To start the year off, I thought I’d share a few photos of what I’ve grown and harvested from my garden in the last year.
Despite the drought, with less than 50% of the average annual rainfall, I’ve managed to:
- harvest a continual supply of nutrient-packed food from our garden while working;
- sell, share and swap a surplus of vegetables and herbs;
- save thousands of seeds;
- propagate hundreds of cuttings and new plants; and
- preserve the harvest in many ways.
In addition to the many flowers, annuals, perennials, natives, trees and shrubs in our garden, these are a variety of the seasonal edibles I’ve grown.
Fruits and Berries
Paw paw, bananas (40+kg), mulberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mandarins, peaches, passionfruit, pepinos, lemons, watermelon, kaffir limes and grapes.
Many Varieties of Vegetables
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, rocket, Asian greens, celery, ginger, turmeric, yakon, chicory, asparagus, eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, leek, radish, beans, peas, beetroot, chard, chilli, lettuce, spinach, pumpkin, avocado, squash, yam and spring onions.
Herbs, Edible Flowers and Seeds
Sunflower, chia, oregano, mint, thyme, gotu kola, herb Robert, rosemary, stevia, chives, parsley, dill, pineapple sage, borage, comfrey, basil, aloe vera, garlic chives, lemon grass, nasturtiums, calendula, marigold, dianthus, lobelia, violas and native violets.

Summer salad with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, rocket and 8 varieties of herb and vegetable microgreens
More Edibles to be Harvested this Year
Pineapple, dragonfruit, choko, lime, pummelo, feijoa and macadamia nuts.
If you’d like to see what I’m growing, harvesting and cooking throughout the year, follow me on Instagram. This is one of my online garden journals. I’d love to connect with you and check out your gardens too.
Growing an Abundant Garden
You may be surprised, but I grow all this spending an average of just 3-4 hours/week in my garden. I can’t take the heat and humidity during our long summers and have a lower back injury that limits heavy gardening practices.
So I’ve had to think creatively, work smarter not harder and micro garden by principles. I have designed our gardens, microclimates and plant combinations, using Permaculture principles. I work with nature and get handsomely rewarded.
I’m looking forward to sharing these techniques and strategies with you in coming eLearning classes, so you can peek over the garden fence and see exactly WHAT I do and WHY. I look forward to inspiring you to keep growing good health, connecting with nature, soaking up the lessons a garden reveals, and having a ball along the way.
If you want to prepare your garden for planting, these tips will get you started.
Happy gardening! Anne
Your garden produce looks great do you have any Dwarf Ducasse banana suckers to sell.
Your garden templates I found too much to fill out as I don’t have that much spare time so am condensing them to suit me. Marilyn
Hi Marilyn
Thanks for the feedback on my harvests. Unfortunately, there is legislation concerning banana suckers in QLD and backyard sales are not permitted without a licence. The safest and quickest way to get started for a reasonable price is to contact Blue Sky Backyard Bananas, a QBAN accredited commercial tissue culture banana plant nursery, located in Tully, Far North Queensland. They have great growing tips and have a wealth of information on helping you succeed with banana growing. They mail Dwarf Ducasse and other varieties directly to you or you could possibly pick up from one of their distributing nurseries in Brisbane. Hope this helps.
Great to hear you’re using the Garden Journal templates to customise to your own personal needs. You can pick and choose how you’ll make the most of them, but the most important thing is to be journalling! Great work.
Happy gardening, Anne