A week in the Garden, 5/2-5/8

I promise: soon enough this garden journal is going to be a quick list of things that happened and not so much story telling. 

But since I’m starting about six months late on documenting everything, this week I’m going to catch you/the journal up to speed with some things that happened within the past couple of months that are going to continue to evolve as the season progresses.

So let’s talk about the chicken-coop-soon-to-be-greenhouse/potting shed project. 

as it was

The house came with the most adorable and functional chicken coop, but having chickens isn’t something we want at the moment. Plus it’s so close to the back door and outdoor eating area, that if we ever did get them, I’d want to move it far away so the smell that’s inevitable with a cute brood can be a little further away.

So in my mind this is the perfect greenhouse/potting shed area flanked by two mini flower beds, and this winter I took the first steps of taking down the giant butterfly bush that was blocking our view into the open backyard and light into what will be the greenhouse side. Then I laid weed fabric to kill the weeds through the winter, which worked really well! After about a month, the grass/weeds were dead and the soil a breeze to dig into.

more breathing room now that the butterfly bush is gone, and a view into the backyard/soon to be wildflower meadow - wisteria shown in the trees is still being tackled on the daily

The thought was the create a perfect 10’x 10’ flower bed to the left of the building, where the butterfly bush used to be, in which I’d create a large perennial footprint but leave a few holes for annuals. Next week I’ll share the sketch of how I laid it out, as well as the plants included in the mix. 

To the right of the building, last fall I quickly planted a rose bush uprooted from my old farm, which never actually bloomed because deer constantly attacked it for the four years I was there. So, it’s exciting that this is first time ever the plant has taken off…but it’s a red. Which is beautiful but I thought the rose was yellow, and the whole planting scheme from this space was purple/whites/yellows/soft greens sooooo yeah, that may have to get moved this fall. 

Anyway, I expanded the bed in front of the shrub to include a few herbs and plants to mimic the left side, and then I used the headboard and footboard of my metal teenage bed to add a bit of boundary to both spaces. Those are going to be painted to match the exterior of the building soon.

current thoughts: so pretty but so not the place for this rose, but maybe the season will change my mind…

And about the paint job: the week before wedding season/client’s garden projects ramped up, I decided to paint over the white with a lovely sage green to make it blend into the background better. In hind sight, I should have waited until we removed the metal screening (to be replaced with vintage windows to create the greenhouse) because painting over that was trickier than I’d anticipated. Which meant it didn’t really get completed, so now this is how it currently looks (along with a white cupola because I completely forgot it existed until looking at it from afar and realizing it was left behind). In other words, this is a project still in the works.

Oh and a tray of 100 sedum plants arrived two weeks ago, and it took me a long while to remember that yes, I had ordered it after deciding that the greenhouse definitely needed a living roof that I’d install this spring.  Winter me with a bit of wine in the system always thinks I’ll have just as much time to complete projects in the spring/summer/fall as I do in the two dark and cold months where I’m not working 16 hour days. So yeah, there’s going to be sedum living all over the place in tiny pots this season while I try my best to fit the living roof into the fall planting plan. TBD.

If you’re thinking “this looks worse than the before picture,” you and I are on the same page. But just showing the mess that’ll soon be cleaned up and the paint job to be completed so the full reveal looks extra good - stay tuned!

Another project I’ve been working on for a couple of months is the kitchen garden area, which was basically created to kill back the Virginia Creeper that had taken over the entire side of an out building and was starting to invade the yard. It also was an excuse to use up most of the bricks that had been left in piles around the property, but let’s just say that brick layer I am not. So filling the sad raised bed with plants and vines to cover the poor craftsmanship is priority #1. Much more on that next week!

this is an after photo I can be pretty proud of in the now - will show you before pics next week, but this too will continue to evolve and hopefully become a veggie garden to enjoy

Until next week,

xxLindsey