It's my first full year with my own yard and I've been really, really into my garden this year. If you like gardening or vicariously watching things grow, maybe you'll like these pics too?
Things were starting to get bushier in June! We had been harvesting arugula and other greens, chamomile flowers, a few tiny strawberries (thanks to a gift from my aunt) and herbs all month. I got some hay as well and mulched both beds and all of the buckets. Yes, the hay has definitely sprouted grass, oops.
So, I went away for 2 weeks at the beginning of July, and came home to THIS!
Here are some of the things the garden has made so far! Various herbs for cooking, a peony, lavender flowers, my first beet, some of the peas. I've also been plucking chamomile flowers almost every day, and let my mustard plant go to seed and collected all the pods. Oh and there was a TON of arugula while that plant was still fresh in the spring, and lettuce pretty much whenever we want it.
I'd like to figure out how to dry more things for winter use, how to give more away, and I'm looking forward to harvesting my first celery and cucumbers tonight!
The garden is winding down now and looking a little ragged these days. I've pulled the peas, harvested the celery, carrots, and most of the jalapenos (the bell peppers didn't do that great sadly). The summer lettuce is all long-bolted, and the tomatoes are full-on dying, putting the last of their energy into fruits before I pull them too. Beans went NUTS in August/Sept. I thought the flowers were all going to drop without producing, but then it turned out there were like 20 HUGE (40cm) beans growing on the backside of my fence lol. Since then we've had several decent harvests and many meals. I also started giving some of the produce away on my front step, but I think I need to be a little more productive before I can really make a go at that.
I'm thinking of planting more lettuce and radishes where the tomatoes and peppers were, and overwintering garlic bulbs since I've never done that. How far can I stretch the growing season? And should I get a cold frame y/y??
Finally, I've also been starting to dry herbs and collect seeds for next year. I might try to do a seed library also on my front step, and see if anyone wants any...
anyway, enjoy some harvest, meal, and seed photos!
ETA: How did I forget to update on cucumbers? We had approximately one zillion cucumbers growing on the fence and they were all perfect and delicious, which many of my friends and neighbours can attest to because I could only have 1 cucumber on the go in the house at a time haha.

