How does your garden grow?

Not with silver bells, or cockle shells, or pretty maids all in a row.  Truth be told, our garden doesn't grow all that well at all.  But that doesn't stop us trying!  It's just the start of ceylon spinach season, which is a great tropical plant that just goes gangbusters, so before our tiny backyard-space is taken over by twining green vines, I thought I would showcase our winter & spring garden.

 As Queenslanders, it would be remiss of us to not have a pineapple growing, no matter how squeezy our back garden is.  This plant, formerly the top from another pine, has given us one fruit so far.

 Aloe vera is a really handy plant to have around, so I'm glad this one has survived.  Whenever we get burns, or sunburns, we lop off a leave and get the goo from inside.

 Herbs are our most common garden occupant (also a common garden failure, but that's okay!).  I reckon it makes more sense to grow herbs than anything else because they can be harvested over and over, and they qre pretty expensive to buy from the shops - plus, they're never that fresh when you do buy them.  These are parsley and garlic chives.

 And here is a big pot of dill.  I adore fresh dill, so I get a little sad in the summer when this goes to seed and stops being such a massive, productive bunch of herbs.

 This winter we tried a capsicum.  Wait, actually we tried growing a chilli, but this is what popped out of the ground instead.  It didn't get very big, less than 30 cm, before it flowered and miraculously fruited.  We got two small capsicums off this plant.

We get lots of sun in our front garden, so we've moved a few pots out there to take advantage of it.  Fresh thyme is going well out there, and we've just put an oregano.

 The surprise of the season, though, is this cherry tomato.  We don't really get enough sun for tomatoes - they tend to grow and then die.  This one grew - and grew and grew and grew.  It is now taller than Andy (who is 6'6), and covered in fruit.

 Part of the reason it has survivied is that it's against the house, so we have tied it up to the window at various places.  Who needs stakes when you have security screens?

 The thing is, it's very top heavy.  There is about a metre of empty stem at the bottom of the plant before it bushes out.

 Here it is next to me, all sweaty after a ride home.

But who can get annoyed with how much space it takes up when this is the result?

The other thing our garden is good for is green tree frogs.  This one mooned me one evening when I was admiring him and his 6 closest mates.  They sure are cute, but they are also very noisy at the most inopportune times.