as i was going through some old photos last week, i found the one above of our backyard when we first bought the house almost 15 years ago. as you can see i had a clean slate to work with-not one plant was to be found! there was just grass which over the years i have eliminated all of, except for one little strip along the sidewalk where we can get out in and out of the car (which soon will be flagstone:)
i thought it would be fun to show you the before and after.
this week we have been direct seeding several different vegetables including cukes and watermelon right on the front lawn. and i have been popping all sorts of beans in to little empty pockets here and there. bush beans don't take up too much room and can be tucked in between your perrenial flowers. there are many beautiful purple and yellow varieties which look lovely along a perennial border.
i also planted a few different types of pole beans to climb up the chicken run fence and some bamboo tepees. i am growing my friend tim's heirloom beans.
i also wanted to share with you a little series which i have fallen deep in love with. i have a little crush on gardener, alys fowler who's gardening style is very similar to mine. she lives in the city of birmingham, england and has a small backyard where she incorporates edibles in with her perennials and ornamentals. she has written several books, many of which i have on my wish list. and recently i stumbled upon a bbc series called the edible garden where alys focuses on living off her own home grown produce straight from her little city garden.
not only is her garden charming and her style whimsical but i could listen to her say compost and basil all day long in her beautiful english accent. and i love how she refers to zucchini as courgettes.
you can watch all six episodes of the edible garden here.
both of my daughters are also quite smitten with this delightful little show and want to try all of alys's recipes. i especially have been keeping my eye out for purple sprouting broccoli.
even though alys lives many miles away i feel as if her garden and mine are distant cousins.
I can't believe the transformation, Amy. Amazing. I love the Edible Garden. I watch it sometimes when I'm doing detailed mishima work or packing large shipments of pottery. It is delightful.
ReplyDeleteI just watched all 6 episodes of the Edible Garden- I could not stop watching, I loved it so! Thanks for posting the link. My husband and I bought our first house this past fall, and have started work on our little lot. We were planning to do it one way, but after watching that show, I told my husband I was re-thinking everything. It will be exciting to see it come together, as was seeing your before and after.
ReplyDeleteI love to see before and after transformations. So amazing, Amy! You guys have created such a lush and inviting place. I have Alys Fowler's "Garden Anywhere" and devoured it back when I first got it. So many inspiring and truly useful ideas for small space gardening. I will check out the series you linked. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to have happened upon this blog! I LOVE what you have done with your backyard! Where did you start and how did you get rid of all the grass? My husband and I are backyard farmers for now, we have 11 chickens and a rooster names Henry :), a chubby Beagle named Charlie and several raised beds and a few ground gardens. I think the neighbors think we are nuts! We are biding our time until we can afford to finish our cob house on our 17 acres 10 miles outside of our little town in the Ozarks of Arkansas. I started watching The Edible Garden at your reccomendation and I couldn't stop! They were so great! Are there any other series like that avaiable?
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