More on the garden...

From other gardeners, I've often read that their garden is constantly changing. You try one thing one year and next year you move it around and see what works better. I completely understand what they mean now. The exciting yet frustrating thing about it is that you have to wait A YEAR to see if it works before waiting ANOTHER YEAR to see it it's better!

It's been two summers since I first tried my hand at gardener and here are some thoughts on improvement:

1. Grow Bell Peppers in Pots - Bell peppers require very fertile soil and it's even recommended to fertilize them WEEKLY. The last two years, my bps have been rather sad. My friend K grew some in pots that turned out to be 3 feet tall with bps dangling from it like candy! I was so jealous! So this year, I'll try them in pots. In general, plants grow better in pots because they are shielded from the elements and don't lose their nutrients to the surrounding soil.
   
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3. Make Raised Beds - Using some untreated wood or masonry blocks, make your garden a little area of it's own a few inches above ground. This allows the soil to warm quickly. It also just helps in organizing your garden beds.
4. Use Row Covers - Put plastic covers over the soil around your plant to suppress weeds. The weeding was out of control last year and as the garden expands, I just can't keep up with it. I'll try the plastic covers at least through the spring to keep weeds away.
   
5. Plant Edible Flowers - Edible flowers like Dianthus and Nasturtiums look delightful in a veggie garden. I'm going to plant tons more this year. They were so pretty last year. Nasturtiums also act as good ground cover and reach high above the ground providing shade.
   
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7. Plant Sunflowers - Our yard is so big that small flowers don't make an impact. Along the back, I'm going to sow some sunflowers to add visual interest.
   
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9. Build a lattice wall on the deck - For privacy, I was thinking of building a lattice wall that will sit on the railing of our deck. My mother-in-law has something similar and I love it. Suddenly, your deck is transformed into a private space. We can trellis plants to grow up the lattice. It's very inexpensive as well.
   
10. Replace the fence at the front of the house - I saw a house/garden which I just loved. A white picket fence with an arbor in the middle. I can grow a vine over the arbor and plant lots of sun loving perenniels in front. I like this one that scallops concave. There's something charming about it as though you're entering a cottage.
    
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12. Pave patio area - This has been on our to-do list. We'd like an area where we can have a fire pit and stand around the grill when we BBQ during the summer. We will probably do this very early in the spring before the weeds and grass set in.
    

What are you planning for the summer?