I realized today that I haven't posted much of anything about our garden and its development. So, here's a recap of what's happened since last year.
While the project to dig out the garage area was going on, I dug around the garage to create an area for a perennial garden. Designing the garden from scratch was way too daunting for me, so I turned to a trusty source; a copy of The Victory Garden that we had kicking around the cottage. In it, he laid out a design for a perennial garden that measured the same size as the two sunny sides of the garage area. He said that he planted that exact garden by going to garden nurseries and picking up plants commonly sold there. In reading the list of plants, I found it hard to believe that I'd find all of them at one of my local nurseries. Also, I figured that the cost of the garden would be prohibitive if I were to buy grown plants. So, I decided to start the entire garden by seed, shunning the option of buying plants altogether.
This decision naturally lead me to find a seed-starting system. I bought one from Gardener's Supply, complete with an adjustable-height light fixture, special grow lights, seed trays with lids and self-watering tray. The initial cost of this system was probably close to 75% of the cost of the garden, but I now have a grow system that I can use year-round and produce quality flowers and vegetables for a fraction of the price of buying them as maturing plants.
I ordered most of my seeds from Stokes and some from Burpee. I also had some kicking around that I bought for cheap last fall at Bloomingfoods.
Paul and I planted 5 trays worth of seeds on Feb 15th. All but impatiens have sprouted. Here's the list of plants that we have started. Myosotis (Alpestris Blue Ball), Achillea (Yarrow--Cloth of Gold), Dianthus (Cheddar Rose), Monarda (Bee Balm), Lupins (Russell Hybrids), Scabiosa, Snapdragon, Blanket Flower, Echinacea (Coneflower), Desert Bluebells, Four O'Clock Marvel of Peru, Delphinium (Blue Jay), Aster (Wartburg Star), Chrysanthemum (Crazy Daisy), Geum (Mrs. Bradshaw), Heuchere (Coral Bells), Hollyhock, Coreopsis, Balloon Flower, Strawberry.
As far as other garden projects are concerned, we made some recent progress. We bought a really nice composter that I will fill this week with leaves and kitchen scraps. We bought a mold that we can use to create walkways and patios simply by filling it with cement (we bought a plastic-canister cement mixer as well). We're planning on making a walkway from the garage to the laundry room door. Also, we bought hinges that we will use to create a raised bed vegetable garden. Since my seed trays are occupied by perennials, we'll have to plant the vegetables from seed soon. Next year hopefully I'll have some room in the seed trays to plant vegetable seeds. Daffodils that I planted last fall have nearly bloomed. They provide constant encouragement for me as they are next to the laundry room door--a door I use about 10 times a day.
On Sunday, Paul and I planted 19 very little trees that we received from The Arbor Day Foundation and a garden show that we attended on Saturday. It took us about 3 hours to dig the holes, work in top soil, secure the trees in the hole and place a ring of mulch around each. They are located in the "ravine" section of our yard. I watered them yesterday and they looked good, although I do worry that deer will come through and trample them. We placed them in a circular design so it would be easy enough to place some chicken wire around them.