Joy in the Garden

 I wandered around my garden today and realized just how many things are bringing me joy out there!

The fig tree that I bought this winter as a houseplant (but wasn't very happy) is now coming back to life as it takes a summer vacation outdoors.
We had our flowering cherries pruned back this spring which has allowed for much more light to filter in to the side of our house (which was pretty much full shade). The plants are filling in and my window boxes have never been happier!
There is a sea of sunshine blooming bright in my front hillside garden. Coreopsis is such a happy plant.
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Curly kale growing in harmony amongst the Lambs Ear.
 A robust crop of Horseradish to be harvested this fall.
The first of the gooseberry harvest.
A Black Eyed Susan vine finds it's way.
The living roof atop the bunny hutch is lush and beautiful full of succulents and herbs.
The Yarrow has begun to bloom.
And the purple bush beans are flowering.

What is bringing you joy in your garden?

Easy Peasy Trellises

With a small property but a big desire to grow a large variety of plants, I need to be creative with my space. Growing plants vertically, especially the vining type is a great way to utilize space. Trellises get plants up off of the ground preventing rot as well as being nibbled on by insects and creatures plus you’ll get help from bug-eating birds that use trellises as hunting perches.

Disease problems are minimized because plants receive better air circulation. Harvesting is easy and crops stay cleaner because they are suspended above the soil surface.

This year I am growing as many cucumbers as possible since it is a favorite in our home. Not only do I love the look of edibles growing in harmony with my ornamentals but I love how the trellises create height, texture and a sculptural presence in the garden.

The trellises shown above are very simple to make and affordable too. With just a few pieces of lattice found at your local garden or hardware store and some wire you can have a handmade trellis in a matter of minutes.

My pieces of trellis were cut to 40"X20" and wired together at the top to create an A-frame structure.

I placed one in the back garden in part shade and one up front in full afternoon sun. It's a race to see who will win and produce the first cucumber of the season!

Embracing My Front Garden

 You may remember when I first introduced my front garden space and how it had been neglected for some time. Well, I am happy to report that I have been spending most of my time up front this season and giving the space some overdue TLC! Although there is still much more to do (including building the retaining rock wall), I am quite pleased with how things have filled in.

I spent most of the spring improving the soil conditions with a heavy dose of compost which has made a huge improvement in productivity. Like the rest of my garden spaces, I have planted a mixture of ornamental perennials such as Coreopsis, Echinacea, Black Eyed Susans and Spiderwort along with an array of herbs including Sage, Thyme, Comfrey, Borage and Santolina. I made sure to leave room for the annual edibles that thrive in sunny conditions and that we love to eat such as Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber, Basil, Swiss Chard, Lacianato Kale and a few Watermelon plants. Everything is peeking up through a lush ground cover of Vinca Vine and Creeping Jenny.

 In the past I would look the other way when I walked past the front of my house and only use my back door just to avoid the eye sore of a space. But now the first thing I do in the morning is open my front door to say good morning to my garden.  I greet it with a smile and pull some weeds. I water it's roots and then nibble on some herbs. And sometimes i just sit on my front steps and admire.

thanks to the spring rains

it poured rain all day and night on friday. so much that we got nearly 4 inches! the next morning i walked around the garden to see how everything had fared and i swear my garden had doubled in size! it has been a lovely spring here where i have not had to water much at all and everything is growing so lush and beautifully.
the strawberry begonias are flowering and spreading like wild fire. i love their dainty little blooms and variegated leaves. they make for a beautiful shade loving ground cover.
the strawberries are finally ripening and don't really make it into the kitchen these days but rather straight into our  mouths
 
the garden in front of the house is filling in nicely with a mixture of edibles and herbs such as rhubarb, zucchini, cherry tomatoes,cucumbers, kale, swiss chard, radish, sage, thyme, santolina and comfrey. they are growing amongst an array of ornamental perennial flowers.

we picked up a japanese cucumber and luffah plant in chinatown this weekend to add to the mix.

