Community gardens are intriguing to me. Ladera doesn't have one, but we do have a community citrus orchard. I like the idea of having a plot of land that you can farm to raise fruits and vegetables that supplement grocery-store-bought items. The responsibility of raising vegetables fosters a sense of purpose and well-being.
I was excited when I bought my condo and the front yard area was basically a blank slate. Most of my neighbors have either installed solid concrete or brick pavers in their yards, but I definitely plan to keep mine plantable. The previous owners didn't do anything except scatter some white rocks (really?), place a layer of mulch, and put down stepping stones to their BBQ grill. This is what it looked like this morning:
Now that the weather's getting warmer, I decided that it was time to execute my ideas for the yard. My idea is more like a free-form tapestry than a traditional row garden.
On the small side of my patio, there's a 2'x4' plot that I'm going to dedicate to bell peppers. Bell peppers are a staple around my house and it would be nice to not have to pay $2.49 for them at the store. Sigh.
I also have a BBQ grill, so I positioned it on the far side of the larger space and laid out rose colored flagstone pavers to get to it. Rather than fill in the spaces between the stone with mulch, I bought several types of low-growing ground cover plants at Armstrong (love that place) that will bloom with flowers and create a walkable living carpet.
Most of the planting will hopefully get done tomorrow. Most of the hard work is done including picking up all the white rocks (I hope to never see those again) and the old mulch. I practically filled up my trash bin with that stuff. Then I spread organic compost soil and mixed it in with native soil. The native soil appears to be pretty clayey, so it will retain a lot of water. Something to remember when watering. I also installed poultry netting around the bottom 2 feet of the fence. With the tasty vegetables I'll be planting, I'm afraid the local bunny population will be feeding off me for free. For the netting, I dug a linear hole along the fence and buried about 6 inches of the netting. Rabbits are diggers.
My plans for fruits, veggies, and herbs include:
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Zucchini
Green onions
Basil
Sage
Woolly thyme
Cilantro
I'll post updates when I get more planting done. :)
