Werking It

All the work around here forced me into a mini blog hiatus over the past couple of days. I apologize for the lack of posts, but sometimes squeezing in little bits and pieces here and there is just not enough to tackle the major stuff on the to-do list. 

Want to see what I've been up to?

I've been out there behind Holtwood House, sheparding my little flock right on through Spring. How 'bout those colors? The Kangaroo Paw is growing wild now and the Japanese Maple finally delivered those auburn leaves I've been waiting for all winter. There's a little pattern play happening amongst all of the succulents that have also started to double in size with all the recent rain and sun.

After several ill-fated attempts to distract and disguise, our eyesore of a back fence finally got the colorful treatment it deserved. It's a narrow space between the flagstone patio and the old, dried out fence that gets full sun all day long. So it's been a bit of a challenge to come up with a modern, vertical planting scheme that will thrive. We think we found the right combination this time.

I'm also excited to report that the raised beds on the side yard were built and installed over the past weekend. We used untreated redwood and after preparing the ground, moved them into their new space. That cloth you see there will eventually extend well past the lemon tree in the foreground and the entire space will be finished in pea gravel. The beds will also be screened in a redwood/hardware cloth "tee-pee" of sorts to help keep all the neighborhood critters from eating our bounty.

Of course, the fun doesn't end here. I've got some other ideas up my sleeve to deliver up my vegetable garden of dreams. Wanna see?

// 1. A sink with a simple french drain will be the ideal place to wash dirt and soil off veggies before we bring them into the house. // 2. This easy to build bench came right out my good ol' trusty yard manual popularly known as Sunset Magazine. We'll probably build two- one for the veggie garden and the other for the front entry. // 3. It won't solely be an edible garden. I know just the place to finally install the vertical succulent garden I've had bookmarked for some time. // 4. A version of this modern welded wire fence will provide an attractive barrier between garden and the pool deck.