Mavis Mail – Charla From Bellingham, Washington Sends in Her Garden Photos

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!

Charla from Bellingham, Washington sent in several gorgeous photos and had this to say:

Hi Mavis,

I live just a little south of Bellingham Wa- we have just under an acre, with a lovely creek and mostly clay soil.  I have been gardening seriously for about 13 years, the last 6 1/2 here in Washington. I did find some pictures of my garden that spans over the last couple of years- unfortunately, last summer I spent most of my time in Gig Harbor helping my sister with her husband who had just entered into hospice, so I pretty much got my garden going in the spring, and it had to fend for itself until September.- but these pictures closely represent my garden.  I could send you pictures of it now, but it’s not a pretty sight!

I have 6 raised beds of various sizes,plus pots, tubs and whatever else I can find to plant in. I have another 15 x 5 foot bed that I have raspberries, 2 blue berry bushes, rhubarb – and this is where I planted corn and bok choy last year.

I put in a kitchen garden alongside my greenhouse in 2010, using it for herbs and have actually had good luck with carrots there.  My 3 apple trees (gravestein, belmac and gala) have also given me quite a bit of fruit each year.  My greenhouse is built from reclaimed wood and windows- and although we still have a little work left to do on it- it’s fully functional inside.  My sweet husband even gave me a water spigot inside- so much easier!  It sits right up to my deck, so after a hard days gardening, I can sit, have a cool drink and check out my handiwork.

I tore down my picket fencing in the fall of 2011, but really hated the look of my veggie garden without it- so we bought new pickets, painted and rebuilt the fence- this time a little sturdier.  I plant sweet peas and nasturtiums along the fence line every year- plus marigolds, chamomile and poppies alongside my veggies.

I love color and fragrance in my garden! I am a big perennial gardener as well, so my time is divided between my vegetable gardens and my 8 or 9 perennial beds.  Each year I put in
another bed, I just can’t help myself!

I’m still getting used to this climate, as I had such bountiful gardens in Michigan, but it’s a challenge that I enjoy.  I start cool/hardy veggies and flowers early in my greenhouse and as I transplant them out to bigger pots, I start to sow the more tender varieties.

It’s kind of a conveyer belt effect! I have 2 upright greenhouses that I use to harden off my transplants before planting them out. I keep some tomatoes in my greenhouse and some in 5 gallon pots- I am rotating them out of my garden beds right now- so they won’t go back in for a couple more years.

Thanks for letting me share my garden with you, I’m excited for this year, and have lots of plans for an even better harvest- I look forward to seeing your garden grow!

Happy planting, Charla

Charla I’m sorry to hear about your sister’s husband. Hopefully we’ll have some great weather this summer for your beautiful garden. You have done an amazing job and your greenhouse seriously rocks!

~Mavis

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

• Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
• Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
• Cool Arts & Craft made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go  HERE for the official rules.