peppers on the left, squash on the right, calendula and marigolds (pest control - lol)...
Photo of my garden
oregano and thyme
pineapple mint
tri color sage
random pretty shot
one of the 'mater bed before it became a jungle - lol...
and some nasties - one of my favorite flowers...
This gives you a little idea of the layout - 108 sq ft total - I can grow a lot in that space!
another...
finally a random pic of part of the winter garden...
I'll have to look and see what else I have for pics - so many I can't keep track - lol...
Wow, it's really interesting to see how people garden in different climates. What is the structure around and above your garden for - shade and protection from critters? And what is the white crisscross on the ground, as in the random picture of the winter garden? It looks like you have a lot of good stuff growing there! And what does the calendula protect against?
That is a shade structure. I use a 40% Aluminet shade cloth. Without it nothing would survive our brutal summers. The Aluminet is reflective and not only shades, it also lowers the temp underneath by several degrees. You can feel the difference in temp standing under it!
I have 3 4x4 beds in varying heights, 1 2x10 bed and 1 4x10 bed. I garden in the square foot method to maximize space - it's a form of intensive gardening. The white criss cross things are strips of wood lathe used to divide the beds into square foot sections - thus a 4x4 bed would have 16 sq ft of growing space.
Calendula is edible as well as a host plant for several critters, including cabbage moths. I have also had hornworms flock to them. Better the Calendula than my veggies - lol...
I plant them everywhere and they will reseed as well...
I like to interplant flowers with the veggies. Some for pest control and some to help draw pollinators...
And some, like Stock, because they smell soooooooo good!
Pretty and productive, I too enjoy seeing gardens in different areas of the country.
Kelly, I suspected that was for shade; amazing the adaptations we develop to grow veggies in places that really aren't very hospitable to them. Do other people in your area use those techniques or do their veggies just fry?
I interplant with flowers, too; I love the way it looks. I use nasturtiums for a trap crop, too. How do you eat calendulas?
Anyone who gardens here in the summer has to provide shade for their veggies - now that can be a structure like mine or even old sheets. If you have natural shade like trees or are able to plant on the east side of your house to provide pm shade that works too. Our sun is just so intense and the temps so high - nothing would survive without shade. Trees that drop their leaves are the best - shade in summer and sun in winter.
From Wikipedia...
Pot Marigold petals are considered edible. They are often used to add color to salads, and calendula extract is commonly added to chicken feed to produce darker egg yolks. Their aroma, however, is not sweet, and resembles the smell of hops in beer. The oil from its seed contains calendic acid, an essential component in soap products.