Spring Garden

 My garden is a work in progress. Lots of people have the problem of not enough space...me, I have the opposite problem....there is so much space that I want to fill with beautiful garden that I don't have the time, money, or energy to do it all at once. So, I am taking baby steps.

 This year, I managed to convince hubby to let me have some raised beds instead of trying to take care of an enormous, spread out area. I wanted things more concentrated to help reduce weeds and make it, well, prettier. 

 I am trying out a method that is new to me (mostly since I haven't had a ton of gardening experience) but actually a method that has been used probably since the beginning of time....companion gardening.

 It's suprisingly simple really. It's just a matter of sorting and planning. As you can see, my garden is just beginning to grow, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens! 

Next year, I am definitely adding strawberries and some other perennial fruits and vegetables. After that, in the next few years....rock paths, arbors, sitting area, expanding my perennial flower garden, a little garden shed/greenhouse......aaaaah....I can see it now.....and my kids will grow and help...and hopefully, enjoy the garden as much as I do! There is so much to be learned there, as well!

Garden Start

Though it has reached eighty degrees already here in mid-March, it is still not quite time to plant everything in the garden yet. I've planted potatoes, onions, and garlic in my raised beds and more to come in a few weeks!

I finally convinced my husband that we needed a few raised beds instead of just a wide open space. Our garden area is really, well, HUGE! Too huge, to tell you the truth. So, since I have not flower beds, I've contrived a garden plan that incorporates flowers and veggies...the best of both worlds!

I love using tractor tires for flower beds! I plan to plant flowers in them...I am so pumped about having flowers again!!

Galvanized metal raised beds...are now filled with dirt and potatoes, onions, and garlic planted!

This is just for fun....my four year old had to have a "lake" for his boat (:

Love my chicken boots! (:  Got them on sale!!

Mom's Garden Book

Have you ever, like me, found yourself dog-earing the pages of your favorite magazines or cutting out randon things that you want to keep for reference, only to find that you never remember you have it?? I began cutting out recipes years ago and putting them in a recipe book, but had never done so with gardening stuff. I remembered that I had a random sticky page three ring album that my grandma gave me and I thought I might use for something. These sticky page albums are not always acid free for photos, but they work great for magazine clippings! The three ring type allowed me to also put two sided pages in page protectors and add to the album. This is a great way to keep your ideas and notes handy when you need them and the same concept can be used for home improvement, recipes, and much more!! 

Fall Gardening

Now, don't get me wrong, I am NO gardening expert...I learn from what others have done and try what works for me. Our garden is 60x40 feet...yes, it's LARGE! It's too large for me to keep up with the way that we had our rows spread out and far apart in the  past, and I've been wanting to try raised beds for some time. I've also wanted to do what is know as "companion gardening"  within the beds because I don't want to use any pesticides on my plants. So, after MUCH discussion (sometimes heated disagreements), I finally convinced my husband that we needed some raised beds. Hopefully it will help with drainage, keeping weeds under control, making better use of the space, and make it just plain prettier to look at. 

So, my plan is to plant in these four 3x6 feet beds and on the opposite side of the garden, we will plant our rows of corn and okra and I will slowly add either more beds or make some sort of separate are for berry bushes and other perennial fruits and vegetables. I also want our garden to be a place to hang out and play with the kids, so I plan to incorporate some fun little things as it develops. (these raised bed kits and much more at Gardener's Supply)

Raised beds

My critter catcher AKA Harry Dog