Over the weekend I mapped out my garden plot using some leftover wood trim and bright pink landscapers tape. Although if I had to do it again I probably would have tried to find some green tape instead because you can totally see the pink tape waving around from the road {which 10 million people walk/drive past each day}. It looks like I’m up to something suspicious…
Ya know, like planting a vegetable garden in the middle of my backyard in high maintenance suburbia or something, and who does that sort of thing anyway? Isn’t it against the rules? Can we check on that, because before you know it there will be clotheslines and chickens and people roasting pigs in their back yard and there goes our property values if we don’t put a stop to this whole grow your own food thing right away.
I’m a rebel, what can I say?
I thought about creating traditional raised beds and then quickly dismissed the idea. 1. Because I don’t want to have to mow between them {or rather the HH wouldn’t appreciate moving between the garden boxes and then edging around them as well} 2. The ground is somewhat uneven and 3. I don’t want to have to deal with maintenance issues. We had 16 raised garden boxes at our last place, the layout was perfect, and they worked well for the space. But this yard is a lot different.
I’ve also been busy loping tree limbs with my new reciprocating saw to gain a little more sunlight for my future crops.
I have a few more trees to get to and then I’ll be done. {I decided to not take the tall trees out, mainly because it would have been a fortune to do so and because I like a challenge}.
The view of the upper garden through the upstairs window. I think a 10′ by 45′ garden plot should be just right for growing vegetables, don’t you? And YES, I am still not finished pulling all those pesky weeds out of the bark. Grrrr, they are everywhere. 🙁
I’ve also been steadily removing odd ball bushes and rhododendrons from the side yard along the road. My goal is to clear the whole sucker out by March and then plant a hedge. I’ve been toying with the idea of a long row of blueberry plants. Blueberries love acidic soil {which is what I have} and if I planted a 40 foot row of the same variety I think it might look kind of cool. What do you think? Ornamental, and tasty at the same time.
By the end of summer I hope to have a new walking path, grass and maybe even a gate. 
When we first moved in 3 months ago, this whole corner lot area was filled with my least favorite plant on the planet, rhododendrons. Now I’m down to just 7. Soon there will be zero. Yee-Haw! I still haven’t decided what I’ll be planting there yet. Any suggestions? It might look cool to extend the blueberry border from along the side yard to the front road portion and then add some skinny pencil trees behind them.
Since we won’t be fencing our yard in with a traditional fence, I planted a few Leland cypress trees between our yard and the neighbors for privacy. Leland cypress trees grow super fast and in about 3-5 years I’ll have an instant {and cheap} privacy screen. I got the idea to do this from another house down the street. Their trees look to be about 10 years old and it looks fantastic.
Does anyone have any experience trimming boxwood hedges? Mine needs to be trimmed but I am terrified I will mess it up. And I don’t want to mess it. Because it’s lovely.
That’s all I’ve gotten done so far. With any luck, I’ll be able to get a few more things done this week if the temps stay above freezing. Fingers crossed.
~Mavis
If you’re looking for some great seeds for your garden, Botanical Interests Seed Company rocks! I posted the list of the seeds I’ll be planting in my 2015 backyard garden HERE.
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Krista says
YES to the blueberry bushes! I think it would look fantastic. And tasty. 😀
Jane says
I agree!!
Mandi says
So excited for you! You have totally inspired my backyard garden, which now holds six raised beds! We have a postage stamp sized lot, so that is quite a feat. We recently tallied up everything we grew last year and it was over 340 pounds of fruits and veggies! I would definitely go with a blueberry hedge. We took out the rhodies in the front of our house and replaced them with hydrangeas. Last year I added in lingonberries and honeyberries, so hopefully this year we will get our first harvest from those! We also planted dwarf blueberry bushes along our front walk.
Katie says
I agree with the blueberry bushes, but how do you keep wildlife out of your garden…especially deer, groundhog, and rabbits??
