Thursday, April 14, 2011

Finally!

I was waiting for that crabapple to bloom to use in my new header. But guess what? It's not going to bloom this year. It's only done that one other year and I don't know why. Maybe because last year it produced a huge amount of apples. Oh well, I decided I'd better do this. I'm certainly not interested in winter anymore!

I thought I would start a tour of our gardens so everyone can get a feel for the layout. But a little background info: My husband bought our little bungalow in 1976 when he was 22, on the advise of his stepfather, who owned a realty company. The house was built in the 20's and was the original homestead for all the farm land that has since been sold off. (There was even an older home on this site; we can see the foundation in late summer.) Rick and I were married in 1981 and we have been gardening all this time. The gardens have changed a lot from when we started. We did much more vegetable gardening when the kids were young.  Now I'm more interested in herbs and perennials, but we will always grow our favorite veggies.

 The above photo was taken right off the deck toward the side yard.

 
The raised beds are for vegetables. Behind those are the strawberries, rhubarb, grapes, and raspberries. On the other side are blueberries and dwarf fruit trees. This whole area was once all vegetables.

This view is going toward the backyard. Those woods back there were once planted in sweet corn, then raspberries took over. We have let it go to trees, we like it as a background, and our compost piles are back there.


Here is what we call the south border. There are roses, lilies, coneflower, poppies, and phlox in here. I haven't gotten to edging the beds yet:)

The chickens used to be in the shed by the veggie garden and this shed was our son's blacksmith shed. But he has his own house now, so we moved the hens. The tool shed stays cleaner now!

Hope you liked the first installment of my garden tour. I will be back with some more soon.

 Happy gardening!

9 comments:

Becca's Dirt said...

I love seeing the big picture of your yard. You have a beautiful place there. It looks like you've put a lot of work into it. I'm so excited to follow your gardens. Hope you're having a good day.

Sheila said...

You need to take photos from the same vantage points throughout the year. I love your garden and have gotten so much inspiration from it over the years. These came out great!

Sunny Simple Life said...

I am so envious of your lovely yard and your garden frames. Can't wait to see what you grow.

Kerin said...

Beautiful!
And, I love that your gardens have evolved over time and have that feeling of history about them. We have to start brand new (again) with this old house, and it is a lot of work and planning to get new gardens in, and then to make them feel like there is a sense of history about them.
I love your little red garden shed..... I had one similar to it, at our old house. And your three rail fence is the bomb !
Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Spectacular!!! I love, love your place Cindy. Everything looks so beautiful. I really enjoy the rebirth of Spring it keeps us young. I agree with you about being organic, some people wonder why they are sick. You know when I was a kid I remember walking home and my parents had an acre of land and it was filled with dandelions and with all that color I thought it was one of the most beautiful sites I've seen. Today everyone is running around with that spray. :)
I'm going to love watching how your gardens will evolve...we are in for such a treat!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Rosemary...XX

vivian said...

wow Cindy, I'm really impressed! I wish I was a gardener.. but I have no clue what to do in the dirt! I plant a bunch of flowers at the beginning of summer and hope they will make through august!! I so need a fairy godmother who will take care of this kind of stuff for me!
cant wait to see pics of everything at its peek!
enjoy your weekend
vivian

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Everything is so neat and well planned! Lots of pretty green grass already, too! Very nice! ♥

Yesteryear Embroideries said...

How wonderful! I cant wait to see what all you grow! blessings,Kathleen

Yesteryear Embroideries said...

Just lovely and breathtaking! Have a happy Easter! blessings,Kathleen