Monday, April 9, 2012

photos :: instant garden

Ever since Ivan and I bought our home in October we have been looking forward to Spring. Other than the obvious reason of Winter sucking (sorry Winter, I guess you can be ok sometimes), we have just been looking forward to having a garden. Our backyard already came full of fruit trees; 2 pear, a peach and a plum as well as a grape vine. Just over the weekend my mom also noticed a little strawberry plant in a big pot in the back as well as some other berry bush that has spilled over from our neighbours yard. I will gladly take fruit spill over! Our fruit trees have already started blossoming and so far the plum tree is the prettiest.
They smell great too! There are two main branches of the tree and one is blooming while the other is just budding. 
The photos right above are from one of our pear trees. Below is our little peach tree; I don't think it will get any fruit this year but I can't wait until it does.
Our fruit trees and grapevine were majorly overgrown so our neighbour (who is the nicest man ever) helped me prune the grapevine and then came one afternoon and chopped our trees into shape for us. I learned a bunch from him, our trees look great and our backyard looks bigger because it is not being taken over by branches. 

On Saturday Ivan and I started digging up the area that will be our veggie garden. I'll share some photos of that another time. We are beyond excited about growing as much of our own food as possible and because we are planning on growing so much I feel like I will be spending a lot of time in the garden this spring and summer. Just call me Farmer Elycia. 

Do any of you have fruit/vegetable gardens? What is your favourite thing to grow? We are still planning what we want to put in so I would love some personal favourites!

♥elycia

33 comments:

  1. We also have a lot of fruit trees at our new house, but the birds ate most of our fruit in the end. I was so excited about the fig tree, but we didn't get any figs. Next year we'll have to do some research about how to get some fruit for ourselves :)

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    1. We are nervous about birds eating our fruit! I'll be out there encouraging them to go elsewhere :)

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  2. My favorite plant is any kind that is hard to kill. I have a black thumb and have killed almost everything we've planted. Our home came with 3 fruit trees as well- all orange trees. Their fruit is disgusting. haha. I need to read up on how to make them taste better. Godd luck with your garden!

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    1. I have a black thumb with indoor plants. I can never remember to water those darn things!

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  3. We grow (nearly) all our own vegetables and hunt/swap meat; it is quite possibly one of the greatest things ever - I absolutely love growing our own! I don't have a particular favourite because they are all my favourite at some point during the year, but at the moment I am looking forward to eating our broad beans which will be the next producing crop in a couple of months!

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    1. Oh how cool! That is our dream situation. Except minus the meat because we don't eat it. If we did though that would be the coolest way to do it!

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  4. I've finally managed to rent house with massive garden so this year I am growing: dill, parsley, cucumbers, aubergines, beetroot and tomatoes. Plus some flowers and roses (I got three little bushes of mini roses and some primulas blooming right now). I just can't wait for first ever crop of tomatoes, especially since my little plants look so beautiful.

    Have fun gardening!

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    1. yes! Tomatoes are amazing. Definitely going in our garden.

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  5. Favourite thing to grow is tomatoes! They grow so well, and I can literally eat them every day in summer (tomato sandwich-faux bacon...mmm). When I get too many, I make tomato sauce. I usually grow cucumbers, zuchs, pumpkin, and watermelon. I might try lettuce again this year. I think we're going to order the 'big bag of dirt' that they deliver to your driveway, because I've been dieing to build a square foot garden (google or pinterest square foot gardens-they look awesome).

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  6. I'm trying to grow my own herb garden, but no luck at the moment :( My favourite thing to grow is carrots, but remember to give them some space or else you'll have funny tangled carrots! Potatoes are dead easy to grow too. Good luck!

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  7. Gardening is my favorite! My favorite thing are strawberries and asparagus. I love the little flowers on the berries, and asparagus is just too cute when it's growing, I hope some day that my guy & I will be able to grow some. This year we have already dedicated a whole bed to leafy greens- spinach, arugula, lettuce, mixed greens, kale, cabbage, etc, and we started seeds for yellow squash, sweet basil, 3-4 different types of tomatoes, eggplant, and a few other things that I can't remember. Can't wait to see pictures of your garden!

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  8. Hey Elycia, I havent stopped by or blogged for a while but I had to comment. Spring is my favourite season forsure, were getting married in spring this year over here in Australia.
    I have a little veggie garden, my favourite thing to grow has been roma tomatos and basil! We also have brussel sprouts, peas, broadbeans, celery, beetroot, squash and spring onions growing right now along with a whole heap of herbs.Its deffinately so rewarding growing your own veg :)
    Hope to visit you again soon! Rose

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  9. We spent so much time in our yard this weekend. It was wonderful! Jesse's mom is all about our gardens this year because her community garden closed. I'm glad to have the guidance but she's being a bit funny about some things. I said that I really want to plant pansies and she questioned me because perhaps they're not edible. Ha!

    Can't wait to see your gardens Farmer Elycia!

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  10. Beautiful blossoms farmer Elycia! Your back yard must be getting so beautiful! I like growing cherry tomatoes the best so far as far as veggies go(though I've never had a huge veggie garden- some day I hope to). I really love to grow herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, lavender, mint, basil, oregano...) and flowers. Irises are my favorite I think, but I do love lilies, begonias and roses and I just bought some gladiolas to plant this year. I should get off the computer and get out in the garden right now!

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  11. I just started a garden myself, but having just a small raised bed and a patio on the side of my duplex is a little limiting. However, I have 3 herbs inside (culantro, chives and dill) and then 4 types of peppers outside, with basil as well.

