Garden Success! (without really trying...)

Last year, Caleb and I finished off our cinder block raised bed garden, and Chloe planted some shade-loving plants in it.

I'm happy to report that it's going gangbusters this year!

For the curious: foamflower (in front), dwarf crested iris (in middle), and astilbe (in back).

Also, last year, Chloe and I planted a figurative ton of wildflower seeds all around the edge of my backyard. Exactly zero of them came up last year, but this year 3 or 4 came up, including this pretty one:

Love and ALEAP*,

Leah Joy

*As Little Effort As Possible

Our Garden - Spring 2016

Well, folks, I've finally given up on gardening.

Okay, not entirely, but I have realized that the love of gardening my grandfather had, and that my dad and sister both have, did not get passed on to me.  In fact, I kind of hate it.  And so I rarely weed, and then, surprisingly, my garden yields very little, and I get frustrated and annoyed.  So I've decided gardening is not worth it for me.

However, I do still want to have a pretty yard, so I'll continue to add a bag of tulip bulbs every fall, because I can never have too many tulips.  And I'll probably still add a few perennials every year - stuff that doesn't require too much maintenance.

Here are some pictures of our front garden this year.  It consists almost entirely of tulips. :)

In the backyard, I still have my 4 rhubarb plants, which are doing really well!  One of them is even ready to divide!

Last year, Chloe and I planted three kinds of plants in the far back corner. (Translation: I purchased and Chloe planted.)  I'm very happy to report that they are all still alive this year, and seem to be doing quite well so far!

And that is all!  We do still have our raised beds where I've previously planted vegetables (and harvested only weeds).  I'm considering putting some wildflower seeds in there so it looks more intentional than just a bunch of weeds. :)

Love and Dirt,

Leah Joy

Spring Garden

This is the year I'm going to plant things.  Hah.

Well, at least I planted some hyacinths, tulips, and crocuses last fall.  They might be the only plants in my garden all year.

Note: all these pictures were taken at the beginning of May.

In the backyard, Chloe helped me get some carrots, lettuce, and peas into the garden.  Later, I planted beans and potatoes.

I planted garlic last fall, too, and that seems to be doing very well.

4 of the 6 rhubarb plants I planted last year are thriving.  I'm excited to start picking from them this year!

One of my main garden goals this year is to finish off this corner and get some shade-loving plants in it.  I already have them all picked out.  Now it's just a matter of making my husband get two cinder blocks in there and filling it with dirt.  And buying the plants.  And not killing them.

Love and Dirt,

Leah Joy

Garden Project Completed!

And now for lots of pictures of dirt!

My gardening project that I mentioned a few weeks ago is finally complete!  (Ish.)  I got the front area between our garage and breezeway doors looking much nicer, though of course you can't really tell right now.  The biggest problem was the soil quality.  It was full of rocks.  Lots and lots of rocks.  So, naturally, I sifted my dirt.  Yep, you read that correctly.  This project took me over a month (granted, I ignored it for 2 weeks straight), and it wasn't until the last two days that I realized we had an old window screen, which works way better as a dirt sifter than an old colander.  That's also why there were only two days left in the project then. :)  Alright, so let's play Memory Lane, just to make the transformation really dramatic.  Or at least sort of dramatic.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It's dirt.

This first picture was taken before we even owned the house.  You can see the soil is full of rocks, and I don't mean the large, decorative ones around the perimeter.  I don't even mean those 3 medium-size rocks hanging out in the middle.  I mean all the smallish rocks that are EVERYWHERE.

Moving on.  With a little work, our garden looked like this.  Um, yeah, I said a little work.  And this is in the fall.

But this Spring, we had lots of tulips!  That was lovely!

But there were still lots of rocks.  You can see them pretty clearly in this picture:

Finally, I never really took care of the garden, which will probably never change, but it just got overgrown.

So, this fall, I pulled out everything.  I potted the plants I wanted to keep, set the bulbs aside for re-planting later, and took out all the weeds.  Then I dug down a few inches and sifted all the rocks out of my dirt before shoveling it back in.  I took out probably about 8 5-gallon buckets worth of rocks.

