“There is nothing--absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in THE GARDEN."

…. Kate Flint, Vegetable Vagabond blog, 2012!

When I came to live in this pretty little house, on an acre of paradise, at the bottom of the world, there was nothing edible in the garden except a few well-established fruit and nut trees. For this I was very grateful, as they take years to grow and produce well. However, I felt lost and incomplete not being able to pick even some parsley.

After a full year of sowing and harvesting what I could, one day I saw some self-sown lettuce seedlings appearing and I felt I was at last beginning to belong. Now, two and a half years since I arrived, I can say that I have a well-established food garden and a wonderful seed bank, in the soil and in my cupboard. If Cygnet was cut off from the world, I would be well-fed and able to feed others.

Sitting by my sunny window the other afternoon I wrote down everything I could think of that is edible in my garden. Here is the list. Of course vegetables and some herbs change with the seasons. I have not been specific with varieties here.

FRUIT AND NUTS	VEGETABLES	HERBS	SOWING IN SEED TRAYS
almonds	various chards	oregano	tomatoes
hazelnuts	spring onions	parsley	lettuces
chestnuts	artichokes	sage	bok choy
walnuts	sunchokes	rosemary	spring onions
gooseberries	Chinese artichokes	thyme	shungiku
raspberries	oca	tarragon	coriander
red currants	asparagus	winter savory	capsicums
boysenberries	Tas. nettles	salad burnett	chicories
quince	red cabbage	garlic chives	corn
prune plum	leeks	galangal	asparagus
red plum	sorrel	lemon grass	herbs x lots
cherry plums	fennel bulbs	Viet. mint	SOWING OUTSIDE SOON
Irish strawberry	various kale	lots of mints	parsnips
crab apple	cardoon	bay	peas
apples, various	walking onion	chamomile	brassicas
olives	red dock	angelica	carrots
apricot	mizuna	native violet	purslane
cherry	frilly mustard	chervil	etc etc
pears	broccoli raab	lavenders
peach	various chicory
feijoa	broad beans
Chilean guava	miners’ lettuce
rhubarb	various lettuce
grapes	beetroot
Tas. raspberry	parsnips
Cape gooseberry	mixed Asian greens
elderflower	shungiku
kiwifruit	Belgian endive
lemons	sugar snap peas
limes	garlic
cumquats	watercress
mandarins	land cress
fig	various “weeds”
hops
alpine strawberry
various strawberries

One of the things I do in my garden that differs from many other people is that, wherever you walk, there is something to eat, depending on the season. I use fruit trees as THE trees. So, I sit under the walnut tree, on the lawn, in summer. I have a little seat by the pond, which will be shaded by a crab apple on summer mornings and by an Irish strawberry tree in the afternoon. Various paths are edged with espaliered fruit trees or overhung with fruit trees whose blossom at the moment is incredible.

There are also an increasing number and range of Australian and Tasmanian shrubs and small trees, for the birds and insects. And I let areas of grasses grow as a meadow. It is delightful to watch the myriad of insects and tiny birds darting about there, especially when they are in flower and seeding. Although this does not directly feed me, the diverse ecology of this garden keeps most “pests” in check and allows my food plants to flourish.

There is nothing I enjoy more than spending time in the garden.