Week 11 of 52 – Mavis’ Backyard Garden Plot
Now that all the bark has been spread, I feel like the garden is finally in order. Although the bark is a wee bit on the bright side, it’s easier for me to visualize where I want to plant everything, and I must admit, it does look tidy. And I am a HUGE fan of tidy gardens, and they make my heart smile {if that’s even possible}.
A few of the daffodils are beginning to bloom, but no enough to start picking bouquets to bring in the house yet. I’ve decided to plant peas along the fence again. I figured I might as well use the space for something since I won’t be able to plant sunflowers there until June.
I planted endive in one of the pallets, and am hoping to transfer out some more lettuce starts and spinach pretty soon.
Even thought there is nothing really growing yet, this is my favorite view of the garden anytime of year. It makes me feel like the possibilities are endless.
I planted the espalier trees along side the house yesterday.
Bean teepees and future potato beds.
So far I have poppies, rhubarb and artichokes planted in this area. I’m not sure if I should try and squeeze anything else in. I think one of the hardest parts about gardening is trying to keep in mind what plants are going to look like once they are fully grown. Ha!
I think we have about another 2-3 weeks until the early tulips I planted in the black pots start to bloom. If you look closely you can see the chives springing back to life on the sides of the greenhouse.
Call me crazy, but I am going to try potato towers again. I haven’t planted them yet, but hopefully I’ll get to them later this week.
View of the main backyard.
The chicken/ kale /Swiss chard/ fava bean garden. I still have a few more plants to set out, but it’s coming along nicely I think.
Future pumpkin patch.
Raspberry patch.
The future herb garden. I think we still have 2 large pots in the garage that I need to drag out and fill with dirt and herbs. Also, I noticed the rhubarb I planted last year in this area is just now starting to pop up. I think I’ll move it towards the greenhouse though so I just have herbs in this area. We’ll see.
So what’s new at your place? Are you itching to get out there?
~Mavis
This years garden is being sponsored by the awesome folks at Botanical Interests Seed Company. You can check out their website HERE, order their new 2013 Garden Seed Catalog HERE.
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Jules says
Beautiful garden! I have a question…how do you keep the cute little critters (rabbits, etc) from dining?
Mavis says
We don’t have a problem with rabbits, and the squirrels and chipmunk just steal the berries. So I plant extra. 🙂
JennH says
What are the plants alongside the house where you planted the espaliered trees? They are growing so nicely.
Mavis says
Viburnum. Best hedge plant ever. They have pretty little flowers twice a year.
sara says
I love the garden updates!! Between you and Pinterest my garden “to do” list is ridiculous, and I love it. The husband is at the garden store right now getting more supplies for my newest project… I think he is going to ban both you and Pinterest soon!!!
Mavis says
Ha Ha Ha!
Sandy says
Since I’m relatively new to the site, maybe I missed it. Just how big is your yard? I live on a postage stamp now and while I have a garden, herbs, strawberries, and grapes in the backyard, I am now seriously eyeing the front yard.
Susie says
Sandy, here is Mavis’ answer she’s provided to this oft-asked question: “We live on a little over 1 acre but only use about 10% for the garden.” 🙂
Sherry says
Your garden is beautiful, Mavis. I will follow its progress all year long. I went to a class at Watson’s in Puyallup yesterday morning and espalier trees were discussed. The simple lines look attractive.
Suzanne D says
Do you practice crop rotation? I noticed you planned to “plant peas along the fence again”. I
have such a small area to plant I may have to do this but I keep reading that planting the same thing in subsequent years doesn’t work well.
jubob says
There is nothing so pretty as a garden of any kind. Almost all of our seed is here. I have ordered some seedleess grapevines and 2 hazelnut trees. We hope to get a couple of apple
trees and plum trees.(plum jelly is best) With a combination planting guide we drew up a map of where everything will go this year, and everytime I look out the window at our dirt, I can’t wait to get out there and play in it. We started sweet potatoes on the kitchen table so we will see where that goes. We are in Ohio so it is going to be a little longer, but
we want to wish everyone happy gardening. It’s good for the soul.
Mavis says
Very sweet. Thank you!
Penelope says
My Black Hungarian peppers germinated! I was worried, but I’ve got at least 5 going. Should get compost this week and till the garden.
Mavis says
Wahooooooooo! 🙂
Karen says
Are those wood chips all around your garden area? If so, did they cost a small fortune? I need to do something in areas where there is no grass growing and your yard look wonderful. Very inspiring!
stacy says
Wow Mavis. It is going to be so fantastic when the plants grow bigger.
Marie says
I am overwhelmed at all you do in the garden, kitchen, etc. There are only 24 hours in a day……how in the world do you accomplish everything you do.
Vanessa says
I have a mostly grass backyard. The grass is currently squished flat because our three feet of show just finally melted this last week. I want to build some raised garden beds out there and I was wondering if I have to dig out the grass if I am going to use landscape fabric over it. Would that stuff really be strong enough to prevent the grass from coming through?
Mavis says
I have never placed landscape fabric directly over grass. A lot of people recommend using cardboard to squelch out grass.
JennH says
I had a yard like that, too, where I ended up putting raised beds in a grassy area. Since it was a good sunny spot (perfect for a garden), the grass was very nice. I decided to go ahead and take a shovel to the grass and dig it up, partly because I had some bare patches in the yard that needed grass (mostly where my little weiner dog had dug up some unsightly holes). I ended up transplanting the grass from under my raised beds to the bare patches, and I also created new holes where the lawn didn’t look as good and replaced them with the much-nicer grass, essentially resodding parts of my lawn without having to buy new sod.
Immediately surrounding the raised beds, we decided we didn’t want to keep grass, but didn’t need more sod (plus we were tired of digging), so we carpeted the area with newspapers, wet them down, and covered it all with woodchips. I was amazed at how weed-free the area stayed.