Welcome to the neighborhood! I started off with my first garden when we bought our home in 2006 and had no previous gardening experience other than an occasional houseplant or indoor bulb. Our basement was very leaky, so in the summer of 2007 we had to destroy our front yard, it looked like the planet Mars! Old camellias, azaleas, hollies were violently removed with a bobcat :(
So we started from scratch and imported tons of compost from the City. We rented a Lowe's truck by the hour and piled it on. I believe that made a huge difference in the garden's performance over the years, especially during the drought, plus a plant bed can easily be started anywhere in the front yard.
Our backyard is adjacent to the Greenway/flood zone & until recently very shady, so the majority of the garden is in the front and side areas. Now we have tornado damaged trees that need removal, so I think we can start new beds in the back.
The garden is organic with an emphasis on an edible and ornamental landscape using heirloom varieties. Instead of boxwoods, we planted rosemary, peaches over dogwoods, a strawberry shady ground cover instead of vinca, ect. But I'm a sucker for old roses and perennial flowers, plus they bring in many beneficials to pollinate :)
I've learned that it is not so much the yield of my labors, but what I've learned over a season that I find most satisfying because I'm a nerd. But a walk thru the garden with my girls munching on sweet berries, crisp peas or a spicy radish seedpod is divine!
Happy gardening, Vanessa
2248 Rumson Rd.
Ps, a neighborhood bike tour would be awesome possum.
If it is a rose, it will come into bloom sooner or later.
~Goethe
Sent from my iPad
Hi Michelle,
Welcome. My wife and I too are interested in organic edible gardens and native plants. Also, we both are novice gardeners. I've learned a bit about pruning techniques and soil properties. But I am ignorant to which vegetations are native and which ones are not.
My absolute favorite is discovering a new bird nest in one of our tress or bushes. Every time I see one it makes me want to plant another bush so that more birds will have a place to live.
With so many new developments and construction I feel that the wildlife is being squeezed out. To that end I'd like to have a few bee hives. But I understand they take a bit of time and I certainly don't have any to get it going. One of our neighbors has at least one.
Jamie
On Sat, May 14, 2011 at 7:23 AM, Michelle C
<michellelcz@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello everyone,
I am very excited about this list as I am completely new to gardening (moved here in the last year and this is the first yard I've had in my adult life).
I imagine people here have different interests, expertise and skill levels and it might be fun to see the range of interests and expertise listed.
Is your focus on vegetable gardening? Herbs? Water gardening? Roses? Shade gardening? Something else? How long have you been doing it?
I'll start. I have absolutely no expertise as I've only been attempting to garden for less than a year and am still working on identifying what is already in the yard and figuring out how to care for it. ;) I have even had horrible luck with houseplants in the past so know there's going to be a huge learning curve for me.
Still, I've managed to keep a few vegetable plants (lettuce, kale, spinach, snow peas) growing in some raised beds in the backyard this year.
My primary interests are in organic, edible gardens and native plants. But, since a lot of plants already in my yard are non-native (and I am still very much a beginner) I'm hoping to learn pretty much anything at this point. I'd definitely be interested in a neighborhood garden tour (as mentioned in a previous thread.)
Thanks,
Michelle
Glascock St