Meet the grower

meetthegrower LEE SULLIVAN

For this avid home gardener, the only way is up, writes SALLY FELDMAN

The fi rst thing that strikes you on entering Lee Sullivan’s garden is the series of trellises and arches that form lush, green cascades above raised beds. Here, in the suburb of Blacksmiths, south of Newcastle on the New South Wales coast, Lee has made the most of her 650m2 corner block by making these vertical planes a feature. “They’re a big thing for me, because they can double your growing space – especially in a small garden,” she says. “I also think they add a nice dynamic.”

Lee started out gardening in her previous home – a townhouse with a small concrete backyard. “I’d always toyed with the idea of growing my own food, but didn’t think it would be possible with our limited space,” she says. “But after my fi rst son was born, knowing about the food he ate and where it came from became a priority for me. I realised the only way to know was to grow my own, so we started out by putting in a raised bed.”

lost & found

Starting a food garden was a life changer in other ways, too. “At that time, I was feeling a little lost – only discovering later that I’d had mild postpartum depression,” Lee explains. “As I was gardening, I realised ‘Wow – I feel great’. My garden gave me back a sense of self when I felt a little overwhelmed by my role as a new mum. It became a place of calm and quiet for me, a place I could go to refocus and recharge. It wasn’t something I was seeking out, but I started making that connection. I have a psychology degree, so I should have worked it out sooner! And, while it wasn’t the reason I’d started, growing our food played a huge role

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Lee and her Japanese heirloom Manpukuji carrots, which were so big they had to be dug out of the ground; this partly shaded garden is the perfect place to grow winter greens; Lee’s favourite way to eat Chioggia beetroot is roasted with olive oil, salt and thyme.

LEE’S TIPS FOR VERTICAL GARDENING

The most important thing is to use good-quality arches and trellises. It’s tempting to buy cheap ones, but they never last. Mine are all metal, and they’ve been going strong for a couple of years now.

After about six years, I’m just starting to understand about spacing out your plantings. This year I was so restrained – I was determined to give everything a good amount of space.

When you have limited space, you get creative. If you’re trellising zucchini, for example – make sure you tie them regularly, because the stem is likely to snap if it’s not really secure on the stake. At one point, I had to re-tie them every few days because they grew so quickly.

Harvesting your fruit regularly is another good trick as well. I always train my cucumbers over an arch. They need some guidance, so I tie them. They look so pretty, too. Adding that height dimension to your garden looks amazing – it’s an ornamental garden that’s also edible. in my healing, and has become something I do, not only for our physical health, but for my mental health.”

room to grow

Lee, her husband, Tim, and their two sons have been in their current home for about two years now. The fi rst thing the couple did when they moved in was to get cracking on the garden. “When I fell pregnant with our second child, it was time to move to a bigger place. A good-sized backyard, with was a must-have for me,” says ee, who likes the wild garden ok, with certain constraints... “I’d probably describe my rdening style as ordered chaos,” e laughs. “I do like to keep my rden neat and aesthetically autiful, but also love having a gely productive ‘jungle garden’. rune my tomatoes, often gle-stemming them. I don’t ‘let garden go’ completely, because n’t have the space. It’s about ing the balance. I also need to p things pruned because powdery ew and airfl ow are an issue, due e high humidity in this area.” mong the fi rst gardening lessons learnt was to “feed the soil, not plants”. At the beginning of each on, she adds compost, sheep ure and organic slow-release ser to her soil. Her worm farm des liquid fertiliser and castings.

Fruit fly can be particularly bad here during summer and, as I’m committed to using no sprays or chemicals, I use organza bags on my tomatoes to protect them, and it’s worked wonders. Once a truss has set fruit, I put a large organza bag around it and tie it with ribbon at the top. It completely protects the fruit from any pest attacks and has meant an abundance of summer tomatoes. I also use them on strawberries, and anything that looks like it may be under attack.”

Follow Lee on Instagram @urbanveggiepatch

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE Lee’s rst potato harvest was a big success; beans grow up bamboo stakes; pea seedlings ready to climb a teepee; organza bags protect Lee’s tomatoes from pests; this loofah vine on a metal arch has produced almost 50 fruit; delicious and proli c Tatume squash.

“In the end, it’s finding out what suits you, your lifestyle and your garden,” says Lee. “My best recommendation would be to enjoy the journey and don’t expect perfection. I look at failures as a good thing, because they’re part of learning how to be successful. I also think it’s vital to understand the process of planting seasonally, and make an effort to learn what works best in your space. I also recommend planting what you like to eat rather than a bunch of random crops!

“I’m a big believer that anyone can grow their own food. I would’ve called myself a ‘black thumb’ before I started gardening. My windowsill was a place where supermarket-bought potted herbs came to die. So if I can do it, anyone can!” GA

AVVY SEED STORAGE

Lee grows everything from ed, she’s discovered a crafty y to store them. “My seeds are ored in a photo storage case, hich I keep in a dark cupboard der the stairs. You can keep pes of seeds together in their ckets, and it’s super-organised. ntil I discovered this method, ey were a chaotic mess! You ccumulate so many as a gardener it becomes a bit of an addiction.”