One thing I love about having a vegetable patch is, that at the end of the winter, when not much is happening in the garden, I still have some remaining crops of vegetables to harvest. This year I have an abundance of carrots and leeks, and what’s left of the kale the slugs have gotten to.

However when I dug up some carrots for a chowder last weekend, I discovered that I had obviously planted this crop in an area full of flints, which made for an interesting array of shapes. Below are photos of this years carrots as oppose to last year’s crop.  They still tasted delicious.

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is so rewarding and enjoyable. This year I had so many apples, pears, berries of all descriptions, cherries, squashes, pumpkins, beans, onions, potatoes, and plenty of salads.

Not only can I feed my family with tasty healthy organic food, but also use the colourful crops for my photography: I do a lot of commercial stillife photography, so growing my own makes sense on more than one level.

A colourful bunch of summer flowers from my garden

The strawberries have taken over my vegetable patch, but I do not have the heart to trim them back to their original habitat. Instead I have extended the vegetable patch in a stylish triangle, which I can access from all sides.

Hi there, my name is Lisa Valder and I am a photographer by profession.  I absolutely love what I do, and have spent most of my working life behind the camera.

I have also always enjoyed pottering around in my garden, learning about new plants and growing my own vegetables. Here at last is my opportunity to combine the two, and I embrace this new challenge with the greatest joy.

Watch this space