A new Home
On the 1st of December, just before the Christmas holidays, my family and I moved into a new home. We were excited, not only is the rent cheaper and the living spaces larger but there is a sizable garden attached to the property that wraps around the side of the house in an L-shaped form.
My previous home had a small paved courtyard. I grew some plants in pots and focussed mostly on growing tomatoes for home use. I eventually had made a raised shelf garden and planted vegetables, herbs and some marigolds to help with pests.
But now I have a great space to work in. Trees, an actual lawn and space to do a lot more veggie planting!
Before
When we moved in it was apparent that the previous occupant had let the garden do it's own thing. The trees were overgrown. No attempt had been made in a long time to curb tree suckers, most of the leafy tree branches hung so low even the boys (aged 11 and 9) could not walk under. The grass was mostly dead and where it was not dead, the grass grew tall. There were also some spiky plants that grow like palms or agaves that have never seen a trim.
Here are some pictures of how I found the garden:
Of course, as many people would agree, the garden has a lot of potentials. The visions of garden parties/picnics under that glorious shade were the first thing that popped into my head on the hot day that I took these photos.
So first we needed to move into the new home and get all the furniture and kitchen set up. Clothing and bedding and all of those things took priority and the garden was left alone pretty much until after Christmas.
I used only a few hours of a couple of leave days remaining to me to prune back the threes, remove suckers, trim out the spiky plants, water the lawn, and cut out grass that was choking other plants.
The lawn is still overgrown at the back under the trees, but overall the garden looks clearer and greener. The main shade-providing tree still gives plenty of shade as I only cut off what was blocking me from walking through. A few of my taller friends may still have to duck to walk through but that is how we roll in the Shire.
This is how it looks now:
One of the things that please me most is seeing all three of my kids actually running in the garden. It has been so long since that has been able to happen with the kids cooped up in a little apartment and no real garden space.
I did not need to introduce them to the concept. They just took to it like ducks to the duck pond. I just needed to give them that space.
Finally, I have my last point of interest:
Even in my small apartment, I was growing vegatebles and one thing that came with that hobby/homesteading adventure was making my own compost. Kitchen scraps and old plants would be composted to add to compost I would need to buy.
Look at how much garden waste I have generated. With a family of 5 we are already producing a lot of kitchen scraps. Together with greens and browns from this garden, I am envisioning making two compost heaps.
Initially, I will just start the one and in about 2 months' time, the other. I will just keep them on the ground but once I have some time I might build an open-bottomed U-shaped box to keep them separate but condense the area that they take up. I need to make it easy for me to keep turning that compost while making it look great.
The structure you see on the left in a lot of the garden shots is my garage as well as the neighbor's garage. There is a shaded space behind that structure that is connected to my garden that gives me a good space for things like the compost heaps without taking away playing space for the kids.
The next conundrum will be: Where to start growing vegetables and herbs? I may need to build something to protect them from stray balls and running children.
More updates will be coming soon!
Thank you to @brittandjosie for prompting me to make this post about my garden and @wesphilbin for his assistance in giving me some relevant tags to place this in.
A shoutout to @old-guy-photos for hosting the #treetuesday tag.
Happy gardening!
@zakludick
Looks great and indeed has a huge potential to become a healthy nutriting Oasis! Kompost is always a super idea. How about collecting rain for watering? Do you have enough rain and water?
Great post looking forward seeing next steps and garden Parties !LUV
Thank you @beeber. I have not thought of collecting water. We have plenty winter rains and there is water available on tap. I suppose I could collect rain water but will check how the gutters are doing around the house and then act from there.
I absolutely love our garden and I'm so excited about your plans! It's lovely that you're tracking it's progress here. It's easy to forget how far we've come and how much work you've done. 😍😍😍😍
Thank you my love. We are building such a beautiful home and it is going to be amazing for us and the kids.
!LUV
!PIZZA
@zakludick(1/1) gave you LUV.
I am excited about the development that you are going to post about your new garden. Greetings from the Philippines!
Thank you!
Have a great day!
Looking great so far! Nothing better than some space for the kids now. Enjoy the new Shire
Thank you sir! 🧐
You and the family should come over some time for a dop and a chop. 😉
For sure. Once things start stabilising a bit more I'd love to swing by your new pozzie!
Hahahaha! Stabilizing for me or for you? 🤣🤣🤣
Lol, most of us I suppose
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Yay! Thank you so much!
The fact that a garden is an extension of your and Claire’s home is an extra. With the nice weather it’s such a treat to sit outside and enjoy the work that’s been done now. I have made the green winter ready in the beginning of December but forgot to record the before and after , that’s why I said you needed to and 63 hive already congrats on doing so great . Hive is a part of your family now
Thank you.
Yes, Hive is a big topic of conversation in the household.
I still have plenty of work to do in the garden so there will be more posts in the future!
We love to braai and the braai area needs some love too!
Congrats on the new space. And I am happy that your kids get to run around outside. That alone is reason to enjoy this new space.
Good luck with your gardening! It looks like a great space to fix up. I'm looking forward to seeing how you transform this space into something everyone can enjoy.
Best wishes for 2022!
Cheers!
Thank you very much! I will be sure to add updates on the place as I go onward.
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