Side Yard Update June 2013

If you've been following my blog for the past year, first of all, thank you, second of all, you already know that we've been working hard to transform our side yard. We're still dabbling a little here and there but the bulk of the work is done. To jog your memory, here's where we started:

I know, I know, now you're saying to yourself, "Why did they want to change that? That crapport is awesome." Well, we thought it could be better over there. Just a little tweak here and maybe a little something there ...

Strike that.

TOTAL. OVERHAUL.

Here's where things are now:

(new driveway and garage door too)

It started out as a vision ... I thought it might look nice if we pulled out the carport and put in a few raised beds and some grass. Then it grew, and grew and grew and now we have a retaining wall that also serves as a perfect spot for growing 80+ strawberry plants:

We've got a lovely granite path that only took me three attempts to get it laid right but it was worth every single minute of frustration:

But the best part is by far that we now have 4 raised garden beds to grow vegetables in:

I'm growing snap peas, corn, sunflowers, 5 varieties of tomatoes, peppers, kale, bunching onions, spinach, carrots, mixed lettuce, cauliflower, artichokes and yellow onions.

I even built a bench with a climbing trellis for our snap peas. I used only wood salvaged from the carport for the bench and pergola. The planter boxes were built out of fence boards I bought.

Finally, as a special nighttime treat, I added solar string lights and path lights. I love sitting on the bench in the evening when everything is so quiet. It is so wonderful to breathe in the smells of the garden and hear an occasional chicken snore.

I'm eager to finish up some of the small details we will be able to attack only after the weather has turned nice consistently. There's painting to be done and some more trim to put up around the new shed. For now, all my energy is being devoted to our fresh new plants. Grow little veggies, grow!

Thank you for reading,
Julie