Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Beautiful not boring

I decided right at the planning stage, that my vegetable garden was not going to be without color and interesting things to look at.

A friend gave me some iris tubers he had split up, so I created a narrow bed all around the outside perimeter of the vegetable garden.

This is the second year for the iris, so they are well settled in, and are rewarding me with some mighty fine blooms.

What a pretty color combination.

Luscious, just like peach sherbet.

The white iris has the tiniest hint of lavender in the very center.

I also have pots of flowers and herbs in one corner of the garden. In the yellow pot I planted stock, not only do they have such beautiful colors their perfume is a delight.

Stock also take me on a trip down memory lane, of a time spent in my Mother's garden, as this is a flower she liked to grow.

Peas are starting to climb, and the lettuce is almost growing faster than we can eat it, although we do get some help from our pet rabbit with that and the kale.

When we arrived back from a weeks vacation, I was surprised to see how much the tomato plants had grown. They were about halfway up inside their water cages and now you can see they are out the top. The gladioli in the bed behind the tomatoes also put on a spurt of growth.
Along with flowers for added interest in the garden, I have a statue of Quan Yin , the top of an old hand operated water pump, various resin critters, like frogs and turtles I bought from the dollar store, and a hummingbird feeder so I can watch the cute little birds while I am working in my garden.
Sometimes, when the mornings are warm ( I am hoping this happens soon ) I take my morning coffee outside and sit in the garden watching the hummers sipping sugar water and admiring the vegetables and flowers.
Ahh! life is good when there is so much to enrich our lives.

7 comments:

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

I like how you combine vegetables and ornamental plants, Jennifer! Your irises have the most beautiful colors. I also like your use of pots which can be moved, rearranged, replanted, etc.

Ali Honey said...

The colours and form of the irises are beautiful but oh so easily damaged - part of their appeal I guess.

Annie*s Granny said...

What a beautiful garden! I'll be so happy when some of my flowers start blooming, although I don't have a fraction of what you have. My pet rabbit is also enjoying my bumper crop of lettuce.

dinzie said...

Hi :O)

remember me :O) not been around for a while ...hope all is well for you....Wish our garden looked as good :O)

D

Anonymous said...

It looks so good Jennifer. I like some flowers with my veggies too.~~Dee

Anonymous said...

I always jazz up my veggie garden with marigolds around the perimeter. Thanks for reminding me! I forgot to plant some seeds for that. Off I go!

Carrie said...

So lovely, a plot always needs flowers I think. I love the iris border and funniy i bought a bunch of stock on saturday morning - beautiful fragance.
What a happy post and great plot you have x