A New Kind of DIY

I'm as new to yard work as I am to home ownership. Growing up, I had no interest in helping my mom in the garden, and I sure as hell wasn't helping my dad mow the lawn. As an adult, gardening peaked my interest. I like being outdoors, and I love to eat like to cook. It seemed like an obvious choice once we had a yard of our own.

The problem with our yard is that we have a lot of shade. It was difficult finding a spot that got enough consistent sun to effectively grow a vegetable garden. We also wanted to use an area that the dog wouldn't get into (she really likes tomatoes). There was one area in our yard that met both of these criteria, but it definitely wasn't the most convenient spot.

{via Trulia}

I forgot to take a "before picture," so I had to use one from the old real estate listing! Do you see that nice little brick retaining wall to the right of the playset? It's isolated, it's sunny, and it's covered in vegetation. I figured two out of three wasn't too bad, so I grabbed a shovel and a rake and got to work. It turned out that this "vegetation" was a giant and deeply rooted azalea bush (as well as a shit ton of poison ivy, but that's another story for another day). I also discovered that the land behind this retaining wall was pretty hilly. So, not only did I have to clear the area, I had to grade the land.

Look at all that junk I got to throw away! What a mess.

Once all of that was over with, I lined the back side of the garden area with some cinder blocks that we had lying around. Then, I planted rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, basil, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, and bell peppers in the ground. I planted the lavender in the cinder blocks to give it a nice border. I planted the mint in a pot and then dug the pot into the ground. I had read that mint tends to take over gardens, so I hoped this strategy would help to contain the roots. Finally, I used some stones that we had lying around to create a path between my rows of crops.

It's now been about a month since I began my gardening adventure. We've enjoyed two red bell peppers (yay for fajitas!), countless herbs, and we've almost got a jalapeño! Some days it looks better than others...it's definitely been a lesson in patience! I'm still learning when to water, when not to water, when to prune, and when to just let it be. It's been quite an experience so far, and I'm excited to see how much I can get out of it during Year One!