A Tale of Two Gardens...

...and two cats.

On our way to Iowa we spent a few days in Winston-Salem with Grandma and Grandpa M. Each day we took the boys on a little outing to see some of the sites of Winston-Salem. Sometimes it was just a playground but we did get to see two lovely historic gardens while we were there.

The first was Reynolda Gardens on the campus of Wake Forest. The formal gardens and greenhouse host dozens upon dozens of vegetables, roses, and rare plants. These were the most manicured vegetable gardens that I've ever seen. The dirt in these gardens looks like brownie mix. I can't imagine that the suns sets on a weed in Reynolda gardens.

While looking around a little one-eared, white kitty took to being our tour guide. The boys were enchanted. I suppose I was too as all my photos are of the boys with the cat...none of the garden itself. I'm such a poor archivist! Anyway, here is a photo of Xavier taking an imaginary photo of the cat with his map.

The second garden we visited was a historical recreation of the garden at Historic Bethabara Park. It is a Williamstown-like recreation of the original Morovian settlement of Winston-Salem. It was a weekday so there were no reenactors other than in the gift shop. We had a fun time exploring the fort but my favorite part by far was the community garden. They rent out space with the two rules that you can't plant corn (as it was considered a field crop only in the past) and tomatoes (as they were considered poisonous!). We saw lots of okra, herbs, flowers, beans, peppers and these HUGE sunflowers. Down the middle was a grapevine-covered walk. At this garden we met a black cat/caretaker who was very interested in our turkey sandwiches!

After seeing the gleam in my eye at both these garden tours, my husband told me he thought we might need to get a house with a larger yard. I'll admit I'm inspired to begin planning the winter garden when we get home to Texas.

Summer Images

As we near the end of the summer (which I prefer to mark at the autumnal equinox) I thought I'd share a mish mash of things that were still on my camera as we headed up to Iowa.

A photo of the okra blossom. Our okra plants really produced this year--enough to make several pots of gumbo! I hated to pull them up before we left for our trip.

These beans were pretty but didn't really produce much before it was time to leave. I think I planted them too late or expected the harvest too early. Boys playing chase in the clothesline.

Playing with paper dolls on a rainy day. Jack liked to decapitate his while Xavier preferred to just separate and rejoin his with tape.

All the kids one Sunday before Mass.

Xavier in his "house" made of laundry baskets.

Xavier at swim lessons. Bless his heart, Xavier was the smallest and youngest one in his class. He seemed to enjoy the water but didn't understand most of the instructions. Needless to say, he will repeat this class next summer!

Views from the Hidden Homestead

Clockwise from upper left:

1. The compost bin that Tim and I built. It holds over 54 cubic feet of compost.
2. My garden clogs and well worn gloves ready for 5 minutes of work here and there.
3. Baby clothes hanging in the sunshine.
4. Clothespin basket.
5. Reissentraube heirloom tomatoes.
6. Bird bath left by previous owner. A favorite stalking spot for the local cats.
7. Hand tools for spot gardening.
8. Birdhouse painted by Lexy.
9. The potted herb garden which provided basil for tonight's pesto.

We love our backyard! It is beautiful and functional. I hope to extend the vegetable garden into another bed. Of course our front yard is a fright. Just your standard shrubs and desperately in need of weeding.

Lucy Ricardo Goes Green

Note to self: do not, I repeat, do NOT turn your compost pile on a windy day. Especially if you have fire ants in one corner. And shredded newspaper on the top. Good news is that I was a bit of comic relief for the workers on my neighbors roof. Better news is that my pile is composting well. Best news is that I'm now a little more motivated to keep composting.

A Season to Plan

I was planning my backyard garden the other day when I came across this article about the prospective rise of vegetable prices due to weather and economic conditions in California. Since lettuce was already on my growing list, I felt like I was at least a little ahead of the curve on this one.


While leafing through the pretty seed catalogues that I ordered, I was tempted to go hog wild with planting large and bizarre crops and turn my entire back yard into something like this urban homestead. When it comes to gardening though I think slow and steady is the best approach for me.

So I've selected a few peppers, tomatoes and okra seeds to add to my stored seeds of beans, squash, lettuce, spinach and collards. I've also got quite an extensive herb list including chammomile for tea! I've never grown tomatoes or peppers from seed before (both are notoriously difficult for a beginner) but I figure even if I fail and need to buy seedlings from the nursury in a few months, I'll only be out a few bucks for the packets of seeds. I found a seed starter tray at the dollar store this week for $4 (which was about $12 less than the catalogue version).

