I moved to a place of my own at the beginning of last year. And while I do not own land, I also was not going to quit gardening. The opportunity to rent the plot for the garden nearby was one of the features that helped the decision-making on whether the new place would turn out to be fit for us. It also meant starting everything over since the plot was mostly bare. Apart from a few old gooseberry bushes, rhubarb, and one cherry tree, there was nothing there.
The amount of work needed was going to be challenging. However, that has never scared me, so I began planning. Shopping for seeds, greenhouse structures, pots, and tools.
The ground was still frozen when the first seedlings sprouted from the pots in the windows.
What were they? Dahlias, snapdragons, violets, lavender, peonies, two types of tomatoes, Japanese cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapenos, and three types of pumpkins.
While the seedlings grew stronger and bigger every day, I did my best to prepare the greenhouse and beds in time. But since I mostly did everything by hand and by myself, it did not go smoothly with the schedule.
The greenhouse.
Once the greenhouse was built, I began with soil preparations. Removing the sod and roots took me days of hard labor with the shovel. I injured my shoulder in the process, which slowed me down. That said, it is so satisfying to look back at these progress pictures. The greenhouse is three meters wide and six meters long.
I bought wooden planks to put together the edges of the beds. I made those myself as well. My work did not go unnoticed by the new neighbors, who turned out to be quite friendly. One of them approached me with “Now this is not a city girl, this is a countryside girl!” and I responded with “Indeed, I am.” They later gifted me some lovely flowers for the garden!
Pumpkin and squash bed.
By the time I had finished my pumpkin and squash bed, the other neighbor offered help with tilling a couple of spots with the small tractor. That was a huge help and made the bed-making process quicker. It saved me a lot of time, or I would have never managed to get everything ready for this growing season. I never expected the neighbors to be so nice. It was a pleasant surprise.
I ended up with five rows for my vegetables.
And a huge spot for the flower garden!
Triangles were the shapes that spoke to me when making my flower beds.
As soon as the beds were ready, the flowers kept showing up! My neighbors gave me dahlias and chrysanthemums. A rose from a friend's mom. Gladioli from my grandma. More dahlias from my mom. The beds began to fill up quickly. I knew this part of the garden would turn out to be magical. And it was!
But then the time for transplanting my seedlings in the greenhouse had come. In retrospect, I should have waited for the tomato seedlings a while longer. Let them grow, maybe twice as big, since they had a slow start after transplanting. Cucumbers, however, did amazingly and doubled in size every time I saw them.
These onion beds in front of the greenhouse were the first thing created and planted in the garden.
The start for the onions seemed very promising, but unfortunately, most of the development and growth eventually went into the leafy green part instead of the bulbs. The bulbs turned out much smaller than I expected. Perhaps, it was due to the hot summer we had, or I should have watered them more often. That would be my guess. I am not sure what exactly hindered the bulb development.
How is Pūciņa adjusting to the new place?
I thought for a long time about what would be best for the kitty. For most of her life, she lived at the family home and had a lot of freedom to roam outside. But just as much she loves the outdoors, she also craves company and pets. And for a good while, the only person to provide that was me. At the new place, she seems a lot calmer. Her demand for attention, cuddles, and sitting in my lap has only grown. Her favorite spot to sleep is my work table, next to my laptop, with her head often resting on my keyboard. It is my mission to provide her with the best care and entertainment, so playing sessions are important. I spoil her with treats and high-end food as well.
I still do not feel great about taking her freedom to roam outside from her. And while I hope she will love to come with me to the new garden someday, for now, she is still scared of everything and everyone unfamiliar.
Change is hard. My heart broke when I thought about leaving her there. And it hurts when I think about how I am taking something away from her. All I can do is shower her with love and care every day she is with me. And hope it is enough. During summertime, she might visit the family home still so she can enjoy the outdoors in a familiar setting.
That is the spot she has reserved for herself. And how can I protest against cuteness?
The flower garden came together. I transplanted the violets and snapdragons there. At first, it seemed that they would not make it. They struggled for a couple of weeks but pulled through and began filling the beds with some greenery. In the more empty spots and beds, I sowed different flowers.
Pūciņa was inspecting the new flower garden. She felt calmer in the company of dahlias.
What do we have here? Violets, dahlias, snapdragons, chamomile, milk thistle, yarrow, common tansy, marigolds, daisies, zinnias, annual asters, and sweet pea flowers.
And here? More dahlias, chrysanthemums, gladioli, snapdragons, asters, and roses.
In the greenhouse, all the empty spots filled with leafy greens, more cucumbers (the short ones), bell peppers, and basil, and once the jalapeno seedlings were big enough found a home in the greenhouse as well. Outside the greenhouse, between the vegetable garden and flower garden, I decided to make a few round spots for sunflowers and three different types of lavender (English, Spanish, and white English lavender).
Aaaa! And Lily the curious hedgehog found my new garden! I was so happy to see her roaming the freshly cut grass.
But what veggies selection went in the five rows?
Green beans and butter beans in one row. Unfortunately, not a single bean sprouted. I have no idea what happened. Perhaps, it just was not the bean year. I later planted strawberries and raspberries in this row instead. The second row went for two types of carrots. Third row for beetroots, purple kohlrabi, and radicchio. The fourth row was filled with purple and green kale, Brussels sprouts, and dill. And finally, the fifth row had corn and sweet green peas.
I was surprised to see how well everything was growing in the rows. Apart from the peas, of course. I did not see any signs that birds would have picked them out of the soil either. Strange!
The rainwater system.
While the well water is available near the garden, I still wanted a secondary (rainwater) system. But since the greenhouse has a rounded roof, I had to figure out another way to fill the barrel when it rained. I found a video on Youtube where one person recommended setting up a tarp roof for the barrel. That is what I ended up doing. This system did not prove to be very effective, however. The tarp was too small, and because I did not fasten it firmly enough, it was struggling in the wind. I plan to rework it for the next season with a better roof.
The pumpkin and squash bed, mixed with corn and pole beans, turned out great!
The combination of squash, corn, and beans is called the Three Sisters. You are supposed to plant them together as companion plants. The squash leaves provide shade, and corn stalks provide vertical crawl spaces for the pole beans. It was fun to try this method and see how plants can work together to support each other.
These were the first blooming flowers in the garden.
While the sheer amount of hard work that went into starting the garden over was no joke, I found the process extremely fun and at times therapeutic. I am not the type of person to enjoy the existence of sitting on my ass and twirling thumbs all day. Quite the opposite. I get depressed if that is what is required of me. Creating things with my hands is what brings me joy and purpose. I love building and seeing how my actions directly impact growth in the garden.
I also discovered that since my surgery the year prior, I was no longer struggling with the more physical tasks. I remember at the lowest point, I almost felt like fainting before. It is odd how one can get used to feeling rubbish. But suddenly, things were easier to handle. I was and am very grateful for that.
Anyhow, part one is getting way too long. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read about my gardening adventures! Part two of three is coming soon <3
Song of the day: Au5, Tasha Baxter - Stargate -VIP