A home does not just happen by itself, it takes planning and work and the people that reside in the home need to take care of the home. To make a comfortable home is how each of us use our own skills and thoughts of what a home should look like, we are all different.
Everything needs care and tending, our bodies, our children, our pets and our home so we have to settle our mind and know that certain things need to be done daily, weekly, monthly and there is no sense in dreading or putting it off. We might as well make our home interesting while we are at it.
Our home and yard did not look as it did today, it was practically a clean slate. We have worked our way to having a home that provides us shelter and food and a place we enjoy being and provides us a place to exercise our body and our brain without needing to leave to do this.
It is easy to put that laundry into a dryer but I would miss so much if I did not hang the laundry outside to dry.
This is one of the new trellis's that we have put up. We planned and have a gardening envelope where we save money for the things we do. These are cattle panels we get from Lowes or Tractor supply. We thought things through and decided to start putting up more secure structures that will not rot. We are getting older and we do not want to have to replace our garden structures often like we were doing. But we did start off with sticks and string and there is nothing wrong with that and what needs to be done at first until we know what works and does not work. These trellises are for vertical gardening since we have a small back yard. These will hold light to heavy vegetables including butternut squash and cantaloupe.
Since this is a new bed it was dug deep and watered good and added compost. Now each year and throughout the year will will add layers of compost until we have a good rich garden bed.
This is one of our easy meals for when we are outside working hard. I realize it is high carb but that is ok when we are working hard, These are frozen pot pies baked and a pot of rice.
I simply and carefully ease the top off without burning myself, put the veggies and meat inside the center of the rice and put the top back over it.
It fills you up and is very tasty. I like this meal because I put it on to cook, set a timer and go back to work.
I cleaned out a raised bed and leveled it and put the mint here because it is a cooler location for the super hot summers. I have been putting chairs around the yard for resting.
Speaking of chairs, I washed the fabric on two of our chairs and set it in the sun to dry. I simply took a bucket and castile soap and a soft brush and cloth and went to work. I rinsed it with clear water and a rag. I did not pour water on it I just kept rinsing the rag. I removed the cushion covers and hand washed them and hung them on the line. It dried nicely and they are much cleaner now.
Many things are blooming and our weather people are telling us it is still not time to plant but it is just so hard not to when it is warm. I cannot do anything about the perennials but the pots can be taken inside if it should freeze again. Most all of our trees now have leaves except the pecans but they are always the last to leaf out. Our oaks are fully leafed out now so they too think winter is over.
We have a very odd shaped yard. it is like a boat but with a wider back end of the boat. Draw the shape of a boat then erase the back end and widen it and this would be our yard in a triangle shape. These cement paths are being removed and replaced with mulch. Well, they are not being removed, I am removing them. I am surprised at the parts I have already done and it is very hard work but that is all it is, hard work for a more natural path. The cement absorbs too much heat and makes it too hot for the doggies to walk on.
This is one of my favorite places in the garden the start of this path. There are vegetables and herbs and flowers and whimsical.
I moved the tomatoes to the other panel so I could put the sweet potato pots straight ahead so I can train the sweet potato vines to go up the trellis. The tomatoes will do the same since they are indeterminate tomatoes and will grow and produce for a long time this summer.
We added a garden extension. This area we moved the fence back. Our yard is part summer and winter vegetable gardening and part is perinnial and we leave space for wild life. So we are fenced within the fence. We do this to keep our dogs from chasing the wildlife off so they have a place to come and get seed and we share our berries with them.
We need to be respectful of our wildlife, birds are amazing creatures and very intelligent. I could not build a nest as they can and they provide food for their babies and teach them what then need to know to survive. If only people would be as hard working and caring.
I was annoying this bumble bee pollinating the lemon tree trying to take his picture. But they are so beautiful and only here for a short time.
We are working on a new compost area and this time we are building it with cement bricks because we want it to be more solid so we do not have to replace it. I will show it to you when we finish. We will have three areas, One section as a working compost, one for a resting compost and one to hold our finished compost. We now understand the importance of making a lot of compost after spending so much money on soil every year. Last year we made quite a bit of compost and now we want to make more and top off our beds and use it to replace soil in pots.
I just love this time of year! Coneflowers are so beautiful.
The seedlings are doing well.
More Roma tomatoes I seeded, part of the succession planting I am doing.
The wire frame is back in use with the newly planted cabbages inside the wood frame because we have a Chipmunk that loves our veggies. The egg plants with the fencing is because our little doggie Elizabeth decided she likes to taste the leaves every so often.
These carrots left and right in the large containers are being harvested now for meals. My brother and sister in law were just here for a visit and I asked my brother to pull some carrots and he was very surprised at the large beautiful carrots that came out of the pot on the left. He said the taste of a fresh carrot was amazing. They travel a lot so they do not have a garden and they enjoyed walking about the garden.
I grow many vegetables and herbs in containers. This thyme in the hanging basket grew all winter long and since spring has come it is adding new lighter green baby leaves.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday tanks are doing well. There is zucchini in Thursday (left tank) Carrots and peppers in Friday and Celery and Kale in Saturday.
You do not need tanks and wire trellis's to grow a garden, this was just a way to solve our growing needs. Don't be afraid to try and grow vegetables for fear of failing. We need to fail sometimes to teach us and along the journey we have successes too. Just start somewhere.
My dear friend Catherine started last year, just put a circle down in her yard and planted a garden and to her surprise she grew enough to can food and to my surprise and her surprise she grew a monster Pumpkin patch. lol She just picked a spot and put down seed and it grew!
We have different interest at different times of our lives and we are all on different paths. Having fresh food growing in our yard or property can be a very good thing at any time in our life.
Grandma Donna
