OK, OK. You may have guessed that this is someone else's backyard. In fact, this is the Little Homestead in the City and my new inspiration for what we can do with our little patch of ground.
Alex and I built a 4' x 10' raised bed as our start. I have been adding compost material and topped it off with composted cow manure, sphagnum peat moss, and mushroom compost from our local Wallace Farms.
The mulch is a free delivery of wood chips from a local tree service that was cleaning out the woods in our neighborhood. I have mulched a lot of areas and still have a moderate mound of material left on the driveway. And it was just a half-load! Can't imagine what a full load would do to me!
I also made several ollas for improved, consistent irrigation. An olla is a clay pot that you bury to its neck and fill with water. You plant your plants right next to it and the roots reach out to the pot which releases water just as the soil dries. Ashamedly, I will admit that I finally went to Wal-Mart where the 6" pots were $1 each. The lowest price elsewhere I could find was at GardenRidge for $3. Darn those low prices.
My planting approach is based on square foot gardening. The idea is that you divide your planting space into 1' x 1' segments and then you plant a certain number of plants in each segment depending on the type of plant.
Dad came over and pulled out four of our u-g-l-y crepe myrtles and I planted needlepoint hollies in their place. It'll take a few years for them to get a decent size, but they look ok now and they will be great as an evergreen backdrop to our projects in time. Our neighbor has an amazing lawn and I never liked the idea that he had to drive up his driveway and see our life in progress. We may miss the myrtles at first but will be glad when we have some more permanent screening too.
Dad came over and pulled out four of our u-g-l-y crepe myrtles and I planted needlepoint hollies in their place. It'll take a few years for them to get a decent size, but they look ok now and they will be great as an evergreen backdrop to our projects in time. Our neighbor has an amazing lawn and I never liked the idea that he had to drive up his driveway and see our life in progress. We may miss the myrtles at first but will be glad when we have some more permanent screening too.I also removed the climbing rose bush that has engulfed everything nearby. It's a beast. In its place went trellised peas.
My front yard effort has been to remove the honeysuckle that has overgrown everything in our mailbox-side bed. It's so bad, I'm contemplating whacking the shrubs down to nibs so I can fully eradicate the honeysuckle. The abelias are all overgrown anyway; I just might really screw up their natural form if I go for it too hard. Now that it's fully spring, I'll have to wait until February. Not like the honeysuckle could get any worse, right?
Future plans for the back yard include a grape arbor and a second raised bed to be put into action this fall.
Future plans for the back yard include a grape arbor and a second raised bed to be put into action this fall.
My friend Kate gave me the brilliant idea to put blueberry bushes in the front yard. I added five additional plants earlier this spring and the results on my older bush has been tremendous. They are all popping with future berries!
