We have a little backyard at the new place, only 8x8m, which some have expressed concern over the lack of space, but I have seen some pretty amazing results of backyards with small spaces. One in particular that I was inspired by even had a small 'man' shed installed complete with walls big enough to be lovingly decorated with soft porn.
I'm more of a green thumb than Kim, but I think as we get back to having our own garden she'll get mesmerized by the wonders and beauty of a backyard alive with it's own personality. So many rentals I've set up with a cute micro cottage garden and then had the heartache of having to move for what ever reason had raised it's hideous head. But now I can plant to my hearts content and watch it grow. And kids love that, especially Laney. We go out to the garden now in the morning and pick the tomatoes off the plant for breakfast on toast with grated Pecorino and Olive Oil....best summer breaky ever! Each year she sees the tommies grow from punnet to mature and fruit baring. It's a valuable lesson to understand how much hard work it can be to grow your own food. It hopefully will develop a sense of appreciation for the natural world.
In any-case I figure for most of you it's a no brainer that I'll be putting in a special little veggie patch, so I won't ramble on about that instead I'll tell you what ideas I have for other parts of the garden. I love busy overcrowd gardens that are designed with contrast of colour and texture in mind. Our garden will consist of three main ingredients.
Medium Height Tree cover
Ground cover/shrub
Creepers
Even with the challenges of space we will be growing as many fruit trees as possible. It reduces our ecological footprint and they are ornamental to a certain extent. We'll use the method of 'espailier' which makes the best use of available space. Most backyards should do this, and get those fruit trucks off the highway. Here's a short list of the food producers we'll be having:
Citrus, Olives, Passion fruit, Fig, Apple, Peach, Grapes, Cherry. But on top of this I have some more pretty stuff in mind. Japanese Maple is one of my favorite of all and we will be having a variety that will turn red every Autumn. I could go on.
Less words more pictures. Some colour, contrast and textures for the yard.
Ro
How cute?
This is the garden we'll be leaving behind. My little cottage/herb garden is going to be appreciated by someone new. Well I guess it only took me a year to get it looking snazzy, still I will miss her.
