I have full faith that this project will never be completed. At least not to my satisfaction. I'm realistic enough to know that some plantings will work great and other will die. Needs will change as well as time to spend gardening. That being said, here are a few of the highlights of gardening that have been accomplished in the last few months:
Made a stone pad for the BBQ. Next we'd like to build some shelving onto the deck so while Ben is BBQing the plates of food will have a place to be and Kiwi can't get to them!
I added stepping stones both sides of the deck and planting a ground cover that will hopefully grow in and won't get out competed by the weeds & grasses that are loving all the spring air!
We figured that the things that will take the longest get grow in our yard should be planted as soon as possible. Therefore trees were the first thing on the list as it will take at least a couple of years for them to get established and provide some fruit!
Yes, it looks exactly like a stick planted in the ground, but really it's an Asian Pear tree.
This lime tree is flowering well and has already provided delicious, delicious limes which have been made into delicious, delicious cocktails.
Unfortunately this nectarine will have a couple years more growth and then will get dramatically pruned and then after a couple more years of growth will maybe give fruit. It's a complete experiment as it was given to us by a friend who grew it from seed.
Hopefully this mandarin orange tree will flower at some point and give us tasty mandarins, though at this point I'm just hoping it doesn't die.
The two citrus trees have been safe from Kiwi however she's taken an increased liking to the pear and nectarine as she has easy access to them. She's twice tried to dig them up and now they will need to be surrounded by chicken wire until they are strong and large enough to support her digging habit. Hopefully by then she will realize that they will provide her ample shade in the summer and more opportunities to catch squirrels leaping through the air between them.
This concludes all of the garden projects that I had hoped to complete in 2011. Now on to the projects for 2012 which may include that piece of grass and some prettying up the front garden to keep up with the neighbors...
