A new place to garden -- how exciting! Looks like you've made excellent progress. Thanks for the update. It's looking good!

That looks really nice. I think it's great if people have a spot close to the back door to put produce. So convenient. But I have to admit I look at those stones and my back hurts :-) It's funny what gardeners don't consider labor intensive. Good job.

Lisa

Love your new bed and the stones. Everything looks so even and level. Very nice results from all your hard efforts!

Lisa, you are so right.... 'It's funny what gardeners don't consider labor intensive.' I'll have to use that line with my doc. For weeks, I've ached all over my right side. Doc says I have a broken rib.... who knew? All I've done is gardening. If I don't laugh, I'll have to cry, lol. Woe is me... Doc says no more digging or lifting for three months.

No one told me that gardening was labor intensive. Bummer!

LOL!!! Those stones were the easy part! I hope your broken ribs heal quickly. Fortunately this is the slow, just-keep-them-alive time of the year.

I don't lift and carry those stones. (anymore) I lift a bit with a sharp shooter to get my fingers under them, then lift the rest of the way to stand on edge and kinda roll them in place. Hubby had to help with a few to get the cardboard tucked under them. I was so hot and tuckered out by that point. I plan to move 2 of them a few more inches over to make walking easier. I had placed them there a few years ago--so that much of the labor had already been done. :)

We got the Mel's mix all done and in the beds this morning. It was pretty easy and went fast. We used a big tub and a special blending attachment to our drill. :)

I just got it all soupy wet, it is draining now. I'll go back later when its shaded there and re wet some areas that need it and we'll see in the morning if we need to add more mix or not.

This evening we'll go through the seed stash and plan what seeds go directly in the beds and which ones to start in trays for our fall vegetable garden. I'll start seeds over the next week or so.
We're so excited. This is the fastest I've ever gone from weedy mess to able to plant! And its the best looking planting area I've ever done too. Bonus was getting all those pots off the porch! It makes our patio seem bigger, airier, and cleaner too.

Unless you garden, you have no idea the labor involved. Just getting the bags of stuff from the car to where you want them is enough to make most people decide they don't want to do it.

I have another longer bed on the other side of the house that is also very over grown and wild. It is full of grass and weeds too. Towards the end of Aug beginning of Sept I plan to round up most of it, protecting the plants I plan to move and get ready to do the same thing in that bed. More raised beds and tons of mulch. It will be ready for fall-winter/early spring food crops. I want to make those raised beds much deeper for bigger rooted plants and more root crops.

The ones by the back porch I plan to grow mostly greens, and this year some fall tomatoes that I suspect (and hope) won't get as huge as the ones we grow from spring up to last frost.

We eat greens everyday so having those beds there will make it much easier to harvest and use.

Here's another view.

Wow! That view from the back yard really shows how nice that bed looks in the landscape! What a great job, Gail! And if you plant greens like "Bright Lights" Swiss chard, it will look pretty too!

Oh my, looks so different .....................poor old datmansia.....must have bit the dust, so to speak. I, for one, can relate to how labor intensive this was and how the old back (and other parts) hurt for days............good job, now enjoy it !!!

I still have tons of seed for that datmansia> :)

I can always plant another one. (or thousands!).

I have so enjoyed this change and it is amazing how much calmer and relaxing the patio feels now.

I've learned that for me, a cottage garden right up next to the porch is not the way to go. :)

I'm inspired to work on cleaning up the other beds now. :) Yes.. in July! That might change come Monday when the unrelenting heat returns.