{in my garden :: front yard transformation}

 

Vegie patch in the front yard? Hell yeah! We are lucky enough to have a large lawn area which our dog loves, but it takes up way too much of my time mowing it (weekly during summer...), I hate the idea of watering a lawn during summer so it tends to brown-off in the hot/dry spells - not very attractive, and it does nothing to attract birds or bees into my garden. So I always knew it wasn't going to stay for long. Not to mention that we are lucky enough to have soil which is amazing quality. The area was once covered with market gardens so the soil is beautifully friable and perfect for growing produce - a shame to be covered in grass...

As the front yard receives the most sun it is the most practical site to locate our vegetable beds. I'm a huge fan of gardens incorporating the productive with the ornamental. I've always adored the French potager style gardens and find the Italian/Greek suburban gardens fascinating how they use every square inch to grow something productive.

I'm going to practice crop rotation amongst four beds. We've erected three raised beds using non-treated, kiln dried Cedar timber from Naturalyards, with the fourth 'bed' being the garden itself, which will be a perennial border mixed with herbs, vegies and productive trees ( Malus ioensis 'Plena' {Crabapple}, Punica granatum {Pomegranate} and some citrus). I've been an admirer of Hendrik van Leeuwen for a number of years and love the garden he created in his own backyard. A must see here

So far we've been purchasing our seedlings from an organic grower at the Sunday Farmer's Markets we shop at, but I'm hoping my not-so-subtle hints for a subscription to The Diggers Club for my birthday may mean we're able to diversify our yield a bit more and introduce more heirloom varieties. 

Our little patch so far includes:

* Broadbeans          

* Butter lettuce   

* Broccoli   

* Bok Choy  

* English Spinach  

* Sugar-snap Peas   

* Radicchio   

* Parsley

* Thyme

* & a lucky dip mix of cottage garden style flowering plants

I'd really like to get in some garlic, rhubarb, globe artichokes and dill (mainly for their flower heads!). To be honest, the list is endless and will only be limited by space (we do have a HUGE nature strip so I may just creep out onto that...)

Next step is to put in some drainage lines, pebbled pathways and mark out the perennial border beds. I'm looking forward to the next Cottage Garden Club meeting to pick up a few goodies to start off my perennial border. Lots to do - bring on Spring I say!!!