Bees and honey has always been an integral part of my life. My parents had a beehive on their place all my life...yes, there are a few bees buzzing around here and there and when other kids came over, there was always the standing dare of kicking the beehive without getting stung...but what I remember most is the rich honey that we used on fresh bread and the sweet honey comb we chewed on like gum.
So, much to the Penny Pincher's (could also be called the Bee Hater) dismay, I insist that we have a honey hive incorporated somehow in our garden. I can already see it - painted a pale crisp yellow...five boxes neatly stacked with the honey bees busily working to make our honey. The Penny Pincher is sure that we are going to be slapped with a lawsuite. However, a beehive in your garden is now the hottest trend - Michelle Obama just announced the other day that the White House will be making its own honey from the beehive in the new vegetable garden (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090320/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_garden)!
Our plans for the back yard our currently on hold for two reasons: A) The Penny Pincher and I MUST finish the stairs inside the house before starting any new projects (repeating this matra over and over); and B) All the leaves from the Oak trees need to finish falling before we bring in new mulch and dirt.
However, we already have a couple of big backyard projects underway:
1) All the rotten trees have been cut down and taken away
2) We leveled off the top half of the yard with a 2 1/2 foot white limestone retaining wall and brought in 13 yards of fill dirt. On top of that, we built a nice little picket fence to divide the yard and put down sod on that half of the yard. This top level is our dog's paradise.
3) The wood deck has been torn down and they are putting the finishing touches on the our stained and stamped concrete 300 sq. foot patio raised 2 1/2 feet from the ground. We still need to install the French doors in place of the windows that lead off the sunken living room of the house (instead of the big step down from the dining room).
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Backyard/Garden Wish List
- Pale yellow beehive
- Gingerbread playhouse (preferably out of recycled materials)
- Limestone retaining walls
- Area secluded for dogs
- Compost
- Retractable clothesline (does one exist?)
- Pebble paths
- Stone 3 foot high patio with surrounded flower bed at same height
- Pergola with wisteria
- Herb garden
- Vegetable garden
- Double french doors onto the patio
- Bougainvilleas
- Climbing rose covered pergola
- Bird bath
- Fish pond (after all, this is a wish list)
- Sprinkler system
The following is one of my many sketches of plans for the backyard...
Friday, March 20, 2009
The "Before" State of the Backyard
My vision for my backyard is far beyond anything I expect to achieve. However, it does give me something to dream about and plan to the best of my ability with our meager budget - that is actually about to be cut again by Mr. Penny Pincher (my husband), who does not see the importance of perennials or any type of "pretty" plants for that matter.
When we moved into our Beowulf house, not only was the inside of the house in dire need, but the backyard was a desolate pile of dirt, dead termite-infested trees, and an abundance of ivy - which was actually pretty, but overwhelming. The prior home owner's dogs had made sure that there was not one blade of grass alive and the back 8 foot fence was so rotten, it was about to fall over.
The 150 sq. foot deck coming off the house was painted a dark red and although was somewhat stable, I disliked the 4 feet of space underneath it that quite possibly harbored skunks, snakes, and rats.
There are quite a few salvageable trees - four very tall Mountain Laurels, three Kumquat trees, a Peach tree, an Oak tree, two Red Buds, and one very tall shady tree that I think may be an Ash (junk tree). I do like the "might be an ash tree" because it provides so much shade on one side of the yard.
The trees that were not salvageable - HUGE Elm tree and three Oak trees - all rotten and eaten out by termites. It killed me not to be able to save them.
As far as plants, there is one salvageable Lantana. Otherwise, there are tons of fallen leaves, a few holes, lots of washed away soil because the yard goes down a slope, and tons of large limestone rocks that will prove useful in the future I am sure (we live on top of limestone and they just pop out of the ground from no-where!).
The yard is home to several squirrels, a few nests of pigeons (that Mr. Penny Pincher threatens to shoot down because of all the white poop on EVERYTHING), a skunk (but that is ok because I don't mind the smell), lots of bees, and our two dogs (Golden Retriever - Kady and Dachshund - Mason).
When we moved into our Beowulf house, not only was the inside of the house in dire need, but the backyard was a desolate pile of dirt, dead termite-infested trees, and an abundance of ivy - which was actually pretty, but overwhelming. The prior home owner's dogs had made sure that there was not one blade of grass alive and the back 8 foot fence was so rotten, it was about to fall over.
The 150 sq. foot deck coming off the house was painted a dark red and although was somewhat stable, I disliked the 4 feet of space underneath it that quite possibly harbored skunks, snakes, and rats.
There are quite a few salvageable trees - four very tall Mountain Laurels, three Kumquat trees, a Peach tree, an Oak tree, two Red Buds, and one very tall shady tree that I think may be an Ash (junk tree). I do like the "might be an ash tree" because it provides so much shade on one side of the yard.
The trees that were not salvageable - HUGE Elm tree and three Oak trees - all rotten and eaten out by termites. It killed me not to be able to save them.
As far as plants, there is one salvageable Lantana. Otherwise, there are tons of fallen leaves, a few holes, lots of washed away soil because the yard goes down a slope, and tons of large limestone rocks that will prove useful in the future I am sure (we live on top of limestone and they just pop out of the ground from no-where!).
The yard is home to several squirrels, a few nests of pigeons (that Mr. Penny Pincher threatens to shoot down because of all the white poop on EVERYTHING), a skunk (but that is ok because I don't mind the smell), lots of bees, and our two dogs (Golden Retriever - Kady and Dachshund - Mason).
Poem by young Jessa Marie
The Flower
Sits
Alone
In the field,
Drinking
The sweet air.
And thinking of those days
when she
was born
and thinking
of the children
while they laugh
and play.
August 29, 1983
Poem by Jessa Marie (6 years old)
My parents recently found this poem in their stuff and gave me a copy of it...I thought it was a perfect start to my gardening blog!
Sits
Alone
In the field,
Drinking
The sweet air.
And thinking of those days
when she
was born
and thinking
of the children
while they laugh
and play.
August 29, 1983
Poem by Jessa Marie (6 years old)
My parents recently found this poem in their stuff and gave me a copy of it...I thought it was a perfect start to my gardening blog!
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