My New Garden

Over a year ago, I decided I wanted a food forest for a yard.  I'd been reading about permaculture and regenerative agriculture and watching these homesteading channels where people are trying to use best practices to raise food for their families in an environmentally friendly way.  But I knew that I am too old, tired and inexperienced to ever start a project that big on my own.  Fortunately we can afford to hire gardeners and so we did. That was my Christmas present (and probably birthday too).  It's pricey but we got a contract with a permaculture garden company called Organic Edible Gardens.   It took a long time time (a year) before they got started.  I think it is a small company who does quality over quantity.  However, now that they are really creating the garden, I am pretty excited.  I got these photos just before the big snow.  I'm praying the plants will do ok.  I was worried about them being planted so late in the season.  We'll see how they do.

First the boring part.  At least to me.  Our front garden was suffering from severe neglect.  The liriope had overgrown under our Japanese maple tree and we could barely get to the bench that was under there.  R really didn't like sitting there anymore because he was afraid of ticks in the long grass.  So it was going unused.  Now they have planted a low growing ground cover under the tree and we've moved the bench out to what will become a little niche area.

A new path that goes all the way around to the back porch has been put in. 

The part of the garden that was on the further side of the path in the front yard has been extended.

You can see the extension here.  The original part was lined with laurels that were dying.

If you around the back past the bench, you come to our new fence and gate with new path.  This part looks completely different.  This is where I start to get really excited. 

I think this will look so pretty when everything is in bloom!

Once inside the gate you have new plantings on the neighbor's side and on the dining room wall side.  These planting include a lot of neat things like pineapple guavas and fig trees and pomegranates! 

So many things have been planted, I have to keep going to look up what is where!

These are raised beds.  I've got 5!  These are for annual veggie planting.

I am really excited about this.  Trying to figure out what I will grow.

Right by the porch there are lots of cherry trees and blueberry bushes planted.  

Here you see the path, plantings to the left and right and a rain water barrel.

In the side yard near our fort, which is outside the backyard fence but still our property, we planted apple and almond trees.  

You can't really tell much from this picture.  The whole area will be more fully developed in phase 2 of our garden planning.

I started a garden journal and I'm trying to write as much info as I can about each plant, referring often to the big map the gardeners made for us.  

What I am really nervous about is wasting food.  So I'm trying to come up with simple ways of preserving.  I think I will primarily freeze a lot of food that I can't eat or cook with right away.  I also am going to be giving away food to people, if they want it.  I also am thinking if I wind up having way more than I can preserve or give away to family and friends, I will give some to the St. Vincent De Paul Society.  Strike that!  I think I will tithe 10% of the garden to St. Vincent De Paul or whatever groups takes fresh produce.