Sunday, June 26, 2011

Shortcut Garden

Gardening is a balm to the gardeners soul;
I can see why God started man out in one.


As inviting as gardening is,
the fun is lost when you're digging in soil that is hard as rock.


There is an easier way though.
A couple months back,
I wanted to ad an herb garden for fresh herbs.
I chose this spot down by the yellow bush,
as it gets good sunlight here,
but shady toward the late afternoon;
it's close to the house as well.

Beside,
I already have a flower garden here,
and it seems to be easy to keep from becoming overcome with weeds.
(Have you ever noticed that certain parts of the yard
are less weedy than others?)


After I'd saved up a few expired
and
farmer-approved trashable 
I set a layer on the ground,
3 - 4 pages thick.



Next is the most important part:

I use well rotted manure.
I have seen at stores you can buy manure in bags,
but if you know any horse farmers,
they're usually happy to give away manure.
Just be sure it is well-rotted.

People use well-rotted compost for this layer as well.



I used cardboard where I knew I'd be setting a stone pathway.





After the manure, I had a nice big bag of peat moss
that I put on.


I put mulch on the walkway.



My waiting herbs...


got set around on the "garden"
to decide where I wanted to plant everything.
Then I planted them in the thin layer I had on top of the paper,
and made sure I watered them every other day or so
for the first week or two.


On the right side,
I made my herb garden.
On the left side,
I put some perennials and some herbs.
Then I set rocks down for my stepping stones
and hostas that can tolerate sun around the edges
(they don't look too good this year because it was one big hosta 
that I divided into lots of little plants,
but I know they'll look great next year).





I had this metal hook a friend made me...

but didn't have anything to hang on it.



Then I found this wall hanging at a yard sale for $1.
It had little metal circular shelves attached to the front
to hold candles.

I broke them off and placed it on my hook.




A layer of mulch was added to finish the weed protection...


and completed the look to the back part of the garden as well.


Eventually, I'll probably ad rocks all around,
maybe a low rock wall.


The herbs have thrived in the garden.
I love the smell of this lemon basil...



and this cinnamon basil.



There's just something about a handful of fresh cooking herbs.



they smell as fantastic as they look.

(My fingers smelled of fresh dill all night.
Heavenly.)



And there's nothing like a good laugh as I admire my fresh herbs
and prepare to make some
avocado dip
(which I will post tomorrow).



(The above gardening ideas above are just from my own from experience;
there are multitudes of great ideas in gardening.
If you have some,
please, feel free to ad yours in the comments
or ad a link to something you may have posted about gardening.
Gardeners never tire of hearing about gardening,
and I'd love to hear what you do!)


11 comments:

  1. Wonderful!

    And it's interesting to see how you put newspaper and cardboard down. I would never have known to do that.

    =)

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  2. So glad you posted this garden do! I have an area that is rock hard and have wanted to do something with it as it is a walkway area in the back that everyone sees when they come to the back door. Your post reminded me about using newspaper- I had bought the Lasagna gardening book sometime back and forgotten about it - which uses the same technique.

    Maybe I will get something done with this area this year after all. I was just ready to put it off for another year!

    bee blessed
    mary

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  3. I love your gardens! They look great! I guess you used your new counter too:) Love your new counter!
    Thanks for sharing! She looks so cute!

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  4. Thanks for the great ideas!
    We moved a year ago and we have struggled to get our dead and weedy ground dealt with and get some green around this place.
    Our soil here is not good. I was told theres to much alkaline :/
    Donna
    http://starry-delight.blogspot.com

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  5. Love your herb garden. I have always wanted one but I have settled for herbs in pots (except for my rosemary). Your yard is beautiful and looks like the perfect place.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. Following you.

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  6. This seems a lot easier than the techniques I've used in the past for making a new garden bed. I'll have to give it a try with the next one I do!

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  7. That is a beautiful garden! I would love to have an herb garden - someday!

    Becky B.
    www.organizingmadefun.com
    Organizing Made Fun

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  8. Beautiful! I can't wait to do something similar!

    ~Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage
    www.shabbyfrenchcottage.com

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  9. Thank you, everybody! I LOVE my new herb garden! I hope the post will be of help to some of you in your future endeavors to grow some fun plants!

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  10. What a beautiful garden! I can just about smell those herbs from here. :) I so envy those that actually know what herb to add to what dish. I don't have a clue! :)

    Love the idea of fresh herbs too. Picked fresh right when you need them... doesn't get much better than that.

    Donna

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  11. Lovely. There is nothing like the smell of fresh herbs....and, they are so convenient for cooking. :-) Thanks for linking up to my party.

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