    Our most exciting planted thing this weekend is the pineapple that we bought for $6. I am sure we'll have to wait for some time to get anything from it, but I think it is adorable and can't wait for it to fruit. Grilled pineapple is the best thing ever.

    We are building a lean-to over the bed to cut some of the harsh sun and will be soon purchasing zucchini, lettuce (to grow hydroponically), tomatoes, strawberries, and more!

    Good luck, Farmer lady!

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  12. Hey Farmer Elycia,

    You need to come on over and check out my blog if you are about gardens this spring and summer - I have a few pictures of what they have looked like over the past 2 years. And right now we are under MAJOR changes yet again transforming my front yard (which is ALL flower gardens) to incorporate veggies. Our side garden which was super cute bricks - that housed all our herbs just got demoed this weekend and is being changed up yet again - still going to be all herbs, but going to incorporate a sitting area and my husband is also going to have his own organic bee hives.

    http://veranellies.blogspot.com

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  13. We are in the same boat as you, we bought our house in the fall and are super excited to see exactly what grows. We broke ground on our garden this past week. The grass is REALLY thick in our back yard so it is going to take us a while to get it garden-ready. This year we are going to plant a little bit of everything and see which plants do well in our soil.

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  14. oh my goodness what pretty blooms! i might need to use one of your photos for a new art piece!
    it is perfect!
    xo,
    cb

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    1. I would be honoured! Let me know if you need a higher quality image to use!

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  15. Oh I bet your backyard will be really beautiful and romantic in a couple of month, I miss having space to have plants (I moved to an apartment two years ago).

    xxxx

    Lily
    http://themagicworldoflily.blogspot.pt/

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  16. Lettuce and snap peas! It's always so nice to be able to go into the garden and pick some lettuce to make a salad or just nom on some snap peas while you're hanging out. Corn is also really fun to grow, and even though our corn was really small last year it was delicious! It was also a nice hangout for our chickens when they wanted to hide. Happy gardening!

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  17. I love gardening! I made some seed cups out of paper pulp for my garden this year ( http://365daysofdiy.blogspot.com/2012/01/seed-starters-out-of-paper-pulp.html ), and those were super fun to make! They turned out great too! We've already got a ton of tomatoes and peppers ready to go outside (where I live I can get them in the ground on the 15th), and we also have some broccoli and cabbage, lettuce, and spinach already outside! I like it best when it's warm enough to start beans and melons though, they're my favorite off the vine.

    Good luck with your first garden, may you have a plentiful harvest!

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  18. We bought a house last year too, and inherited a huge fenced off 20x30 garden...it's the best! I have a million tomato plants of all varieties started right now, and I love growing hot peppers too (which are my only real options in Texas summer!). The best crops so far have been carrots and onions, which are great because you can just leave them in the ground until you're ready for them, or hang up the onions in the garage and they'll keep for ages.

    You're so lucky to inherit all of those fruit trees! Good luck in your garden, and I can't wait to see your progress! You should definitely start a compost pile (if you don't already have one), because that will really come in handy to enrich your soil.

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  19. The plum tree is beautiful! My mister and I are planning on moving out of Florida once we finish college (hopefully to some place with seasons!) and we plan on growing our own fruits & veggies. If we can't grow it, we can probably live with out it. I can't wait to start our garden :)
    xo Heather
    http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/

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  20. We have a garden. Technically,the garden belongs to my husband's grandfather,but anyway. So far,we have cabbage,tomatoes and okra. My rose bush is finally budding. I also have some Japanese irises that have bloomed recently. Good luck,Farmer Elycia! ;)

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  21. Great photos. Do post this spring/summer the fruits and vegetables of your labor. :)

    ~Brit
    www.brittany-sims.com

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  22. so pretty :)

    grace
    http://herumbrella.com
    http://posheventplanning.com

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  23. How exciting! Our cherry tree is in bloom and I just can't wait!
    My favorite is definitely tomatos and I have to limit myself to one new variety each year.
    Another new favorite of ours is the Eden's Gem melon..it's softball sized so you can eat a whole fruit in one sitting. We ordered it from the Seed Saver's Exchange.

    One other tip, buy heirloom varieties so you can save your own seeds! There's nothing more empowering :)

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    1. We have been talking about planting a cherry tree! They also look really pretty so it's a bonus :)

      Good tip! Thank you!

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  24. Horray for vegetable gardens!! My husband and I just planted corn, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, mellon, carrots, onion, squash, zuchinni, peppers, sun flowers, and swiss chard in our garden a couple of weeks ago: http://adrianlovesowls.blogspot.com/2012/04/vegetable-garden.html I'm super excited to see everything grow!

    xx Adrian

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  25. I am super jealous of you. I want all of those things!! Haha. I wonder if I can grow grapes here & have them turn out okay... or if I need to be where you are. Hmmm.

    Anyway, one day Keith & I will have a bunch of fruit trees. I hope, haha. I know he wants an apple tree at least...

    I have some garlic growing out back. That counts for something, right?

    I'll have to come & steal some fruit from you, hahaha. This year instead of going to Brantwood Farms for apple picking, I'm going pear, peach & plum picking in your backyard! I'll warn you first so you don't look outside and see someone taking all your fruit... hahaha.

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  26. My husband definitely has the green thumb. I think all of his fingers might be green. He's had great success with tomatoes, PEPPERS!, and flowering plants too. Good luck with your garden :).

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  27. I used to have a vegetable garden, but I haven't started it up again after moving half-way across my state! I really enjoyed taking care of my little veggie garden.

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