garden journal

I picked up an old (2006) gardening magazine at the secondhand store the other day.  One of the articles was on creating a "gardening journal" and gave ideas on not only formats to use, but what to include.  It was already something I was thinking I should do - keep a better record of what I am currently doing in my garden, what's working, what's not, and plans for the future.  So, be prepared for a lengthy post, as I catch up on the garden so far this year....


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The branch playhouse is coming along nicely.  Here's it is under construction in March:

 Path laid out and a few flowers planted, in April:

And here it is in June.  I've added a lot of rocks to the path, planted some more flowers and herbs (including a true "morning glory" to climb the north wall), and added vintage glass suncatchers.  The kids built some shelves from extra pavers and wood. 

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Along with building the playhouse, we moved the compost pile.  Twice.  It used to sit behind the woven fence, but we found the location didn't work.  We needed a larger area, for a larger compost bin.  So, this spring we moved  the compost pile (first time) to behind the greenhouse (against the sideyard fence).  As part of that project, we decided to take down the west "wing" of the branch fence.  It wasn't holding up as well as I wanted, and removing it made moving the compost MUCH easier. 

Here's what it looked like last year:

Here's what it looked like after the fence and compost pile were moved this spring:

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The next project was to finish the garden space east of the studio.  Last year I only got beds put in the northern half and just let pumpkins cover the weedy southern half.  It was quite the jungle:

This spring I pulled out the "pavers" I had put between the beds and used them, along with leftover cinderblocks and concrete pieces, to finish dividing the garden into raised beds.  I put grass clippings down in the walkways.  I am very lucky to have a friend who manages various apartments, so I have access to all the grass clippings my heart desires and I've been using them everywhere this year. 

Clockwise in the above pic are beds of beets/tomatoes, corn/cantaloupe, peppers/one lonely strawberry, tomatoes, squash, peppers.  I tried planting strawberries along the back fence, but they were not happy back there and only one is still with us.  I also planted marigolds and onions around the borders of most of the beds to hopefully keep the bugs down.  So far, the beets/tomato combo is working out really well.  The beets are ready to harvest and the remaining tomatoes will fill in the bed nicely. 

The corn/cantaloupe combo should work too... but I'm afraid I started that bed too late and we won't harvest much of either plant.  Another experiment I tried this year was starting onions from green onions bought at the grocery store (you know, when you can get a big bunch for a quarter).  My dad suggested it.  Although those onions gave instant impact and made my little seed started ones look tiny and sad... the seed started onions are now MUCH larger than the store bought ones.  Is it because they're in different locations or because green onions just aren't a good way to go?  Oops, I forgot to stick with just one variable in my experiment...

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The next big project was Beorn's idea: moving the side fence, so the sideyard would be part of the backyard.  It would mean having chainlink between two sections of vinyl *gasp*, but we decided to do it anyway.  It turned out to be an even bigger project than we thought.  First, we had to move the compost pile (again!) and then the footings were enormous!  It was a lot of digging and included the discovery of several baby mice.

But we finally got the fence (mostly) moved, a third compost bin built, two raised beds built out of recycled pallets, and built another bed behind the greenhouse.  We still need to buy another post so we can finish the fence, but I am very happy having a sideyard I can actually use.  I've added another future bed, from the remnants of a planter box from the front yard. 

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Another project has been a flower bed in front of the studio.  Early in the spring, Bucket had fun with some pavers, the slide, chairs... I think it was supposed to be a rollercoaster, or something.  I liked the lines he used and decided to add a flower bed there.

Here's what we started with this spring: a dirty mess.  Last year we removed the narrow raised bed that was in front of the studio.  We used the wall pieces to create a retaining wall for a "sunken" patio, while the dirt from Monkey's window well made the backyard a little more level.  But, yes.  It was pretty ...  well, not pretty.

Now, it's looking much better.  The bed curves around the patio and then around our big tree. There are flowers on the east side and pumpkins on the west. The hollyhocks and columbine I started from seed.  Most of the other flowers I picked up on clearance at home depot.

Eventually I'll get flowers in the whole thing, but for now the pumpkins are filling in nicely. 



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Another change can be seen in the above pic - the infamous swing (remember W's forehead?) is gone.  Well, not really gone, just moved.  We cut off the branch and moved the swing to the patio instead.

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And then some little details...  I added vintage glass.  It started with a Relief Society activity making teacup yard ornaments.  I decided to do clear glass, since it would fit nicely with my kitchen motif.  Then I added suncatchers made from vintage butter dishes and a tray turned windchime.  Not your typical yard stuff, but I think they're pretty.

Oh, and my mom provided the cute, white vinyl fencing (that her HOA made her remove) used for the garden entrance and behind the greenhouse.    

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It's still not where I'd like it to be, but I am happy with the progress I'm making in the backyard.  I've been able to get it looking so much better and I've spent very little money in the process!