garden inspiration

An inspiration photo of the look I’m going for

I finally faced it: I don’t water enough. My garden is lovely in spring after the copious rains, but as summer wears on, it begins to look neglected. I finally sought help in the form of a friend, Andrea Taylor, who is a landscaper and has a terrific garden of her own. It’s just my style: eclectic and a bit haphazard, with lovely touches like bits of mosaic embedded in the path. It’s very eco-minded too, with porous surfaces and a rain barrel to capture runoff from her roof.

Andrea agreed that I need an irrigation system. She’s seen this situation often, gardeners who enjoy wandering with a hose, communing with each plant in turn. The problem is, I have a full-time job. Between getting myself ready and walking the dog—now dogs, plural, as I’m taking care of a friend’s pooch–I can barely get myself off to work in time. Watering the garden falls by the wayside.

Not only am I getting an irrigation system, Andrea encouraged me to clear out the space and start fresh. Ta-dah!

cleared-out garden

Blank slate

We kept the shrubs around the border, but the center is a blank canvas, ready for a facelift. To take advantage of the rainy season, I’m planting fava beans throughout the space.

Fava bean seeds

Fava bean seeds

They capture nitrogen in the soil, enriching it for future planting. I’ve grown them before, and they look pretty too.

fava bean flowers

fava bean flowers

Stay tuned for future photos as the space evolves.

I’m also viewing the end of 2019 as a reason to get back to writing. I’ll be on vacation for two weeks in December and have committed to working earnestly on my next book. There, I’ve said it publicly so now I have to do it.