Looking at this picture now, I can tell that I need to add some more dirt in the back, but I think I might wait for Spring for that.

I replanted all the bulbs I pulled out, and also added 40 more tulips, 15 hyacinths, and 40 crocuses. :)

In the Spring, I plan to add more plants - mostly perennials - so that the weeds won't have as much space to prosper.

On the other side of our breezeway door, I planted this yellow mum that I won.

And look how nice and rock-free my dirt is now!

Love and Very Small Rocks,

Leah Joy

Gardening: A Good Laugh

This summer got crazy.  I barely had time to clean my toilet, let alone tend my gardens.  I finally got out there a couple weeks ago to clear out the weeds and dig up any carrots and garlic that may have survived.  After doing one of the beds, I stepped back and couldn't help laughing.  I had to take a couple pictures to share with you.  Please note that before I started, both beds looked about the same.

And this, folks, is just one reason the self-sustaining lifestyle is probably not for me. :)

Love and Basil,

Leah Joy

Garden Update - May 30

It's almost June, and our garden is booming!  (Mostly.)

I know, I know, most veggies want full sun, but we have an extremely shady yard (heh), so we have to deal with it.

We've already started harvesting lettuce and spinach!

In this 2nd bed, I planted spinach, which is doing well, and beans, which are just starting to come up.  I also planted a bunch of herbs, but so far they aren't doing much.  I'm letting the weeds grow here, because I'm honestly not sure what these baby herb plants should look like.

We also put in a new garden using this idea from Pinterest:

The part on the far left will be completed another year, but in the longer section I have 6 rhubarb plants (#19 on my 101 Things in 2014 list!).  Hopefully in a couple years we'll have an abundant crop!

For now, we have tiny little baby growth already:

I also started several plants in this seed tray, but so far they haven't done anything, and it's been about 3 weeks:

Sad.

Thank you for your patience with my slow blogging.  My full-time summer work starts on Monday, so while I have pictures from stuff I've already done that I plan to get on here, that will probably be it until fall (late August).

Love and Rhubarb,

Leah Joy

Garden Update - May 19

Look at my pretty garden!! There are green things growing in it!  And a lot of them aren't weeds!

And out front, I have an army of tulips!

(Sorry about the spot on the lens; it was raining.)

I can't wait to go to the nursery and get some more plants!

Love and Tulips,
Leah Joy

2014 Garden

Last fall, I planted some garlic, using some help from The Art of Doing Stuff.  I was so thrilled to see it start coming up this spring!  These are the little baby plants from early April:

A few weeks later I went out to start my early seeds.  Here are the raised bed gardens my Dad built for us last fall.

Another week or so, and I found that our garlic plants are now well into adolescence!

We also have some tiny baby kale plants now:

At least I think that's kale.  And here's some baby lettuce:

Squee!  They're so cute!

Elsewhere, we have tulips coming up.

And little patches of violets all over the yard!

Love and Landscaping,

Leah Joy

Under the Lilacs

Last year in Michigan, we had 80-90 degree weather in March, then a snap freeze.  This killed all the things that thought it was Spring and came out early: the apples (very sad), the lilacs (also sad), and the mosquitoes (actually very nice) - just to name a few.  This year, as if to compensate, the lilacs have burst forth with twice (if not more) their normal gusto.  (Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are doing the same. *scratches knee*)  (Hopefully, the apples will follow suit and we will be eating pie all winter long.)

So, last week, as I drove around to work and church and back, I noticed huge lilac bushes.  I'd never seen them so tall - almost like trees!  Then, on my way home from church, I noticed a very very large grove - and it's on our property!  Check it out!

This is a shot of the full thing; I had to walk a long way away to fit most of it in the picture!

They are just so abundant - and perfect!

And while the blossoms are gorgeous and so wonderfully fragrant, even just the leaves are a work of art.

They look like a watercolor painting!

Needless to say, I have a new computer wallpaper. :)

Love and Allergies,

Leah Joy