Lee Sullivan’s vertical garden

The first 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 first 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 and 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 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 first 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 good sun, was a must-have for me,” says Lee, who likes the wild garden look, with certain constraints… “I’d probably describe my gardening style as ordered chaos,” she laughs. “I do like to keep my garden neat and aesthetically beautiful, but also love having a hugely productive ‘jungle garden’. I prune my tomatoes, often single-stemming them. I don’t ‘let my garden go’ completely, because I don’t have the space. It’s about finding the balance. I also need to keep things pruned because powdery mildew and airflow are an issue, due to the high humidity in this area.”

Among the first gardening lessons Lee learnt was to “feed the soil, not the plants”. At the beginning of each season, she adds compost, sheep manure and organic slow-release fertiliser to her soil. Her worm farm provides 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.”

“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!

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.

Follow Lee on Instagram @urbanveggiepatch

Photos courtesy of Lee Sullivan