Though it would be nice, you don't need a 1.2-hectare garden like Sarah O'Neil's to enjoy the pleasures of growing your own food. The tiny 3-metre vege patch in my back yard is right now producing beans, tomatoes, spinach, rocket, lettuce, courgette, spring onions, tatsoi, kale, basil, bay, oregano, parsley and thyme. And yes, I do enjoy boasting about it, and wandering out to the garden to pick what's required in the kitchen. I am also doing my bit for the bees by letting things go to seed.
![http://www.bite.co.nz/recipe/13970/Garden-pesto/](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/PZ5QIAOUJXKQXAXFUU5FG5TDYE.jpg?auth=0b37d5ecd3e03fef6c05ba9e2f5a2e5a68ee347d79d01261c496565659056155&width=16&height=24&quality=70&smart=true)
Garden pesto is my latest obsession because it enables me to incorporate my home-grown produce (including the flowers of those bolting plants, which also look pretty in a vase or as a garnish) into lots of dishes.
![http://www.bite.co.nz/recipe/13975/Tomato-and-watermelon-salad/](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/237EBGQEE2GXRR5EFFMUMLEIFQ.jpg?auth=cedfbaa3a4b743f314ba997bf30121ff91507022422561e8edbc32c9c73b777b&width=16&height=21&quality=70&smart=true)