Living in a coastal California track home neighborhood you gotta take advantage of any space you’ve got. For as long as I’ve been alive a garden’s only place was in the backyard, of which we are out of room . I’m here to tell you that they can and they should be brought to the front! Gardens are not only fruitful but can be a beautiful, eye pleasing landscape option. I mean, if your’e going to watering and weeding you might as well be growing something that gives back, nourishing the body and soul!
With much hesitation from my husband whom was a steadfast believer that gardens should only be in a backyard space I was eventually able to convince him to go along with my “crazy idea”. Let just say, he’s definitely changed his mind and loves this new space and to much of his amazement, our neighbors are just as excited about our front yard garden as we are!
Raised beds were the way to go for us as we have two male dogs whom would love nothing more than to tromp through and lift their leg or squat on any plant they see and honestly as I’m getting older it’s just so much easier on my back to tend these raised bed garden.
We started by removing the grass and mapping out the design plan. As you can see we were working with a curved area and needed to create beds that would fit the area so each of our beds are specifically designed to fit their own space. Once that was completed we rerouted the watering system so that we could create a drip system in each bed.
Next, we went to work on building , lining, sealing and filling the beds with lots and lots of cardboard, wood scraps, fill dirt and topped with gorgeous organic compost.
I envisioned a pergola with hanging lights (these are solar), not only as a pretty focal point but also a way to attach grids for our future climbers. I painted it black for a little pop! It’s just so magical when illuminated in the evening.
It’s time for the final touches, a few flowers and plants in the beds to get started, then laying the weed barrier, a few large pavers and putting down a whole heck of a lot of pebble in the walkways.
It’s going to take a few seasons before this garden is in full effect but I just love this peaceful, enchanting space we have created and look forward to many, many years of reaping what we’ve sown!
Happy Gardening! Love, Heidi
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