Rather than talk about useless resolutions for 2009 I thought I would discuss my project plans for the garden. I do have one goal that encompasses all things gardening and in my life that could be considered a resolution: to do all things better than I did the last time. That one statement covers pretty much any potential resolution in one convenient little package. Now we can get on to talking about the fun stuff for 2009, the To-Do List!
1. Prepare and plant the self-seeding garden. I'll have a specific post up for this idea later in the week but to sum up my plan I want to create a garden with easy to grow annuals, biennials, and perennials that will seed themselves year after year.
2. Propagate plants, propagate plants, propagate plants...did I say propagate plants? (Especially more salvias and Russian sages!) I want to put more Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) in more places. It's deer tolerant (which is extremely important here), looks great, and thrives in full sun. I want more salvias for the same reasons.
3. Build an arbor as an entrance to the shady corridor. I accomplished this as a part of the Better Homes & Gardens 48 Hour Blog Challenge. You can see it here: An Entry Arbor , learn how I built it here:How to Build an Arbor, and vote for it here: 48 Hour Blog Challenge.
4. Design and implement the shady corridor. On the eastern side of our house I am creating a shady area that will serve as a cool transition to the backyard. It gets morning sun now but a row of hemlocks and a small grove of other trees (redbud, crapapple, crape myrtle, and witch hazel) are planted at the edge of the property and will eventually provide shade for the garden passage.
5. Build a fence around the vegetable garden. A nice picket fence is just what our garden needs.
6. Expand the vegetable garden. I need a little more space to grow more vegetables. I'll eventually add more raised beds to the garden and I need space for corn. Edit: I've put together a new raised bed vegetable garden layout that will organize the garden much better than what I had.
7. Lay the sidewalk brick that will connect our patio to another sidewalk. There is a short stretch of ground from our patio to the garage backdoor that I would like to cover with a walkway.
8. Expand the birdbath garden. It needs a beautyberry somewhere and a couple more ornamental grasses.
9. Build my rustic log bench. I still have two chunks of trees that I brought home from my in-law's tree cutting extravaganza last year (2008). I need to strip the bark, stain them, then add the bench seat made from reclaimed deck lumber.
10. Create a pathway for the shady garden corridor. I haven't decided if I want to put stepping stones laid into the grass, create a gravel pathway, or use reclaimed bricks (I'd have to find some of those). A moss cover brick pathway would look pretty nice I think!
These ten tasks aren't prioritized in any way. I don't expect any of these tasks to individually take up more time than the patio did this past year, but you never know. I have more than just ten things listed above on my to-do list but I had to start somewhere!
Have a Happy New Year!
Labels: garden thoughts, garden to-do list, Gardening Projects