front yard garden.

It’s good for me to discipline myself to show you photos of the front of our house, because then, when I post pictures of other parts, like the boys’ room and our bedroom, you’ll know that there are spaces that need plenty of work.

Case in point: Currently we don’t have any sort of a driveway or a front lawn.

Our addition was finished in May 1017, so basically we’ve lived with a big sand pit for an entire year (well longer if you count the building process).

I’m very thankful to live in a neighborhood where no one much cares what we do or don’t do to our front yard. I know it’s a little unconventional to plant a vegetable garden, but that’s been David’s dream, and I’m thankful we didn’t have to get permission to do it.

Don’t worry, we fully intend to get a driveway like normal people. One day.

Building raised beds and filling them with good soil is expensive, especially since the wood eventually breaks down. Steve learned that torching the wood beforehand seals it so that it will last longer.

 

 

We make our own compost, and have always supplemented with Black Cow from Lowe’s. But this spring our neighbor, Chris, drove to the zoo and for 50 bucks filled the bed of his truck with compost (“compoost” as Riverbanks Zoo calls it). He used what he needed and brought the rest to us, so David was able to compost our entire yard.

We’ve had a nice, rainy spring, so all the landscaping we did in our backyard last year looks magnificent.

 

 

I’m learning that gardening is a constant process of experimentation.

The tomatoes did wonderfully two years ago, but last summer most of the plants failed. And so we look at the variables and ask friends and family and try to figure out what to tweak.

The front yard gets full sun six hours of the day, but it’s not as brutal as the back, so David planted tomatoes and peppers here this year.

A friend recommended we mulch with straw to retain moisture and restore the soil.

This is the first year David started everything — front and back — from seed. Over the winter. In our bedroom.

In the front here, we’ve got tomatoes, peppers, kale, zinnias, broccoli, and brussels sprouts (or “special sprouts” as Noah calls them). And I want to put a nice, short little hedge along the front of the beds. Maybe lavender. What else?

Last year I got to buy a Natchez crape myrtle, which is my favorite. It’s that little tree on the right side of the house. But one day it will be big and lovely! I’ve got a few ideas brewing for the other landscaping. A neighbor suggested hydrangeas for the left of the porch, because they like shade.

The best thing about a front yard garden is talking to our neighbors, who like to stop and check in on things. I worried about what people would think of our non-traditional yard, but so far they seem to enjoy it!