A Terrace Garden
At the end of March, 2026, I moved to a new home. My old apartment had very little access to the outside, just two small operable windows. The new place, however, has a lovely terrace accessible from both my living room and my bedroom. As Spring rolled around, I decided to put in a vegetable garden.
In the middle of May, I acquired some pots with drainage trays, lugged home heavy bags of soil, and stalked around plant centres for seedlings. I dedicated the space between the terrace's two doors to the garden. The area gets the best light, particularly in the morning.
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 320
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 320
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
I planted cherry tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and kale. I previously had a date palm started, which I brought out with the garden for company. At some point I also planted seeds from a clementine. After my initial planting, I expanded the garden a bit, adding some more tomato plants.
I was pleasantly surprised to see some blossoms developing in mid-June. The tomato plants began to smell delightful when brushed, and the pepper plants really began to grow.
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f6.3, 1/125 sec, ISO 1250
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 250
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.9, 1/20 sec, ISO 80, +0.3 step
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f6.3, 1/13 sec, ISO 80, +0.3 step
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
In the middle of July, I began to see tiny green tomatoes and miniscule peppers just starting to emerge from their cute petal-hats. By early August, however, I was not the only one to notice the garden. A mouse discovered the broccoli and kale, making short work of the greens. They never recovered from the snack attack.
As August drew to a close, the garden began to produce fruit for Human consumption. There were the first few tomatoes, and also some peppers.
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f6.2, 1/60 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5, 1/30 sec, ISO 80
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.3, 1/3 sec, ISO 80
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
My first proper attempt at a garden definitely had its bumps along the way, but it was an excellent learning experience. I was surprised by how many peppers grew, how few tomatoes seemed to emerge, and of course saddened by the fate of the broccoli. I also discovered that I have not yet developed a skill for knowing when is best to pluck something. A few of the tomatoes were taken too early and were a bit under ready, whereas I was late on a few peppers and found them going bad. Despite the challenges, I intend to try again next year.
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f9, 1/250 sec, ISO 200
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f6.3, 1/200 sec, ISO 1000
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
