1. Define the borders. In my (understandable) focus on plants, I have neglected to do much that really defines the gardens from the yard. With the exception of the wooden bars (or whatever these might technically be called) that were here from the previous owners, I have no hardscaping.
Digging a well-defined separation between yard and garden in the front would look nice, but digging is such an awful chore in this clay that I think fencing would be better, or at least easier. And for the new south border, rocks would complement the naturalistic look. I think some definition would literally set my gardens apart.
(Look past the lovely camassias and you'll notice this ill-defined border abruptly becomes yard.)
2. Fix this other @!$# border. This north border has been driving me crazy for years now! The tulips last year were lovely and I labored through planting about 40 more this fall. Inexplicably, the nectaroscordums seem happy here and I added 10 more of those too. But what else?! The shrub search was derailed when I killed the Canadian hemlock, the border in part shade, far from the hose (and hence always dry), and despite my best efforts at soil amendment this border is still holding tons of lava rocks from the abuse it suffered under the previous owners.
(But what else besides tulips?!)
My plans have changed at least ten times in the past year. I'm resolving to put something resembling a real garden here, likely with some sturdy prairie/savanna natives that can withstand the harsh conditions. We'll see...
3. Clean up the composting operation. I was very proud of myself for making actual compost this year! It took a long time but the sweltering summer did help me produce some lovely compost that immediately went in the above-mentioned problem border. Now I have my humble plastic tote filled again and I've made a pile next to it in which to dump scraps and leaves while the load in the tote decomposes. But this is amateurish and messy. Luckily, when I received my Troy Bilt 3090 XP, it came on a huge wooden skid that is now sitting against our house. It is the perfect material for building some boxes with chicken wire that will really class up the composting around here!
So this year I'm sticking with just three resolutions. Since I couldn't quite come through on four in 2010, I think it's wise to stay focused this year. Informally, I'm also resolving to be better about blogging. Work and life have kept me from reading and writing in the garden blogosphere as much as I would like, and I really want to try to improve on that.
So how about you? Any gardening resolutions for 2011? Happy New Year everyone!
2 comments:
These sound like great resolutions, Rose, and very do-able. Edging your borders with rocks or bricks is not too labor-intensive, and I think you'll be really happy with the results. I have so many things I want to do this year that I'm still thinking about my resolutions. As always, I've resolved to lose weight and exercise more...which would also help me get in better shape for gardening:)
Best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
I've just had a wonderful and terrible thought - what you really need are raised beds. Then you wouldn't have to dig in the horrible clay, the plants would grow better, and you'd have built-in edging and definition. Just a thought...
Happy New Year!
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