September 4, 2009

How Does Your Garden Grow?

When we moved into our home, the front yard was a bit of a mess. The property sloped to form an uneven hill that was inefficient at retaining any amount of water. Grass had been laid down upon rocky, uneven dirt with no thought of adding topsoil. Despite all of Jason's good intentions and care with watering, there were numerous, perpetual dry patches where the grass was dying from the root up.

Two years ago, Jason and his father began considering ideas that would increase the usable space of our lawn while adding curb appeal. The solution: tear up all the grass, add a rock wall with bordering flowerbeds, back fill, bring in decent topsoil, and lay new drought resistant sod.

The final results have been nothing short of amazing. And while I had relatively little to do with it, I often except praise on Jason's behalf from many a passerby and neighbor. The most incredible thing has been how the petunias grow in the new space. I promise, we do not use Miracle Grow and I do not dead head them (or anything). They just thrive and flourish in that little bit of earth that is theirs.


While I'm on the subject, I have to mention how much I enjoy our vegetable garden, as well. This is the first year we've planted onions. I love picking them on a whim when I need them for a recipe or to add slices of red onion to my salad. It's almost as delightful as eating fresh off the vine tomatoes. Once again, Jason is the main care taker and ensures that things grow well.

Before I know it, I will be posting about harvesting our pumpkins! Perhaps my recent photo spree of all things garden has been my attempt to hang on to all the colors of summer before they are gone for another season.

This post authored by Amber

3 comments:

Julie said...

Wow! That looks fantastic! And your garden is looking much better than ours :-). We've only gotten three bell peppers, three tomatoes, and one cucumber so far!

Liz Adams said...

your house is so pretty and the garden is awesome! send jason my direction please I have a lot of work to do!

Heather said...

Jason is a chop off the old block, meaning my dad. Definitely a talent. Our gardening skills are lacking...maybe we just didn't care as much this year. Whatever it is, I miss the lovely harvest. We've only had tomatoes this year. Makes for good salsa though.