Today Xavier and I planted some collards, lettuce, and spinach in my square foot garden bed. He was fairly stubborn about digging up any and all seeds I planted until I gave him the "magic watering can." Instantly he went from tantruming toddler who didn't understand why mommy was ruining all his fun, to a perfectly wonderful little helper.

So far, the running total for Garden 2009:

Expenses: $4.00

Yeild: zip

The Fall Garden

This week I've been working in the garden again. During Xavier's nap I was able to turn the compost heap which revealed a huge pile of rich, black soil. I pulled up everything in the bed save one tomato plant that had three green tomatoes on it. After working the compost into the soil, I headed off to the hardware store to get some seeds and transplants.

Each season I dally with the idea of ordering desiner seeds online from Cooks Garden, Park Seeds, or the like. I get overwhelmed with the choices and doubts about whether their seeds would work in our humid Beaumont climate.

The hardware store didn't have any transplants (I'm hoping to find some tomato and bell peppers at the nursery later this week) but they did have seeds. In making my wish list, I decided to only buy things that we actually EAT rather than just things that grow easily. I've resigned myself to the fact that we just don't care for radishes and teeny tiny carrots. So my list included pole beans, cucumbers, spinach, small eating pumpkins, and various herbs.

Using a book from the library, I identified several varieties of seeds that work well in our climate. Unfortuantely not everything on my wish list was easily available but I was able to make do with what they had. So hopefully in a few months we'll have pole beans, spinach, collards, lettuce, arugala, thyme, parsley, and cilantro.

Eduoard

Just a quick update to let friends and family know that yes, we did get hit by Tropical Storm Eduoard and that we are all doing just fine. The storm rolled in around 6 a.m. this morning. By 8 a.m. our power went out due to a transformer a few miles away. About three hours later power was back on. No damage to our home but my vegetable garden took quite a beating. I'm afraid the tomatoes may be goners since they were getting a little too tall anyway. No big deal since it was time to start enriching the soil and planting the fall garden anyway. Thank heaven for small blessings.

The Useful Backyard

Our backyard has been earning its keep lately. While it is considered small (50x15) it certainly has plenty of room for fun, beauty and work. We have a few flowering beds here and there for asthetics and a lovely patio and grilling pad safely away from the house.

My square foot garden raised bed is just outside my kitchen window so I can easily see what needs to be harvested or watered. This year I didn't manage to plant veggies in all of the 16 square feet. The zucchini and hooked yellow squash didn't seem to be very happy there. I think I will try to plant those seeds again in the fall in another place. I have two types of tomato plants both of which are producing fruit as fast as we can eat it. It is a relief that we don't have to worry about somenella from our tomatoes. I've had a few bell peppers this summer, but not nearly as many as last year. In an open spot I planted some cosmos seeds that came free in the mail. I had no idea how tall they would get but they have provided us with cut flowers all summer.

In one corner, partially hidden from the neighbors by a sumac tree, I have my lovely new clothesline that my husband gave me for Mother's Day. I was all excited to start saving money on our electric bills by air drying laundry as much as possible. About two weeks into the project I realized that while our dryer is powered by electricity it is heated with natural gas. I am still saving energy but not quite as much money on power bills as I had hoped. You can't beat that line-dried frangrance though.

In the far corner of the yard I keep a compost pile. I made it about two years ago with $5 worht of chicken wire. I would love to have a more attractive container like this or this, but I can't really justify the expense. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a few pallets to create a two-bin wooden composting station that is beautiful too.

When I first started putting our backyard to work, I was a bit embarrassed to have people see it. It certainly wouldn't be the sort of yard featured in a issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I've been amazed though at how many people admire the work elements of our backyard. At least half a dozen times I've had visitors tell me that they wish they had a clothesline/vegetable garden/compost pile or whatever but they were afraid of what their neighbors or spouse would think.

It has made me realize that there is a certain beauty in a functional outdoor space. It is the outdoor equivalent of homebaked bread or simply furnished but tidy home. It indicates a lifestyle that goes against the tide of "aspirational" decor that dominates home improvement shows and magazines that I find so tempting but that always seem to make me feel a bit shabby(I'm looking at you HGTV!). Instead, it seems to reflect a well ordered home (or homestead).

My backyard is still a work in progress. I'd like to create another bed behind the clothesline for larger climbing vegetables, grow a few herbs in pots on the patio, repaint and repair our two metal patio chairs and perhaps add a table to make the space a little more inviting for relaxing and entertaining. But now I'm thinking in terms of what is useful and beautiful instead of just worrying about how things will look.