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Here's what my vegetable beds looked like before I started preparing them for Spring 2000 planting. There are 8 beds, each 4 by 8 feet. The beds with the weeds are the ones that didn't have shredded leaves used as mulch last year. The weed is chickweed (see close up below). The pedestal in the second bed is for our buried electical cable, so we have to work around it.
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Chickweed (Stellaria media).
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Here's what my vegetable beds looked like after I pulled all the weeds and used my Homelite mini tiller to prepare the soil for planting, tilling in the shredded leaves. All clean and ready for this year's growing season. It's February 26th, but I'm getting Spring Fever already!
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Last year (1999) we used this frame we made from wire fencing to keep dogs and cats out of the newly planted garden. We closed in the ends with short pieces of wire fencing. It worked so well I'm going to use it again this year.
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This year (2000), we're using the wire fencing frame to support a floating row cover that will protect the new plants and seeds from the elements (still possible to get snow and ice here), to conserve moisture, and to provide a mini-greenhouse environment (last average frost is April 15).
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4/19/00 Here's what my garden beds look like now.
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5/6/00 Here's a new garden bed that's under construction.
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5/13/00 In an attempt to discourage underground visitors, we lined this bed with 1/4 inch hardware cloth before filling with soil.
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5/13/00 Here's a close-up of how the hardware cloth was stapled to the boards.
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5/13/00 The new bed is filled with top soil and ready for planting.
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5/21/00 Here's what the upper end of the beds look like now.
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5/21/00 Here's what the lower end of the beds look like now.
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5/25/00 Here's what the front border bed looks like now. This fall I plan to add about 2 feet to the depth of this bed and redo it, perhaps adding some small shrubs, like a dwarf lilac and a shrub rose. Also need to add plants that will bloom during the summer, in purples and pinks.
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5/28/00 Here's what the street bed looks like. I plan to thin the daylilies out significantly, and perhaps plant them in deep pot with the bottoms cut out to discourage their invasive spread. Iris need separating too. I usually have morning glories on this fence, but the daylilies are so thick I guess they were smothered out.
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5/28/00 Here's the small side bed. Does well for a narrow bed.
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7/1/00 The old bed has been emptied of soil. We're going to line it with hardware cloth, and do the same to all the old beds one by one as they get empty of plants.
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7/1/00 Lined and ready for the soil to be replaced.
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7/1/00 Bed has been refilled with soil and is ready for planting.
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7/1/00 This small side bed is filling in well.
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7/3/00 Finally finished these beds. Before mulching, we put down a thick layer of newspaper and wet it well.
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7/3/00 Cypress mulch is in place along the paths between beds. We left a grassed path for rolling lawnmower, carts, etc.
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7/3/00 Another view of the beds with mulch in place.
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7/8/00 I'm going to make a small herb bed here.
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7/8/00 Here's the beginning of my small herb bed. So far, only two Lavendar 'Munstead' plant in place.
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7/8/00 Another view of the finished herb bed. If I decide I need more room, I can take the stepping stones up.
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7/13/00 First batch of horse manure spread. I can just see those plants growing now.
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7/20/00 This small bed went into a space that was wasted. The bottom of the box is hardware cloth. Not sure what I'll put here. It's in shade most of the day in summer, so it'll have to be shade plants. Will give this some thought.
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7/27/00 Deperately in need of renovating. Daylilies need to be divided, as do the iris.
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7/31/00 Who's idea was this, anyway. At least a gazillion daylilies in here. Some will go to co-workers. I'll keep a few. The rest will go to the deer in the woods.
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7/31/00 Quite a few of the bottom level of logs are rotting. Will have to completely redo this bed for that reason, as well as to get rid of all of the daylily roots.
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8/7/00 New street bed finished.
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8/12/00 In order to get rid of all the daylily roots, I had to dig all the soil and roots out.
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8/12/00 After lining the bed with hardware cloth, we had a load of compost delivered and dumped into the bed.
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8/12/00 Looks quite a bit different from a couple of weeks ago.
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8/26/00 The street side of this bed dries out somewhat faster than the yard side. I'll have to plant more drought-tolerant plants on the street side next summer.
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9/25/00 Small back deck bed planted with three varieties of hosta for starters.
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9/30/00 Emptied, lined, and built up. Buckets are to function as place holders for the Colannade apple trees coming in November, so I can go ahead and plant bulbs without disturbing them at that time.
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9/30/00 Filled in with soil. The buckets are full, too, so I have enough soil handy when planting the trees.
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10/1/00 I can already envision how this little birdbath bed will look next spring.
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10/6/00 Street bed with a few perennials, and pansies and violas to add a little winter color and quick color next spring.
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10/6/00 Herb bed now has rosemary, lemon balm, and catnip, in addition to the lavender.
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10/8/00 Front bed is looking a bit ragged. Still blooming some: dahlias, rudbeckia, lantana, asters, a few Tidal Wave petunias, verbena, marigolds, and Madagasgar periwinkle (vinca).
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10/15/00 Small back deck bed with coral bells, bulbs, and pansies added.
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11/7/00 These holding beds are catching a lot of leaves, which I'll leave for insulation.
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11/7/00 Front bed is showing a good amount of pansy color now.
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2/6/01 Daffodils sprouting in the birdbath bed.
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2/7/01 Daffodils...
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2/7/01 ...and crocus sprouting in the small bed at the end of the back deck.
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