We step out the back door and our bare feet hit the stones of our little patio. It's just a little space, this patio area, a little space to keep our grill and our compost box. Soon our containers of tomato plants and basil plants will find their home here. Perhaps it will house a patio set sometime in the future but for now, it's just for bare feet and Tirzah's twirls.
Our feet step off into the cool wet grass. And we walk, turning to the right and following the rock border all the way to the end of our yard. This, this little patch here on the right, is going to be our herb garden (with some veggies interspersed). Imagine with me chives and carrots. Rosemary and Chamomile. Wildflowers that border both the front and the end of this little patch. And towards the end, either summer squash or our melons.
Now standing in front of us is the fence line that leads down the hill and intersects at the corner with our other fence. Along this patch we have wildflowers and sunflowers. We just planted our Sugar Snap Peas this past weekend and we are dreaming of a trellis weaved in vines.
Beneath the surface of the corner's soil, our little potatoes sprout and sprout.
Now we turn to the left, and walk along this fence line. It's just a little patch, the space in between the fence and where the grass begins. But we have hopes for a pumpkin and winter squash patch. The end of this little land, as we come to the next corner that leads us up to the gate, is laden with wildflowers, which I can hardly wait to see. This patch sits right out front our dining room window and was sowed with the "Butterfly and Bird" mixture.
This is our first year, working the soil, willing and hoping for life to emerge. Might there be a harvest soon?
Our seedlings have been started: the pumpkins and squash (we thought perhaps Washington offered a shorter growing season so we started them early... ?) look beautiful and hearty. The cantaloupe follow suite. However, I have managed to kill all the basil seedlings and the carrots are not looking too hopeful either...
An experimental year is what we have said about this garden. Though I do have to say my hopes will be dashed if we don't get at least one vegetable. But not all hope is lost, for I do hope to simply sow these seeds (the basil and the carrots) directly into the ground in a few weeks, after the frost has passed.
The miracle of the earth.
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| Tirzah's first backyard picnic! |
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| Oh and how she loves the rock border. "So many rocks, just ready for me to throw! And look, they are all lined up for me!" |
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| Backyard Homesteaders! |
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| Daddy and Tirzah tilling the land |
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| Transplanted squash and pumpkins! |
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| Uncle Michael lending some needed advice in the garden |
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| Our rock border! Not even kidding, this "Dinosaur Egg" came from our yard! The Pacific Northwest soil is filled with rock... huge rocks too! So needless to say, we have made the border with all those we have found while turning the land |
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