Reinbeau
Deeply Rooted
I've finished out there for the day. Went out there at 7 am because it's a blast furnace later on in the day - this weather is supposed to last til Wednesday 
I moved my garden from the front yard to the back. For almost 30 years I grew in raised beds my father made me - out of pressure treated lumber, I know, I know, but back then we didn't, and I figure since it didn't kill us yet now all the nasties have leached out, so I'm going to keep using them. Anyways. This is what it looked like:
I had a huge spot in the backyard to turn into a veggie garden. My back yard used to be a shady oasis:
But a septic install turned it into a clean slate:
So I cut a roughly 40x40' garden in and started improving the soil. Unfortunately there are two whale-rocks out there (I mean they're the size of whales!) that couldn't be moved, they're lurking about 18" down in a few places, so I have to work around them. Rocks were the reason I was using raised beds out front in the first place!
I thought I'd like working directly in the ground instead of in the beds. I was wrong. I missed the organization of those beds! So now I'm working on the best of both worlds. I've moved the beds out back, and I'm working on moving the dirt from the front to the back, and I've also got a good sized area to grow the large stuff that never really worked well in the beds, like corn and squash.
We never did put a back lawn in out there, I wasn't sure how I wanted things laid out, so it's very much a work in progress. Here is a shot of the whole backyard, as it sits today, with the veggie garden, the bees and the new coop under construction in the background. I had those flagstones so I laid out where I want the path from the driveway to the back door. I'm going to put edging in of some sort and fill it with stone dust (we've got lots up in Maine, I can bring it down in buckets) and then set the flagstones in that. Between the garden beds I'm going to put down landscape fabric and three or four inches of pea gravel, and put a border of landscape timbers all around the whole veggie bed.
I will finish the lawn in sections out back as I have the time (and energy!). The front garden will be turned into a more formal herb garden, with the border remaining as it is. Still lots of work to do, but it's beginning to all come together!
I moved my garden from the front yard to the back. For almost 30 years I grew in raised beds my father made me - out of pressure treated lumber, I know, I know, but back then we didn't, and I figure since it didn't kill us yet now all the nasties have leached out, so I'm going to keep using them. Anyways. This is what it looked like:
I had a huge spot in the backyard to turn into a veggie garden. My back yard used to be a shady oasis:
But a septic install turned it into a clean slate:
So I cut a roughly 40x40' garden in and started improving the soil. Unfortunately there are two whale-rocks out there (I mean they're the size of whales!) that couldn't be moved, they're lurking about 18" down in a few places, so I have to work around them. Rocks were the reason I was using raised beds out front in the first place!
I thought I'd like working directly in the ground instead of in the beds. I was wrong. I missed the organization of those beds! So now I'm working on the best of both worlds. I've moved the beds out back, and I'm working on moving the dirt from the front to the back, and I've also got a good sized area to grow the large stuff that never really worked well in the beds, like corn and squash.
We never did put a back lawn in out there, I wasn't sure how I wanted things laid out, so it's very much a work in progress. Here is a shot of the whole backyard, as it sits today, with the veggie garden, the bees and the new coop under construction in the background. I had those flagstones so I laid out where I want the path from the driveway to the back door. I'm going to put edging in of some sort and fill it with stone dust (we've got lots up in Maine, I can bring it down in buckets) and then set the flagstones in that. Between the garden beds I'm going to put down landscape fabric and three or four inches of pea gravel, and put a border of landscape timbers all around the whole veggie bed.
I will finish the lawn in sections out back as I have the time (and energy!). The front garden will be turned into a more formal herb garden, with the border remaining as it is. Still lots of work to do, but it's beginning to all come together!
Luckily we took it back to Wallyworld and they were able to make it match by adding some black to it. Anyhoo, it's a nice leafy green and really blends in with the background during the summer. It's all coming together!
