gardens 2014

I instantly fell in love with the fenced gardens at this house when we looked at it. I saw so much potential and my head was over flowing with possibilities. The first year we tried our hand at a traditional gardens full of rows and sections. It was our first attempt ever at gardening...so ya- a bit overwhelming.  The second year we put in a few raised beds and tried square foot gardening. I was also nearing the end of my pregnancy with Evie that summer- so the garden didn't get much attention. The third year we did a combination of both. But the beginning of the season was extremely wet and much of the gardens flooded. And last year we had a late snow in May, which wasn't so great!


THIS YEAR:

I am super excited. I have come to realize that I should garden for the family. Ya it would be great to have a garden full of produce, but really there are only a handful of things our family uses from the garden. I plan on having the staples of tomatoes, herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, and cilantro, bush beans, red onions, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, radishes, carrots, anaheim peppers, lettuce and corn. Our gardens are pretty sizable and all of that will fit in one. And realistically I can't do two huge gardens. After four years, I've come to realize it's too much. Too much work and too much produce. I found myself planting just to fill the space- instead of planting for the needs of the family. What family needs 12 tomato plants!? 

I plan on using the other garden for flowers. It will be amazing!  I love flowers and have a design all drawn up. It will also be a good place to grow the plants I get when separating plantings around the yard. I have several daylilies and grasses that need to be thinned. I also have some plants that need to be moved due to over crowding and growth- and this is a perfect place to incorporate them. I'm going for the structured english garden feel- a mixture of flowers and plants with borders. Can't wait!


Now if only spring would hurry and get here! So not looking forward to the snow heading our way.