The raised bed garden plan

Here is the overall plan for the south facing vegetable and fruit tree garden. Amazingly, the location of the new raised beds fit perfectly within the existing fruit trees on our property. The new design reduces the lawn area by over half and connects the vegetable garden with the main house. We also discovered we now have mountain views to the north and west when we set down our adirondack chairs in the back of the garden. Now we have to plant as many perennials we can manage to build up the bee and butterfly gardens for flowers  early next spring. Laying the irrigation takes up the most time.

The Santa Rosa weeping plum tree is now one of the main highlights of the garden. Before, it was lost among the tumble of raised beds but now it is fully on display next to the dining table we have yet to find. By midsummer next year, the branches will be brushing against the gravel and we'll be able to pluck fruit from our chairs.

I've found that labeling the raised beds makes life much easier when I'm planning future plantings. The beds will rotate in groups of two to three in a counter clockwise direction every season to allow for ample crop rotation. I like to do things backwards for some reason.

Beds A through F are 4' x 6' and beds G through J are 4' x 8'. Four feet is the maximum width to allow for easy plant reach during planting and harvest. Beds I and J are in the foreground below.

Attached to the covered patio, Bed K used to be an herb bed but will now become an extra planting area where I plant whatever doesn't fit into the main beds. The perfect place to plant even more english peas.

This is the one bed that wasn't touched during the remodel so I was able to continue harvesting parsley and oregano during the construction. I also have a new herb bed that has been planted near my kitchen door. I always find myself running out into the garden to pick herbs when I'm cooking so this will make the run shorter. Here is the area off the kitchen before the remodel.

We've since replaced the concrete path with more grass and tucked in the herb bed in front of the side fence underneath the cherry plum tree that overhangs into our yard. I plan to plant honeysuckle along the fence for my daughter. It's her favorite snack in the summer.

In the garden in October with a new camera

Finally, finally I can share some overall images of what our garden looks like. I had the amazing chance to buy a new camera this month with new wide angle lenses. Things are definitely a little wild in the garden in these last days of summer.

Today it was in the mid-90's. Good thing I held off planting more of those fall seeds. Fingers crossed the parsnip seeds survive. My sad little rhubarb however hasn't, all flopped over in one of the beds.

The morning glories are going haywire these days.

Strawberries in the foreground, and new beds on the left. My little studio is in the back. One day we'll put in some french doors that lead right out to the garden.

The first area prepped and sown for fall plantings in the foreground. We'll see how those seedlings survive the heat wave this week. That mess of plants behind the clean bed are the tomatoes, still going strong.

A broad view of the garden with the potting shed in the back. My topiaries in the foreground are ready for the fall planting of peas. Now where to put them!

And finally, looking outside the vegetable garden towards the house. This is our daughter's domain. I have plans for this area, though they might not happen for another year.

Let's just say our water bill has been high this summer and I'll be glad to say goodbye to at least some of the grass!

The overall plan and signs of real spring

I've finally been able to sketch out an overall layout of the garden. It's wonky, it's in photoshop (which I have a love/hate relationship with), but it's done. Considering my San Francisco backyard contained just one little 4'x6' bed, this is quite a shift. The largest bed is 15' in length to give an idea of scale.

Fruit trees surround the raised bed garden area but there are more fruit trees around the rest of the property. This is only about 1/4th the area of the yard shown. It looks all neat and tidy on the plan but I don't do something soon, the weeds were going to over and I won't be able to find these raised beds. Here's the last of the beds I haven't tackled yet and the weeds surrounding.

I called in my gardener for a quote to till the weeds and lay down landscape fabric and then mulch or gravel over top. I usually won't allow the gardener in my bed area, that's my domain, but this was becoming a crisis. If I were here full time, I could tackle it myself. I might have to still if that quote comes in high. I dread that, sigh.

In the meantime, I had some nice little surprises over the weekend. The first fig leaves are popping out.

And the tulips under the apple trees bloomed!

They are as beautiful as the previous owner, Kendra, told me they would be. I had to cut them so we could enjoy them this week back in the city. And see all that green behind those tulips ... weeds, weeds, weeds. sigh.