Garden Plans

One of my favorite things about living in this house is the gorgeous, sprawling yard. The previous owners put a lot of work into making the landscape as pretty as possible; there are flower beds and shrubs in the front and side yards, and the back yard is a beautiful oasis of crepe myrtles, cannas, marigolds, four o'clocks, trees, and vines. There's even a sizeable vegetable garden.

Things have gotten a bit unruly and ugly over the summer, though. With moving, unpacking, and managing the pool, we've been lucky to keep up with mowing the yard! This fall, though, we have a plan: clear out much of the existing vegetation and prepare the beds for new growth next spring.

The process will start with uprooting most of the plants currently in the beds. Then, I'll test the soil to check the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content, as well as the pH. (See? Soil science is a useful field of study!) Based on those results, we can apply fertilizer, plant bulbs, and mulch. We've started a compost pile using kitchen waste like eggshells, stale/moldy bread, apple cores, and discarded lemon wedges. We regularly add grass clippings and are trying to obtain some manure to really get it going. Hopefully it will make it through the winter!

The most fun part will be deciding what to grow! For vegetables, we're thinking tomatillos, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, snow peas, onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro). For flowers, I'm still undecided. Here are some ideas I've had thus far:

Foxgloves

I just adore foxgloves. They're so pretty, and I think they'd look great against the fence along our pool. Best of all, they grow fine in shade and moderately dry soil. 

English daisies

Daisies are so pretty, and English daisies are classic. They bloom in the spring, and I think they'll be perfect for edging the beds next to the stone walkways we have outdoors. 

Poppy

Poppies are just darling. My only concern is that our soil won't be moist enough for them. We did some irrigating this year with soaker hoses, but it was a wet, ugly, unpleasant experience for everyone involved.

Lupins

Lupins are beautiful, but like the poppies, they'll need irrigation. I think they're just lovely though.

Any other suggestions for growing a pretty garden? I'd love to have a yard that's just as pretty as the pool and deck- and having fresh flowers to bring inside is always a plus too!