A new planter...

Our 1st projectof the season... We traded yard work with our friends Tish and Tom a couple weekends back. We delivered garden soil and helped them do some yard clean up and they were able to come help us to tackle a project we've been wanting to do for a while...get rid of the unused hot tub that was taking up half our back patio! It was, believe it or not, a very big job.  The guys had a hay day with the sawz-all! We loaded the tub pieces into the truck and took them to the dump but we decided to save the above gound shell. It is in great condition. The outside is made from cedar and the inside is plywood reinforced with 2x4 and 4x4 framing. The bottom almost completely open save for some of the necessary structural framing. Over all, it is very heavy and very strong and worth a shot as a raised bed versus trashing it, which is what would have happened if we took it apart. It is already filled with 12 inches of soil from the hot house garden bed that was there last year. We mixed some lava rock gravel for added drainage and the top 24 inches will be fresh garden soil and compost.

I am researching small patio trees...I would love to do a flowering crabapple or maybe japanese maple but might just do  flowers and herbs this year until we see how it settles over a season or two. It would be nice to have something that could provide some shade and add interest to the patio area. This area is really great for a raised bed because it offers a garden space that is "easy on your back" that the dogs cannot trample through....

I planted lavender ( started last year from seed ) at each corner and will fill in and cover the ground with cedar bark chips.

What was once desitned for the landfill has found new life! Thats salvage!

New Diggings

Our second outdoor project of the season...

We expanded the original garden area by enclosing the entire back half of the yard using salvaged picket fence. We used t-posts instead of wood 4x4's for longevity and ease of installation.The area we closed off is all lawn but will provide an enclosed area for Eva's play ground. I have no worries about the dogs other than there will likely be a few tumbles and bumps until she and the dogs get used to one another...or she might land herself in a misplaced pile of doggy doo. Either way when she is done being slobbered on she will have a "hassel and poop free" place play. A large place with  grass in an area where we spend a lot of time...the garden! We envision space for a covered sandbox,  a swingset / jungle gym and her very own raised bed.

David is calling it "The Garden of Good and Eva"....lol...

There will be a perennial flower bed all along the inside of the fence here all the way down to the chain link...you can see I've already started clearing the lawn out and relocating perennials. We are thinking of planting a natural screen ( possibly arborvitae ) all along the chain link fence  in the background. Something that will not grow too tall  (6-10 feet) but will provide some privacy, hide the fence, act as a windblock and provide more bird habitat. The pics show we've done so far in 2 days....its a mess right now but all the perennials are on there way and there is so much more in the basement to be transplanted after last frost.  It will be in bloom and growing very soon!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

It has been a long time since my last post but this is a gardening blog and we do live in Eastern Washington so, there has not been much to blog about other than the weather...and there is not much to blog about in that regard either. If you want to stay updated on us, all that good stuff is on our adoption blog.

It was a VERY mild winter with regard to snow...we've had none to speak of in the valley and very little on local mountains but we've had rain. Everyone is saying it will likely be a dry summer...although yesterday we had a very cold, blustery day with intermittent sleet and hail. Today while cold, was at least clear and sunny.

I started my first round of  vegetable seedlings on March 14th  ( all hierloom except super sweet 100's which are to die for so I am making a hybrid exception) and have been sowing weekly...in doors of course. I have about 9 different varieties of tomatoes , 3 types of peppers, celery, brussel sprouts, cabbage, 2 types of broccolli, cauliflower, rosemary, lavender, thyme and a bunch of annuals and perinnials ( also mostly heirlooms) to use for flower beds and in among the veggies.

Last frost is roughly  May 15th so the melons, squash, cucumbers and potatoes will be direct sown shoertly thereafter. I don't think I will waste time and space on corn this year....too needy and greedy and I've not had any results in two years...while others rave, in my personal experience it's worth buying from Green Bluff's local farmers. I will however, do everything else. I'll sow peas, beets and lettuce in about 2-3 weeks...it's still freezing at night and while people sayit shoudl be okay, I just can't bring myself to do it this early.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful time visitng friends in Sandpoint for Thanksgiving. Our visit was cut short unfortunately becuase I am sick ;o( so we came back last night in the rain. But I was able to to sleep in till 10 today...so nice but alas, I am up late.... David and I have so many things to be thankful for but one thing, the most important thing is we are thankful that we serve an omnipotent triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank you Father that you love us and you seek us out to know you so we can experience your abundant grace, love and perfect peace!

The garden is put up and the trees have dropped all their leaves. Seems like fall came late and hit hard this year. We had the opportunity to go to Green Bluff with the Woods this weekend before the snow, which they say will be likely by Thursday. Was fun...we just hung out , took in the air and scenery. A little hot apple cider and carmel apples were an added bonus.

Looking forward to sharing these cherished times with Eva one day.

Wo men ai ni Eva!

Fall Pumpkins

This is the first year we grew pumpkins. I made the mistake of planting only one seed of each variety though. The two larger pumpkin plants only produced one each of the jade and one of the orange while the mini jacks yielded a bakers dozen. Those are so fun and easy and make great fall decorations. I will definitely do pumpkins again next but to increase yields, I think will do three plantings instead of just one.

David and I will still go up to Green Bluff to get carvers for Halloween. One each of us and one for little Eva too!

I harvested the cornstalks and used them to decorate the front stoop since that was all they were ever going to be good for . Again, it was an obvious pollination issue since there was no shortage of ears. They were just not producing kernels. Grrrr....after two years I feel kind of guilty about giving up but I think corn is just too fussy for me. I will gladly use that extra space for more potatoes next year.

One of many summer harvests....

This years summer harvest far exceeded expectations. Still have some things to work out but all in all we were pleased. Tomatoes, squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, strawberries, herbs, flowers and eggs all in abundance.

We had our first frost yesterday, October 7th. I still have carrots and beet seedlings under cover in one bed. I wonder if I was too late. Celery and strawberries seem unaffected by that first frost but as with everything, they will be soon enough.

Preparing for fall with cleanup and composting. Leaves have not turned on the big maples yet.