Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

Onward and Upward in the Garden

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I have been a bit behind with my blog–but I have been busy in the garden.

Here is a herb garden Roy created from scratch last month

And here is our Alpine garden.

The clematis, as you can see, is blooming, as are my yellow roses

We have bird feeders in the garden, and are popular. Lots of feathered visitors.

I have started basil, coriander, and sunflowers from seed for the first time ever. It does give one such a sense of satisfaction.

The seed bursting its narrow confines, full of promise of yellow sunflowers.

Our bay tree almost died this winter, and then, just when we grew accustomed to its loss, and decided to chop it down, we saw shoots on the trunk itself. New hope, new life, persistent….  Resurrection!! Thank you, Lord!

Jake, our collie, thinks gardening is a brilliant idea, though he does wish we would resume taking him for walks, rather than absently tossing his ball for him!
* * *

I am going to try to grow vegetables for the first time ever. We have laid out an asparagus bed with 40 asparagus plants. And I have about 125 vegetable plants in pots to plant out. No kidding!!

Just curious. Does anyone actually save money by gardening? Or is it just an expensive hobby, which has some fresh, luscious veggies as a fringe benefit?

I’d imagine that the capital expenditure is a more or less one- time thing, and the yield in fruit and veggies increases month by month. Sort of like running a business.

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  3. This is a novel idea. I am going to start a garden in my backyard…..slow and steady. Spring is the best bet for me…..coz the weatherman predicts some flurries tomorrow. I do not want to freeze outside. But, I love palnts and flowers and I am going to take up this project in 2012. Thanks for your motivating landscape and beautiful plants. Good job Anita!

  4. Anita this is an amazing idea. I am going to work on my backyard this spring. Right the weatherman predicts snow. So all I can work with is tulips and other bulbs but, to do this gradually and make one patch at a time is a novel plan. Thanks for sharing. I love it!

  5. Hi Marcy, That's great because our initial costs are significant–we're buying lots of plants. We've started making, though not using, our own compost–and have made some mulch of wood clippings.
    Will check out Ruth Stout. No tilling, wow!
    Never thought of bush-type zucchini, or butternut squash mashed or in soups. Must try the former!
    Thanks for the tips!

  6. Thanks Nancy. It's our first year with a vegetable garden, and we've planted lots, but don't yet know what will work. The herbs are certainly doing well, though those we have grown before. Never thought of using yoghurt pots!!

  7. Grrr… blogspot eats my comments…

    Initial setup costs are significant, but most are exactly that — initial and not recurring. You don't need to buy compost and mulch and starting pots each year — you can build up your own compost, get spoiled hay and straw for free, use your grass clippings, and make paper pots or reuse things as Nancy suggests.

    When you compare costs, compare your veggies with organic local produce at the farmers market, not regular supermarket stuff.

    Check out Ruth Stout on lazy gardening with permanent mulch and no tilling; I think you'll find her amusing and practical.

    It's true hay and clippings will have weed seeds… but if you make the mulch layer deep enough, the weeds will mostly be squashed.

    Also, there are space-saving varieties of some usually sprawling veggies — bush-type zucchini and so on. You get more butternut flesh per square foot of garden space than you get pumpkin, and it makes even better pies and is also good mashed and in soups and such.

  8. We grow herbs, vegetables and soft fruit. I think it is possible to save money this way once you've got the basic tools and only grow things that work for you. We've given up on brassicas (because of slugs and pigeons)but do well with rhubarb, blackcurrants, gooseberries, perpetual spinach, onions, runner beans, salad crops, courgettes. I recommend butternut squash if you have the space – very versatile and stores well. Don't buy plant pots – re-use empty toilet rolls, yoghurt pots etc.

  9. Lesley! Didn't know you were a gardener. Shall try and get some everlasting spinach seeds. Insects and slugs–must say they hadn't figured into my calculations. This is our first vegetable garden ever!

  10. I find everlasting spinach is brilliant… the problem with growing vegetables is that you have to wage war on the insects and slugs… must say I have frequently lost that battle!

  11. Thanks Harriet and Ray,
    Thought i had stumbled on a way to make money while losing weight. The capital investment in soil, composter bins, tools, gloves, secaturs, manure, compost, propagators, seeds, plants is not insubstantial, however. Will have to see how things pan out. I am going to specialize in perennial vegetables–plant once, reap for years….Well, at least in theory!!

  12. Well done you Anita. You are certainly taking it seriously. Love the picture of the clematis by the way.
    I've never grown any vegetables the garden is too small but my parents grew all and I do mean all their vegetables and salads all there lives, and in the end kept their seed from season to season so apart from the sheer hard labour it cost them nothing.
    My father used to give tomato plants to all the children passing by on their way to school in the morning and they used to report back to him when they got their crops.
    A lovely way to make fiends of all ages.

  13. The gardens are looking wonderful. And no… I'm pretty sure you don't save money by growing your own vegetables but I can't buy the satisfaction (if I am successful).