My Little Eden
I love gardening. I remember working for an hour and a half mowing my grandparents yard and being paid the astronomical sum of "three whole dollars" for my efforts. It seemed too good to be true. I have been mowing lawns and pulling weeds for as long as I can remember.
Fast forward a few decades...
I still love gardening, but three dollars doesn't seem like nearly enough money for an hour and a half of work.
Nonetheless, gardening is my escape, my gift to my family, my bridge to sanity, and, ultimately, my connection to God.
My Cousin works at a fencing company. They routinely install, fix, and remove vinyl fencing material. When they have left over, scrap and used material, what better place for its ultimate resting place than my garden?
I used the recycled vinyl fencing material to build raised veggie beds. They are 3 to 4 feet wide, 12 to 24 inches tall, and up to 36 feet long.
My wife is a graphics designer, so the layout had to be aesthetically pleasing. We went thru several designs before we settled on wht we call the "amazing maze design." Essentially, what we ended up with was a series of interlocking beds that provided for easy access and maximum planting area.
I have included pictures of the rest of my backyard area, including the chicken coop made from recycled fence material, the patio made from recycled sidewalk concrete, and other notable areas.
As of today, my garden has
10 varieties of tomatoes
5 varities of sweet peppers
5 varieties of hot peppers
baby corm
snap peas
snow peas
soy beans
yard long beans
4 varieties of cucumbers
squash
zucchini
arugula
lettuce
Swiss chard
Lima beans
chives
garlic
onions
shallots
ashawagunda
asparagus
basil
carrots
brochilli
cabbage
thyme
rosemary
oregano
okra
artichokes
blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries
grapes.
I also have cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, lemons, grapefruit, limes, oranges, figs, almonds, walnuts and poppy seeds.
I am fortunate to be able to preserve enough food from the garden to carry us through the winter. We are still enjoying last year's blackberry jam and preserves, diced tomatoes, peaches, apricots, figs, nuts, chicken soup (not my favorite chore) and poppies.
If you like my garden, please vote for me.
Fast forward a few decades...
I still love gardening, but three dollars doesn't seem like nearly enough money for an hour and a half of work.
Nonetheless, gardening is my escape, my gift to my family, my bridge to sanity, and, ultimately, my connection to God.
My Cousin works at a fencing company. They routinely install, fix, and remove vinyl fencing material. When they have left over, scrap and used material, what better place for its ultimate resting place than my garden?
I used the recycled vinyl fencing material to build raised veggie beds. They are 3 to 4 feet wide, 12 to 24 inches tall, and up to 36 feet long.
My wife is a graphics designer, so the layout had to be aesthetically pleasing. We went thru several designs before we settled on wht we call the "amazing maze design." Essentially, what we ended up with was a series of interlocking beds that provided for easy access and maximum planting area.
I have included pictures of the rest of my backyard area, including the chicken coop made from recycled fence material, the patio made from recycled sidewalk concrete, and other notable areas.
As of today, my garden has
10 varieties of tomatoes
5 varities of sweet peppers
5 varieties of hot peppers
baby corm
snap peas
snow peas
soy beans
yard long beans
4 varieties of cucumbers
squash
zucchini
arugula
lettuce
Swiss chard
Lima beans
chives
garlic
onions
shallots
ashawagunda
asparagus
basil
carrots
brochilli
cabbage
thyme
rosemary
oregano
okra
artichokes
blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries
grapes.
I also have cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, lemons, grapefruit, limes, oranges, figs, almonds, walnuts and poppy seeds.
I am fortunate to be able to preserve enough food from the garden to carry us through the winter. We are still enjoying last year's blackberry jam and preserves, diced tomatoes, peaches, apricots, figs, nuts, chicken soup (not my favorite chore) and poppies.
If you like my garden, please vote for me.