It's a little late to be writing 2013 lists, but I've started getting garden catalogs, so it's time to start planning. Last year I patiently watched my yard naturally progress through the seasons, with little help from me other than some general housekeeping in areas that I knew needed it.This year I want to jump in feet first, and here is what I have planned so far.
find a better place for tomatoes
My tomatoes were a fail last year. They just did not get enough sun to produce like I would have liked. This year I would like to take advantage of the one sunny spot by my garage for tomatoes. I might end up with containers in different spots, to see which ones do the best. I'll use the raised bed the tomatoes were in last year for peppers, squash, and herbs.make some window boxes
I have one window box, and I'd like to have more to match. The hardest part will be finding the brackets, my mom thinks they were custom cut. I'll try to start with the back of the house and work my way around.find a home for my Confederate Jasmine
This is one of my favorite plants, and I haven't decided exactly where I want to put it. It will either be a raised bed near my garage, or beside my porch. It smells wonderful, so the important part is to place it where I can actually smell it.tackle some of the ivy in the woods
map out my yard
I don't have a good scale drawing, and that would go a long way in to keeping myself organized and sharing what I'm doing with you. I'm thinking a combination of something drawn by hand, and google maps with certain gardens getting detailed drawings and plan lists.focus on 2 or 3 beds
I'm not going to go crazy, but these are some areas that either need a lot of attention, or I think I can actually make things grow!- The bed on the south end of my house. I put down some cardboard and mulch here last year. I'm hoping it has decomposed enough that I can start planting here. This will be the beginnings of my first attempt at a cottage garden.
- The 'kitchen' garden. This area is a mess. The dirt is crazy hard, and all that is growing here are some iris's that didn't even bloom last year. This bed needs the same dig it up, add some compost, and top it off with mulch treatment that my rock garden got last year.
- The rock wall on the south side of my house. This was formerly home to a bunch of ivy. I planted some bulbs here in the fall (more on that some other time), and I'd like to add in some day lilies and some more color.
It is good to have a plan and goals to work toward.
ReplyDeleteI have a Nandina bush that I put in a large tub last Spring because I didn't know where I wanted it. I've got to decide about that real soon.
I have tilled a new area for tomatoes and peppers. Where the tomatoes were last year, I'm planting running Butter Beans. Then bunch Butter Beans (or maybe peas) in the place that lay fallow last year. I've already sowed onion, carrot, and lettuce seeds - probably too early, but there are hundreds of tiny seeds in a packet. I plan to sow a few more each week so they won't all be ready at the same time.
And then I went a little bit crazy at Wal-Mart last week - I bought 50 gladiolus bulbs! I have no idea where I'm going to put them! I really need to set the same goal as you - Map Out My Yard!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
You've got a lot going on Lea! Onions would be cool to grow, but I don't know anything about them. Do you have any tips??
DeleteI know how you feel about going crazy with bulbs. I planted 180 daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, etc this fall. I haven't blogged about it bc I'm a little nervous the chipmunks got to them and I won't have much to show for it. I love gladioli, and I think they'd be great planted en mass, or tucked in different places to add height & color.
Have a wonderful day Lea!!
I have found that onion seed are slow to make onions. It's better to buy onion sets - they make onions faster. Here in Mississippi I can plant either in the early Spring and harvest in the Summer, or plant in late Summer and harvest in the Winter, if I cover them at night when the weather gets cold. Check the labels to see what is recommended for your area - I imagine it is lots colder there. Onions are considered cool weather vegetables - it is our intense Summer heat that they don't like.
DeleteI add Miracle Grow Potting Mix to my garden dirt. Another thing you might want to consider is getting a Soil Test to see what, if anything, needs to be added to your garden dirt.
Happy Gardening!
Lea