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What do you do when you have 700 sq. ft. to fill with plants, but no money? Have good friends. Even better, have good friends that have a dog that have been destroying their perennial bed.
Friends of mine have a very large Basset Hound. He is very lovable, but he's been destroying a very large perennial bed with beautiful hostas, ornamental grass, phlox, delphiniums, and lamb's ear.
They just want the bed covered in mulch to be dog-proof. I generously offered to dog-proof their bed and transplant all of their beautiful perennials at my house.
More pictures to come when these perennials are planted in my front hill.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that I'm experimenting by growing my vegetable garden in pure compost, no dirt. They sure seem to be growing well. I'm planning to use a compost tea next.
Along with landscaping my front hill, I'm also planting a vegetable garden for the first time in my life.
I like experiments. I like the unconventional. I like doing things that are slightly out of the ordinary - especially if they work. So the best way for me to describe my vegetable garden: (1) using a plot of land that is filled with tree roots, which digging would only result in frustration, (2) using a rather shady spot on my property, where very few things other than hostas would probably grow - the grass that was in this area did not grow very well, (3) an attempt to solve the problems of very little space, but desiring to harvest a variety of vegetables.Problem (1) is the ground is filled with tree roots - I got my workout last spring when I planted a number of perennials in a nearby area. My solution was to begin 
a compost pile last October as the leaves began to fall.
For those of you not educated in the art or science of composting, my understanding is to mix in equal portions brown material (eg. dried leaves, paper, hay) with green material (eg. grass cuttings, green leaves, vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells). Keep the pile reasonably moist. Then let nature due its stuff. Having this was great for fall cleanup. I didn't have to fill 20 bags of leaves for garbage pickup. All the dying annual pots and rotting jack-o-lanterns were all thrown in. I went most over most of the leaves that fell with my lawnmower and threw them on the pile. Once the weather got too cold for my lawnmower to start, I just dumped the leaves as they were - chopped up leaves definitely composted better than the whole leaves.
In December, my pile was about 3 feet high. By the middle of March, after most of the snowfall had come, the pile shrunk down to about 2 feet high. Some of the leaves are still not fully composted. But much of the material in the center of the pile looked like good compost. So what was my solution to (1) not having good soil for planting? Don't use soil. Just use compost. Will it work? I don't know. It may work great. It may not. We'll just have to wait and see.
Problem (2) is about just having shade. I decided to grow mostly leafy vegetables. So I planted in March garlic, onions, Romaine lettuce, spinach, collard greens, and a salad mix.
Problem (3) is trying to overcome the small space. This area is 
enclosed by a chain link fence. It is 4 feet to the sidewalk and 14 feet wide to the tree. I will use the chain link fence for climbers - pole beans and cucumbers. Each bed is about 4 feet by 4 feet and 3-4 inches of mulch. At the bottom of the mulch, I planted garlic. On each 4 by4 bed, there are 6-8 inch wide rows of lettuce, spinach, collard greens, salad mix, and onions.
Mmmm... Can't wait for the salad.
Spring is finally here. My kids and I planted a number of daffodil and tulip bulbs last October. Ahhh. Signs of life.
Let me begin with this disclaimer: I am a complete novice to gardening. I never really did it before. But I picked up the interest to read about it and research it like a mad man for the last six months. So I have been looking forward to spring for weeks and weeks. Finally, the temperature here in Pittsburgh became warm enough that I can dig into the soil without much trouble, although the nights still dropped into the 30's.
So I planted my tree. But the last two weeks have slightly derailed me. I planted my fern and flower planting on my front hill two weekends ago. Maybe it was the 40 degree weather. Maybe I didn't have the emotional excitement and support from my kids - it was too cold for them to be out for very long. Maybe . . . I don't know. . .
Well here goes. Two cinnamon ferns, one painted fern, twelve Dutch Irises, six
Crocosmia Emily McKenzies, and six Foamflowers all came in the mail from Michigan Bulb Co. I cut out a hole in the burlap on my hill and began to plant. I used some of the dirt I had mixed up for my dogwood tree (one part dirt, one part compost using leaf mulch, one part worm castings - actually there were some worms as well). Then I covered the whole thing with leaf mulch. Ta..da..! Looks like a pile of leaves on top of my burlap on the hill. (Like I said, kind of anticlimactic...Oh well.)
Well, I finally did it. I decided it was close enough to spring and planted my bare root dogwood tree. What? You can't see anything? Look closer.
What's that white stuff around that twig? It's my version of mulch. All of my ideas and experiences with mulching will have to be another post. I like to experiment.
By the way, that twig is my tree! OK, the tree doesn't look like the full grown 15 foot Dogwood in full spring glory. But it's got to start somewhere. My neighbor said, "Doesn't look like much yet." My six-year-old son said, "We're going to have to wait until you retire to see the tree big." I don't know about waiting until I'm retired, but maybe five years. Patience, my son, patience.
Planting My Bare Root Dogwood Tree
Quick description about what I did - (I don't claim to be an expert. I may have even done things a little wrong. But I'll still document what I did.): I let the bare root tree soak in a bucket of water for a day and a half. (My daughter said, "Daddy, what's that? A tree? Doesn't look like a tree.") I put on my hunting boots to keep myself from slipping off the hill. For every 3 shovelfuls of dirt, I added a half shovelful of leaf compost and a large handful of worm compost (compost stories will probably
be part of my mulching stories - which will come). Dug the hole about twice the needed width. Built a little mound for the roots in the middle of the hole. Spread the roots out over the hill, like a Southern belle sitting down with her hoop skirt. Filled the hole halfway with the amended dirt. Added about half a gallon of water to let the dirt settle. Added more dirt to fully cover the roots. Packed the dirt down with my hands. Made a ring of compost and added more water.
Comment about amended dirt to back fill: I've read about amending and not amending when planting trees. The latest advice being given is not to amend. The reasoning is that the roots will only grow out to the circumference of the amended area. I decided to amend since the soil is rather sandy - water drains very quickly - adding compost may maintain the moisture. Even if the tree ends up being stunted because of amending, having a Dogwood tree that is only 6-8 tall rather than 15-20 feet tall is no loss to me.
What's to come: I got an email that the other perennials for the front hill have been mailed. Planting will probably begin next weekend. I also started making the beds for my vegetable garden out back. Also, more perennials should pop their heads out of the soil in the little hill out back. They'll be a lot to blog soon.
What do you do when you have 700 sq. ft. to fill with plants, but no money? Have good friends. Even better, have good friends that have a dog that have been destroying their perennial bed.
