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A Herb Tree

18/2/2015

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A few months ago, in early November, I created a "Herb Tree" and entered it in a competition for garden structures, winning a prize and ending up in the newspaper. This is the photo taken when it was completed, and entered into the competition:

Picture
I call it a “herb tree” but basically it’s a fancy structure to hold multiple hanging baskets, most of which I’ve planted with herbs. I was inspired by a post and hanging baskets I found at an op shop for a bargain $30 price. The base of the stand was completely rotten, so I began by dismantling it, having my husband cut some new base pieces (which needed some fancy work with the bench saw to make them interlocking), as well as cut some new blocks for the holders. I then rebuilt it myself, and also nailed it to a pallet for extra stability. I painted the pallet and the pole with free paint from the dump – first with a light green, then with a top coat of glossy enamel forest green.
Picture

Not all the baskets came with liners, so for the ones that did not, I used some wool from the last time we crutched our sheep to line the insides. Wool makes a great basket liner – it holds water but drains freely, and holds in the soil. Any dags in the wool are a bonus fertiliser!

I planted up 14 hanging baskets. They contained:
  • Basil
  • Dwarf Munstead Lavender
  • Rosemary
  • Nasturtium
  • Parsley
  • Pizza thyme
  • Golden Marjoram
  • Oregano
  • Curry plant
  • Chives
  • Yates Tiny Tim tomatoes
  • German Chamomile
  • Peas (which I hope will drape down over the sides of the basket)
  • Strawberries
Sitting on the pallet I also have four buckets which I drilled holes in the bottom of, filled with potting mix and planted two each with Borage and Geraniums.

Picture
I also created labels for each plant. I used some battens from a piece of trellis that fell apart, and cut them into 10 and 15cm lengths with the dropsaw. I drilled holes in each end, and I then painted them all with more free pale green paint. After they dried, I used a stencil from my kid's art supplies to pencil on the lettering, then painted with acrylic art paints and a fine art paint brush. I added some decorative touches to some of them. And then I sealed them with a coat of varnish. Lacing wire is threaded through the holes and over the edge of the baskets before being twisted to hold in place. The labels will make it easy for my children to identify which herb is which when they need them for cooking. Plus they look pretty cool.

My plan is to have everything on this stand be edible, and to make it easy to come along and snip a bit of this and a bit of that to add to salads or cooking.

There is room to add a few more baskets onto my herb tree stand as I am able.

The whole set up has been placed onto a barked area I created between several other garden beds, where there is just the right amount of space for it. I would prefer to put it closer to the kitchen door, but that area is very exposed and windy, while this spot is a wee bit more sheltered.
Picture
The downside of hanging baskets in summer is that they dry out very fast, and have to be watered every day without fail. Some plants have done particularly well:
  • Golden Majoram (which is neat, as when I've tried to grow any kind of marjoram in the past it's just died)
  • Oregano
  • Thyme
  • Parsley
  • Chives
  • Mint (a wee bit of a surprise, as I always think of mints as needing rather moist conditions). It now is putting out runners through the bottom of the basket - in time it may well be a whole ball of mint!
  • Geraniums
Some others are growing slowly and doing ok:
  • Rosemary
  • Lavender
  • Nasturtium
  • Sage
A few others were a bit of a "flash in the pan" - doing well at first and then either bolting or coming to the natural end of their cycle quite quickly, and not enjoying the hotter conditions:
  • Tomatoes
  • Dill
  • Chamomile (this is still growing, but it looks quite straggly)
  • Borage
  • Peas
  • Basil
By the time the photo below was taken for the newspaper in mid January, the borage and tomatoes were finished and had been removed, and the peas and dill were on their way out.

Picture
It was a fun project! I enjoy using free or very cheap items creatively in my garden!
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Apparently I'm "Supermum" - but don't believe everything you read in the papers!

30/1/2015

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Expecting a P.R press release in the local papers about the Herb Tree I created that won a prize in the Yates Vegie Challenge, I just about fell off my chair when I read this headline.......

"Supermum does it again!"

The "again" part references an award I won in 2013 as "Vege Gardener of the Year." Despite a couple of inaccuracies (the website given for example, or crediting me with expanding the online group of vege gardeners I'm part of), the article was mostly all true. Except maybe the "supermum" part. Believe me, I'm just an ordinary gal, with too much too do, and not enough time, like most everyone else! Neither my house nor my garden are perfect, despite my desire that they were, and probably never will be.

It's kind of fun to be in the papers, and if it encourages or motivates someone else to give gardening a go, then I'm all for it. Just remember, you don't have to be a "super" anything - you don't have to have a large garden, much money or a lot of time or expertise to have a go at gardening! Gardening is fun and rewarding, but very much a learn-as-you-go adventure!

So, if you ever invite me over, please don't feel intimidated by me; don't polish the furniture or hide the ironing, or apologize for the weeds! And if you ever come and visit me one day, I'll try not to let that "supermum" image push me into doing those things either!

I'd rather we could all just relax and be "real" with each other. And real people aren't perfect!

My garden has plenty of weeds, tasks undone, things I meant to get to urgently but haven't for one reason or another, piles of materials for projects I might get to one day, plants I should have trained or pruned but haven't yet, and food I meant to harvest but haven't and it's now past it's best. I frequently feel "behind" in what I intended to do.

But you know what? Despite all that, my garden is pretty cool! There are things growing, there is food waiting there for me to pick and eat. There are bees and butterflies and other amazing critters darting about. There are flowers looking pretty, herbs waiting to heal, and hidden things to discover every day. Gardening is a great form of therapy - and you get tomatoes too! And strawberries...and beans.....and watermelons.....and beetroot.....and new potatoes......and chokos.....and sweetcorn......and yacon.......and cucumbers.....and - well you get the point!

So, I will hereby forgive myself for all the things I was going to do and plant in January but haven't, go ahead and toss out the seedlings that are never going to do well if I plant them now, and start fresh in this new month. And I will take time every day to enjoy what IS doing well out there. I'm not supermum, and that's ok!

How about you?
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    Author

    This page is my blog formerly known as Kiwi Urban Homestead.

    I'm a Kiwi homeschooling mother of 5 living in a small town. After growing 1000 kg of produce in my back yard in 2013, I'm now expanding my edible gardens even further.

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