

I planted a large clump of lovely frondy coriander which I use a lot in cooking.
 


I planted some spicy basil pepper which I had never seen before but decided I had to have, and.......



 .....some delicious Vietnamese mint.....



 ....some tasty oregano......



 ...and some very useful thyme.


 

Peter convinced me to buy 2 plants of each herb so they will be usable sooner.

 
I had already planted some parsley a few months before I decided to use the whole garden for herbs. It is growing really well which is what made me think the whole garden could be used for herbs.

The cut off bottles hold rosemary cuttings which I hope will strike.

I also planted some mint in a shady corner.

 Some peppery wild rocket sprang up from last year.



  We lay down some sugar cane mulch to help keep the moisture in.


The new herb garden is 2 weeks old now and going really well.  My daughter gave me a big basil plant and I have planted some garlic chives which have struggled for years in a pot with no attention. They should love it now they are being watered daily.

I have a great basic walnut and basil pesto recipe. it's a bit cheaper than the traditional pine nut recipes.

I had to cut back the basil plant my daughter gave me before I could plant it, so used the leaves to whip up some pesto.





 

Basil Walnut Pesto 

2 cups basil leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup walnuts
salt to taste

(Add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese if you wish.)

Whiz it all together in a food processor.

It can be used on gnocchi or pasta. I use it on 'spaghetti' made with zucchini.

I try to stick to a plant based diet and often use chickpeas as a source of protein. A bowl of chickpeas with home made pesto - delicious!




Interesting sites


1.

Hueso Restaurant

Photo source
Hueso Restaurant. Love the white. Click here to see more.



2.

Humans push planet beyond boundaries towards 'danger zone'

Photo source

Human activity has pushed the planet across four of nine environmental boundaries, sending the world towards a "danger zone", warns an international team of scientists. Click here to read more. 

3.

Scenes reminiscent of Grimm's fairytales

Photo source

Schönberger roamed Europe to capture these beautiful sights with a mystical flair worthy of the Grimm legacy. Click here to see some beautiful pictures.

 

3 comments:

  1. Lovely idea of using it as a herb garden, though watch the mint - it likes to spread and take over. Maybe replant it into a pot and then plant the pot. It wont stop it spreading but it will slow it down and you can remove the pot and destroy the rest easily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Michelle. I haven't had luck with mint in a pot, but I will keep a close eye on it in the garden.

      Delete
  2. Great job Peter! Lindy too of course! xoxox

    ReplyDelete

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