View from the garden's edge
Here you see the play of different material John used: Iowa limestone, crushed rock, wooden ties.
Here you see the play of different material John used: Iowa limestone, crushed rock, wooden ties.
Here is the finished bed. These new beds almost double the plantable space in the front yard. John bought several butterfly-attracting bushes that he planted in the sunniest corner. Next year I want to plant more beds of chamomile and yarrow and other medicinal herbs.
Yesterday we got a dump truck load of crushed rock. John's filling in the new bed around the crab apple after he lined the ground with ground cloth to retard weed growth through the rock.
John moved the raspberries out of the terraced bed to the back yard where he's got other berries growing - I insisted that he not move them until we picked this year's crop. He also created a curved bed around the crab apple tree.
I've been fascinated with Medieval herb gardens. One of the favorites of the time was Borage, which grows about 2-3 ft tall and bears these handsome sky-blue star-shaped flowers. Just below is cinnamon (Mexican) basil - which has an extraordinary flavor.
Yarrow is one of the most important plants for the Medieval herbalist, symbolizing vitality and protection. Its species name - Achillea - is for Achilles.
I adore Echinacea (coneflowers). There are a range of new hybrids with spectacular colors. This one is scarlet
I love chamomile tea but I had difficulty growing it before. In the new beds it grows like a weed with literally hundreds of small white flowers. I cut off hunks of the plant and dry it. Once dried I pick off the blossoms for tea.
The lilacs - almost two stories tall - provide ample filtered sun and shade for shade-loving plants.
I adore lavender, and the raised bed at the right has maybe five plants. Little more than a month after taking this picture, they have grown dramatically.
In 1997 John put in two raised beds for vegetables. As part of the garden project he completely rejuvenated them. Here they are before the new stone and soil go in.
Lilacs are incredibly aggressive plants. They send up shoots from underground runners. Before he laid the stone John hacked back the smaller, unwanted shoots - which can be difficult to cut back.
Below the limestone John laid concrete paving blocks to form a stable, flat base.
May started out unusually warm and the lilacs bloomed profusely. The month then turned cool. We had lilac perfume in the garden for almost a month.
