Intro to the Garden (Part II)

Yesterday we had a serendipitously warm and sunny day, which felt like a promise of things to come and reminded me that spring isn't really that far off (though I try not to get my hopes up - as I am sure there will be plenty of additional rain and some cold spells).  And with that memory of warmth, a second installment of the introduction to my garden, where I cover what worked last summer (before moving onto what didn't work, and what is currently going on).


When we first moved in, there was a noble fir, a cherry tree, and a photinia hedge in our west facing front yard which created a fair amount of shade.  So it seemed like the best place for veggies was in the back - a narrow piece spot bordered by our house to the west and the detached garage to the east.  The detached garage provides us with some privacy, but also casts shade.  Fortunately our days are long here in the summer (~20 miles north of Seattle), and so we do get about 8 hours of sun in parts of the back garden at the height of summer.  We tend to get this sun around mid-day and loose out on the hottest part of the day.


Fast forward 2 years - it became apparent that the noble fir, cherry tree, and photinia hedge were diseased and all needed to go (the noble fir outright died).  For these plants, it was a classic case of trying to raise plants in a region not that well suited for them.  Which brings me to what worked - biting the bullet and getting rid of established, though diseased plants, and taking advantage of the new opportunity to grow sun loving plants.


For a new hedge (we liked how it screened our chain-link fence) we planted semi-evergreen misty blueberries. We replaced the flowering cherry with a smaller apple plant.  We also took advantage of the new sunny area (with hot, afternoon sun) by planting acorn (mesa queen) and butternut (early butternut hybrid) squash throughout the area and ended up with a great harvest (the only photo I seem to have is of very young plants):

In the back of the photo against the fence we have 2-year old red currents planted.   Which brings me to the second thing I wanted to cover.  For that spot we were looking for something that would fruit in partially sunny conditions.  Red currents seemed to fit the bill, and so far, so good.  We enjoy them fresh (though they are tart) and they are particularly good in muffins.  They are also gorgeous when ripe, I only have a picture of green fruit, but it gives you an idea:

FYI- There is a calendar give away over at mixed greens (its looks like a beautiful calendar) where you provide one sustainable practice you would like to incorporate into your daily life in the comments section to enter the give away.