the peaches are growing fast and tempting. each day i cross my fingers that those walking or even driving by will be patient until they are full grown and ripe. hopefully there will be some left for us!
the gooseberries are plumping up and i plan to make some rhubarb gooseberry jam. what's faring well in your garden these days?

small scale gardening

the time has come when the inside of my home begins to feel a bit neglected and abandoned. dust accumulates on every surface, the floors are in desperate need of a mopping and simple meals of sandwiches and popcorn are made to allow every waking moment to be spent out in the garden.

 i have been teaching a few backyard classes this spring including small scale gardening which i taught this past monday evening. i focused on creative solutions and ideas for those who have limited space. i talked about maximizing space by inter-planting vegetables, fruit, and herbs with ornamentals, incorporating them into pots and planters, growing on top of a roof and even on the strip between the street and the sidewalk. i discussed edible flowers,  edibles that do well in planters, how to make your own potting mix and compost tea and edibles that grow well in part shade (don't worry, i will be focusing on all of these topics in the upcoming weeks).

 i also shared many ideas which i am excited to try myself both at the farm where i work as well as at home. straw bale gardening is something i have always wanted to try and this week i plan to make a vertical garden. I will write a post about making one for next week.

deer resistant gardening

Young bucks, in the wildflowers last summer

 When we first moved to our home, we felt pretty lucky to have deer frequent our yard. They are beautiful, peaceful creatures and we love to observe their antics, and behaviors amongst each other. As soon as we started to think about gardening though, and particularly landscaping, we realized we were in for  quite a challenge. Our dream landscape, which would be somewhat of an unending, textured garden; with fruit trees, berries, and a diverse array of edible and medicinal herbs and plants.... vs reality.... Oh my. Where to begin.

Lavender is distasteful to deer but so useful, fragrant and beautiful to us

 One of our very first projects here was to fence in a small veggie garden, and then to fence in a few fruit trees. Fencing was a relatively easy solution, even though not ideal. The greater landscape has posed a much bigger challenge, and one we have been slowly trying to learn how to overcome. A lot of the things we like to eat, deer like to eat as well.

Dwarf Greek Oregano and other small leaf varieties are left alone by deer

Now that we have lived here for nearly 4 years we have learned some things, and finally, I am starting to feel like it is actually going to be possible to achieve a full, lush, beautiful, and even edible landscape.

Rosemary in bloom. The bees sure love it but the deer do not.

 We started out knowing of very few plants we could successfully grow unprotected (we planted lots of lavender and rosemary that first year!). Some of the things that are said to be deer resistant aren't necessarily, and there were some tough lessons involved there. And sometimes plants that are typically pretty resistant, will suddenly get eaten for a short period of time, though in these cases, it usually passes and the plants will fully recover (some recent surprises included lemon balm and catnip). With time, observation and experimentation, we have a growing list of plants we can grow and enjoy here.

Rhubarb has toxic leaves. They are occasionally tasted, but nothing more.

Dill and fennel grow big and bushy and show no pressure from deer

 Following, is a list of edible and/or medicinal plants that have proven to us to be truly deer resistant. This doesn't mean the deer don't taste some of these things now and then (and keep in mind, a taste can mean a whole plant if you only have a small amount), but these plants have stood the test of time, and are thriving and look beautiful - or in the case of annual edibles, are able to produce a harvest.

calendula
sage
dill
fennel
rosemary
lavender
oregano and marjoram (smaller leaf varieties)
thyme
savory
mint
lemon balm
catnip
chives (sometimes!)
rhubarb
artichoke
garlic
onions
potatoes
jerusalem artichoke

Calendula has been of no interest to the deer. This one still surprises me.

 Part of my goal for this post was to offer some of our experience to those of you who have similar challenges, but also to see if there might be some of you that have learned some things about deer resistant gardening that you could share.

We will be working on adding to this list this year. If you have anything to add, I would love to hear! With what I've learned so far, I have a better sense of what deer like and what they don't, and am looking forward to experimenting with some new herbs this spring and summer.