Until late November 2016, the view from the back door, and down the ramp was this
I had that behemoth removed and my view immediately improved to the raised bed gardens.
Sorry, that side of the house has not been a pretty sight, so I usually don't take pictures down the ramp unless to show snow. The left and center gardens were originals. I had redone the center one, but the left one was n such bad shape that i just left it alone. I built the one on the right in 2015. Since then, they have held vegetables only 1 year. They had been turned into holding beds for overflow plants.
Then I got rid of the fence, but the front two raised beds were not only falling apart, but gathering junk.
Since that picture in May, I have totally removed the center bed and removed the cinder blocks to the bed on the left. I have also dug up and redistributed soil of approximately 1/2 of the left bed (teh back side). There is one ninebark shrub that had been in "holding" that I never got planted so I need to remove it. But, it is flowering right now so I will leave it alone until it is not using extra energy. I covered the soil where the center bed had been with heavy garden fabric to keep the weeds and grass from immediately taking over.
Center area with sod
The sod covers the center area, plus where the propane tank used to be. That area never really took hold with grass/weeds and still had a decent-sized depression. I added soil that came from the center bed to even that area out before laying the sod.
I think I will leave that bed on the right. It has some creeping phlox in it as well as some tansy (most of the tall plants in front). There is an oak trying to grow in there, which would be a nice change from all the maples around. I may transplant the poor ninebark over there if I can't find a suitable site for it.
As for vegetables, I don't need that many, and this is the first year since 2016 I've had time to deal with them. I bought some portable raised beds last year, and finally took them out for use this spring. The location and the fact they are on white pavers grab my attention so I remember to water them (they have a huge reservoir below, so only need watered every 5-7 days). Two tomato plants and two basil are in the back planter. Three peppers (bell and mildly hot) along with a lemon thyme in the front planter.
Pay no mind to the wire around the peppers - they came out of the center raised bed and I needed a place to put them :) . The tomatoes have cages and once they outgrow those, they will have the fence for support. The rocks on the pavers were for holding a bed sheet in place to protect from frost we had at the beginning of the month and will be moved soon.
I had to go lie down for a rest after reading about all of the work. Impressive - as has often been the case with your exploits! Sodding really takes a lot of attention to detail and work when one does it oneself, without benefit of the equipment that the pros use.
I had forgotten the raised beds. Not sure they were there the last time we visited?
Somehow, I got only 1 pepper plant planted, this year, and put it on a different side of the house. The bugs seem to enjoy it.
Posted by: Cop Car | June 14, 2020 at 09:55 AM
The raised beds were there. Two of them were there (and falling apart) when I bought the house and I built the other one in 2015 - at the same time I rehabbed the one in the middle. They aren't as close to the fence as they seem though.
Posted by: bogie | June 14, 2020 at 04:52 PM