Chilly & damp outside...

...but that's OK because in my daydream it's summer and I'm in Canada - Winlaw, British Columbia to be precise. The sun is shining, there's a warm, fragrant breeze and I'm wandering through some of the most stunning gardens imaginable - all courtesy of this gorgeous book that Diane so kindly sent me a while back.

Images reprinted from The Garden That You Are by Katherine Gordon, by kind permission of the publisher Sono Nis Press.

It's a wonderful book full of beautiful photography, gardening tips, ideas, recipes and most of all fascinating insights into a group of very creative, culturally diverse gardeners and their special gardens in the Slocan valley. I've been really enjoying the inspiration this book has brought!

I've wanted to grow more of our own food for a while now. We live in a modest suburban house with an average back garden but quite a lot of it is covered in patio area. As it's essential that we keep the main bit of the garden for the children to play in I'm having to think about making the most of a small amount of space and so I'm turning to raised beds and planters for our fledgling veggie garden. I've got my seeds and potatoes on order but it's too cold to plant anything yet, so it's a great time to snuggle up with the books and start planning everything out.

I'm really looking forward to spring - starting off small but with hopeful plans to expand!

Comments

[Rosy Nancarrow]

We plan to do raised beds too as we have a large area at the bottom of the garden which would be idea for veggies. We have Carol Klein's book - Grow your own veg which is very inspirational. Its just a shame it hasn't inspired Ian to build the raised beds yet - he he!

[Sinta]

Growing your own veg is great and lots of fun! Also very educational for the kiddies :) I've been growing food in my backyard for the past two years and I have to say potatoes are the best and red onions = red onion marmalade, which Mr H just adores! I'm looking forward to your harvest later this year :)

[Kitty]

A couple of years ago I grew runner beans and cucumbers for the first time. The lettuces all failed though :-( Last year was too traumatic to grow anything, but maybe it's time I started looking at the seed catalogues. Thanks for the prompt. x

[susetheslowknitta]

goodluck with the veggies!
Giant pots can be a good way of growing stuff on the patio too,huge plastic pots are often available from places like instore or Poundland, and look out for BOGOF offers from ASDA and the like. The good thing about pots is that you can rearrange them to catch the sun/avoid the wind, the kids can paint them to look cheery and after cropping you can put spring bulbs in them.
A lot of the seed companies are promoting smaller plants for growing pots, Hestia is a good dwarf runner bean, very tasty and doesn't need enormous canes either. Watch out for free plant offers on Gardeners World magazine too, last year for £4 postage I got a tomato plant, an aubergine, a pumpkin a courgette and a capsicum. Not bad! Its a good way to work out what you can grow succesfully without spending a lot. Have fun!

[Gemma]

I very much look forward to seeing as your garden and plans for chooks develop. We too are hoping to grow more of our own veg. I think this year will be more prep and then we'll start properly next year. You'll have to pass on any tips :) x

[claire]

Hi there - we have the same problem with patio but we managed to grow all our veg in ots which we lined around the edges. I was surprised how much we were able to get, but we steered away from big veg and focussed on kale, cucumbers, courgettes, green beans, lettuce tomatoes and potatoes - good luck

[nannisandi]

Glad your groove has taken you in the gardening direction!Gardening is a peaceful thing to do and good for the soul. Wishing you good weather and green fingers.

[nannisandi]

I'm new to the blogging thing and forgot my URL thingy. Drop by some time, I'm always glad to see visitors.

[Joy]

That looks like a very inspirational book and it must be good because if you look on amazon UK its £40!!!!!!!!!. You were lucky to get it as a gift.
Loom forward to seeing your garden as it progresses. I shall be doing the same on my probably even smaller plot. Stop by my blog sometime after we planted stuff.

[Willow]

I use raised beds and pots to grow my veggies. Tomatoes do well in pots, at least on the Pacific Ocean coast.

[Elizabeth]

I also have decided that this is the year for growing vegetables. I'm starting small and using pots to grow tomatoes in. Really nothing tastes as good as a home grown tomato. We are going shopping this weekend to get the pots and get them ready for warm weather planting.

Looking forward to watching your progress!

[Jane]

Armchair gardening at this time of year is just perfect. Jane x

[Laughing Duck]

for years I've been "landscaping" with herbs but recently I've been growing a winter garden. Kale, chard, parsley, cilantro and lettuce. This summer I was planning on removing the front lawn and setting up raised beds but I have to think twice now as I saw a deer trotting down the street yesterday. Odd as they are usually in the hill not down here in the flats or so I thought!

[Certain Creatures]

oh your knitted bunnies are W*O*N*D*E*R*F*U*L!

[Stacey]

I love to garden and the kids really enjoy it too!

I've given you an award :) Please peek at my blog to see. http://primprimitives.blogspot.com/

[Deanna]

The giant pot idea is wonderful. Since I live in an apartment that is how I grow my veggies in the summer. Being a southerner, I grew okra, butter beans, tomato and peppers. I was able to keep those icky bugs off of them as well with cheesecloth.

Deanna :)

[Kelly]

I will be gardening for the first time this Spring - if my schedule will allow. My mother is a wonderful gardener and I hope it is genetic. I think it will be good for the girls and fun too! My favorite garden in BC is the Butchart Garden - http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

[Jenne]

Hi there
We grow some veg too and DH made a load of planters to grow them in. WE have had some lovely veg although 2008's crop was awful.
Good luck.
Incase your interested I have some blog candy over on my blog if you want to take a peek.

[Barbara]

What a funny coincidence! I grew up about 50km south of the Slocan Valley. It's very beautiful there - I miss the whole area very much.

[Maddy]

Julie if you would like some good advice go over to Jamie Olivers blog, it has a section for bloggers and there are loads of home grown ideas. You must give tomatoes and basil a go, not only do they smell like heaven but they grow so quickly. And a pumpkin too, lots of fun for the kids and they take to very little care.

[Jenny]

You're going to have so much fun when the weather warms up for you! When we plant from seed we often source the seed from online heritage seed banks. They have some fantastic seed varieties. The kids love to see the same vegetable, only a different colour or size. It's a feel good thing to do as well! Jen

[Megan]

It's so much fun growing your own, even in small amounts. I have just a few pots on the patio with herbs, lettuce, tomato, and courgette growing in them, and even that is very satisfying. One day I will get a proper garden!

[Michaela]

I'm sure you can plant broad beans now can't you? Well I hope so anyway because that's one of my jobs in school tomorrow...

[Jo]

This is the first year we have grown our own vegestables, and we love it. There is nothing better than going out and picking your own veges for dinner. I also wanted to get it going this year so that I can teach my daughter about where veges etc come from.

You are going to have so much run :)

[Lisa]

How Fun! Love your post!! I have been thinking about the same things. We are going to build a raised bed also this spring. I just can't wait to get it started. Thanks for sharing the great books. :)