Mavis Butterfield says
Oddly enough, I have not seem ANY deer in our neighborhood. I’ve also asked a few neighbors as well and they say nobody has had an issue. WEIRD!
Katie says
Lucky girl….although just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there! You may have more of a problem with them than the neighbors especially if they aren’t the avid gardners like you are. We have deer all over the place at our new house and will most likely have to fence in a huge area of our backyard so all of the fruit trees and berry bushes don’t get demolished!
Gardenpat says
I have had blueberry bushes for years and was told that you needed at least 2 varieties in order to get fruit! I do and I have!!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Did I say variety? I meant height. You are right, you need 2 different varieties. 🙂
sharon says
And blueberries come in early, mid season and late – so you could extend their season with the t ypes.
Jenn says
Mavis you have just inspired me to use blueberry bushes for an ornamental. It would give me fruit and look decent. I’m not a big fan of hedges or shrubs but that would look really good. Wonder if blackberry bushes would work?
Veronica says
Blackberries do not grow in bushes, they grow in canes that soon take over your entire yard! If you keep them trimmed, though, they can make an effective fence. You will need to hack them back 2 – 4 times a year.
Sydney says
Actually, with the sunshine blue evergreen blueberry bush, you could just have one bush! It is self pollinating! We have several of them though, and get ridiculous amounts of amazing flavored fruit during the summer. At maturity you will get about 3-5 lbs of fruit. And it does keep the most of its leaves, and the newer growth has a lovely color. We got ours at Bainbridge Gardens. It has a lower growth habit, so it is perfect for hedges, and is more ph tolerant. 🙂
Wynne says
English boxwood are prone to some pests (but I think they’re worth it). I resuscitated an injured one by skipping the electric pruners and hand-pruning from the inside to let in more light and air. If you lop off the outside, the new growth will be dense on the outside and eventually shield the inside in an unhelpful way. I wonder if it’s like managing raspberry canes? If you like the boxy shape (I was trying to get away from it) you might still be able to hand-prune to add airiness and then shear for shape.
Sarah B says
Costco sells lovely 4 Gal blueberries starting in April I think. $19 and some change! I’ve got the varieties written down if you want to know….
I need to get my behind in gear and acidify our new planters we built in October so they’ll be somewhat ready for Blueberries.
Sarah B says
And one of my favorite Varieties is Liberty. I picked a bunched at the Rusty Plow in Enumclaw last summer. So EASY to pick. All ripe at once. But I need to possibly find a local vendor for those as it wasn’t one of Costco’s varieties.
tracy says
Costco has the best value for large blueberry bushes…i have several…
Can’t resist every year.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Tracy, I will keep a look out for them.
Renay says
Boxwood pruning? Easy! Just don’t take too much off, not more than a few inches. More than that can result in a bad haircut. Prune in spring or summer. I use pruning shears because I share your OCD. Also, make sure you when you prune the sides, the top is a bit narrower than the bottom. This is to make sure the bottom of the plants get sun and don’t die out. I worked at a nursery for a few years (best job I ever had, didn’t make any money but lost weight and gained a fab garden!) and that was one of the best things I learned in pruning hedges.
Marie says
Yes, to the hand pruning on the boxwoods. If you don’t want to, or don’t have the time, stake them (permanently) on all 4 sides and use the stakes as your pruning guide every time you hand prune. This maintains their structure but allows new growth too.
The skinnier the stake the better, as you can imagine. Ive done this for years with a neighbors suggestion and his, as well as ours, always look great!
No raised beds? Mounded soil instead in the NW?
I want to hear more about your past experiences with the HOA. Are you in an area outside of HOA’s now? I have clothes lines and absolutely love, love, love our sheets in the summer!
Brenda says
Trim your bushes on Saturday and that’s only after Friday Night at the Movies. That weeks selection needs to be “Edward Scissorhands”. There is no telling what creative design you will come up wit!! Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Haha. But thank you for inspiring us all inside and outside our homes.
Mavis Butterfield says
Awesomeness.