In the Ground

You may recall that when Andy and I moved into our house, I announced my desire to grow all the things. I am happy to say that, aside from a weekend spent learning plumbing to fix a leaky shower, almost all of our energy spent making this place ours has been outside. We have pulled a few things out, gotten some big & risky trees lopped, and planted lots.

Andy learns plumbing.

First in the ground were three pineapple tops.

Papaya seedlings out the front have grown quite quickly.

Pawpaws in April. The ugly frog came with the house.

Pawpaws in May. My, how you've grown.

A spiky mandarin tree menaces anyone who dares get close enough, and hopefully will bear fruit in another 2 or 3 years (but realistically may take much longer).

A vanilla orchid, courtesy of Dee and BoaB, greens up our patio.

A small patch of grass near the driveway has become something of a herb garden. Basil, chilli, parsley, and a coffee plant all grow there, and some soy bean seedlings are hopefully fixing nitrogen in the dirt for everyone else to use.

Soy bean sprout-lette.

A funny, skinny strip of yard between the fence and the patio/carport wall was home to a big gum tree. It shaded the roof (which is a problem since we're getting solar panels), and dropped fairly large branches every time a breeze came through.

It has made way for a little banana patch.

Vietnamese mint will hopefully start going a bit crazy before too long.

A butternut pumpkin and a zucchini in the front garden are growing really quickly.

Some dragon fruits provide a very different look from the normal lush greenery that characterises food plants.

Our sweet potatoes are finally starting to sprout.

This is an orange sweet potato, I think.

Peanuts, grown from unroasted locally grown nuts, will hopefully allow me to make my own peanut butter.

Peanuts are also nitrogen fixers!

We've never eaten sweet leaf before, but that didn't stop us buying a plant to put along the front fence!

A star apple out the back is a good tropical shade tree that will also give us nice fruit.

Our patio could do with some greenery growing along the sides, and this passion fruit should do the trick nicely.

We have a few other things scattered around, including tomatoes, spring onions, and eggplants. Everything is small and in the early stages yet, but things grow at a cracking pace here in Townsville, so I hope to post more garden photos in a few months that are barely recognisable, and to smugly mention all the backyard produce I include in meals!