This last weekend, we (my husband and brother and I) took a day and pushed my garden a little closer to the state I want it to be in.
I didn’t clear all of the beds yet, but WOW. Adding edging and mulch makes a HUGE difference.
Tundra was very interested in the proceedings. I chose red mulch so it would ‘pop’ more against our grey house.
Yes, I have tires as part of my garden! And a cattle tank that I put in fairly early on but discovered didn’t drain well even with a million holes drilled into it. My garden has grown in stages over the last 8 years with many different things I tried out.
I found large grow bags to be the best option – they’re round and easy to reach the center, but over the years they break down.
So I added cinderblocks to surround them and make them a permanent bed. Only I didn’t order quite enough of them, so we put them in backwards to take advantage of the longer side. I mean, it looks deliberate, right? Sorta fashionable.
I’ve cleared the cattle tank and the first two beds, but I haven’t turned those beds over yet.
I’ve been struggling to figure out what to do with my thornless blackberry plants that were taking over the entire garden and climbing up under my siding.
It occurred to me that I could use the cinderblocks to prop posts upright. Then I used the mallet to pound them into the ground. It seemed pretty wimpy, but I wound the canes around it, clipping them into place, and it got more and more sturdy as I worked. I think it turned out nice! I have blue berry plants in the middle, but I’ll keep adding blackberries and raspberries to the outside. I planted four of them this week.
My beds all have enough space around them now that I can easily work in them. I took care not to block the basement window entirely, and I made sure that the meter man will be able to get to our meter.
I’ll be extending the garden further down this year, but that section will be grow bags and landscape tarp.
Here you can see the lovely mulch!
And this last photo is an overview from the street side.
It looks amazing but wasn’t difficult. I did overheat halfway through the day and have to drink and lay down in front of a fan, so we took a break then.
When I’d cooled down and was feeling better we went out to do the rest.
I’m really happy with how this is coming together!
How is your garden looking this year? What plans do you have? Inquiring minds want to know!
