Alas, we have no more lawn in the front yard, and I have to admit that life is much richer. Since planting this garden, we have fresh veggies for lunch and dinner, have met many neighbors and dog owners, and have new friends.In spring we planted Early Girl and heirloom Roma tomatoes (which turned out to be little round tomatoes, but they were excellent for sauce and popping right into your mouth), basil, Anaheim, serrano, ancho, habanero, Fresno, and jalapeno chiles, Chile de Arbol, cilantro, Spanish onions, bell peppers, strawberries, eggplant, Lemon and regular cucumbers, yellow crookneck, zucchini, acorn and butternut squash, honeydew and ambrosia melons, Italian parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, various lettuces, a dwarf lime, dwarf satsuma mandarin, and semi-dwarf blood orange. Did I forget anything?
On the ornamental side, Black-eyed Susans and purple coneflower (echinacea) provide splashes of color and attract pollinators. An informal hedge of rosemary will 'hide' the garden in the winter. Purple Euporbia continifolia, silvery Westringia, and multi-color Leucodendron 'Jester' form the foundation planting against the house. Blue chalk sticks and lavender soften the edge of the sidewalk in front of the fence.
We shared our goods via the 'free basket' on the fence, which is how we made really good friends and got invited to dinner! As we're on the way to the neighborhood dog park, our progress in removing the lawn and installing the garden was monitored carefully by 'the regulars'.
This late summer/fall we planted more lettuces, Oregon sugar snap peas, french green beans, yellow and purple Spanish onions, garlic, more cilantro, 3 types of carrots, and potatoes to join the remaining basil, chiles, and early girl tomato. Since it was so darn foggy and cold this year, our early girl is really a late girl who didn't start producing ripe fruit until just this August. As least the chiles are pumping and we have lots of salsa for winter!
For a complete history of the garden transformation, visit my Facebook photo album at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054722&id=1197488482&saved#!/photo.php?pid=31120029&id=1197488482&ref=fbx_album
