Hi everyone,
I have pretty much a blank slate to work with, and I'm overwhelmed. I want to do it right the first time, so I don't have to undo anything or endanger plant A by having it shaded by plant B, and whatnot. I need to accept that there will be failures (I already killed a rose by leaving it potted through the winter, I'm pretty sure :( ), but the pressure is still there.
Here's what I have so far:
We have a narrow corner-lot backyard, and the stretch I'm aiming to use runs east-west, from behind our house/between our neighbor's house, out into the "front" yard (let's call it Yard W). Yard W has a wide old ornamental tree - dogwood? - and a GIGANTIC oak or maple (can't forget which at the moment, not currently important), but they're both off to the side enough the shadows should stay out of the "garden strip" so to speak. The other "front" yard of our corner lot (let's call it Yard E) "could" be used for gardening, but between the house and tree shade, it's not as prime real estate unless I used the bit that slopes to the sidewalk. Even then, it's pretty close to the street and the sidewalk, so it's not my preference unless it was solely flowers.
It being on a corner lot, the whole area is quite visible, so I feel even more pressure to make it look nice. That could change if we put up a fence, but that would also change the amount of sun in the area, which makes me feel like I'd be starting from square one if we DID put up a fence.
Anyway, I want to grow (probably too many) crops as well as ornamental flowers, maybe even vines. I'm mostly taken in by some square foot gardening methodology along with vertical garden methodology because of how small our yard is. I want to leave plenty of room for kids to play and rampage without being mad they tromped all over my attempts, which is another reason I'm so hesitant to begin. Otherwise, here's what I (in an ideal world!) want to grow:
Summer squash
Green zucchini
Maybe one tomato plant
Green peppers
Cucumbers
Green/snap/bush/pole beans (whatever you call 'em, so long as they climb)
Sugar snap peas
Lettuce
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Potatoes (maybe)
Garlic
Herbs - basil, parsley, lemon balm, unsure about more yet, have to look at what I use most often. Mainly I just want the bug repellent herbs....
Mints - chocolate mint, spearmint, mainly, but I NEED those in containers
FLOWERS:
Morning glories (cautiously)
Roses (any sorts I can work with)
Sunflowers
Nasturtium
Forget-me-nots
Marigolds (good for decor AND bugs)
Vines (Mexican Flame, maybe wisteria)
Someday, peach, pear, and apple trees, but we'll see
My brain is going in circles! I need to just make some solid calls and have something to begin. So here I am! At least listing out my thoughts is a good start, right?
(P.S. I'm going to cross post to a Gardening Forums forum, in case anybody wonders what's up with duplicate posts)
