Landscape Update with Dust Bunnies

Matt’s Revolutionary Update over at Querencia reminded me that I was overdue in reporting on the progress of my edible landscape project.

In case you missed earlier posts, forced to spend a spring and summer on orthopedic leave I decided it was time to update the landscaped areas around our house.  It used to be surrounded by several beds of high-maintenance shrubs and flowering perennials.  I’m not a fan of high-maintenance generic landscape shrubs (or of the back-breaking work involved in digging them out) so when the tree men were here I had them rip most of them out with the hydraulic jaws on their skid steer.  This made quick work of the job – but left our house looking like the rutting grounds of the northern water buffalo.

After months of thoughtful planning and shopping  (and enlisting the help of a local Mennonite farmer) most of the project is completed.  The shrubs are gone.  New fruit trees, grapevines and berry bushes have cheerfully settled in. Perennials that involved a lot of upkeep (or were annoyingly invasive) have been mostly replaced with herbs and vegetables. We also added a dozen fruit trees and four large rain barrels that help control runoff and let us use water when we need it.

More changes will come this fall and next spring.  There’s one more area of shrubs I need to attack and some of the remaining herbs and perennials will be happier transplanted in new places. The goal is to have an attractive, lower maintenance, mostly edible landscape.

Enlisted roses, carrots, eggplant, zukes, lilies, tomatoes and wisteria. Free range yarrow, tansy and milkweed volunteer.

Beebalm, pumpkin and potatoes in formation. Lilies bring up the rear.

 

Cukes, violets and peas pass muster with Company Commander Audie Murphy.

            

Peas continue their assault on the willow trellis. Wild geraniums, potatoes

and lilies guard flanks while Audie controls the high ground.

                

Despite a cool, dry spring the garden looks pretty good.  Weeds and pests are mostlyunder control – and without the use of pesticides or herbicides.  The dogs have learned that planted beds are not playgrounds (even when they’re full of enticing tidbits of horse and chicken poop) and vertical supports are not pee posts.  The raw egg spray* has kept the bunnies and deer from decimating my fruit trees and berry bushes.  And we’re just starting to harvest the season’s goodness. 

Yup, the garden looks pretty good – but the house…. not so much -

                        

Still Life with Dust Bunny

*  One part raw egg to four parts water.  Add as much hot pepper powder as you like and spray liberally on tasty green parts like young leaves and buds.  Do this in the morning on a rainless day.  This stopped all deer and rabbit browse at our place – your mileage may, however, vary.  Oh and – unless you relish a bout of salmonella – don’t spray this on edible bits unless you plan to wash them very well.